A
few days ago I was out on the sea where the Atlantic Ocean enters
Delaware Bay.
I'm
no sailor and no swimmer.
The
last time I'd been on a boat was probably thirty years ago.
I'd
already read today's Scripture passages.
And
I felt new empathy with those fearful disciples in the storm in their
little boat.
It
was easy to imagine my own helplessness if a sudden storm should hit and
swamp the boat.
There
was no land in sight.
My
life jacket might keep me afloat for hours or even days.
Until,
maybe, someone would come and save me.
But
there was no way I'd be able to save myself.
We
may not think of it often.
But
that helplessness is a common condition for us humans.
We
like to feel that we're in control.
That
we can shape our own destiny.
And
to some extent we are, and we can.
So
that reinforces our illusion that we generally have control of our
lives and our world.
Until
we find ourselves, literally or figuratively, drowning in the sea.
Then
it becomes all too clear that we're helpless.
That
we need someone to save us.
In
our readings today we hear God asking Job,
Who
shut within doors the sea?
Job
knows clearly that it wasn't himself, that it wasn't any man.
Even
with today's engineering and technology we have very little control
of the sea.
Our
Psalm continues the storm and saving themes.
They
rejoiced that they were calmed and he brought them to their desired
haven.
Only
God can bring the calm.
Today's
Scripture passages speak to us on both the spiritual and physical
levels.
They
address both the current and future worlds.
They
assure us that Jesus has the power to save us, and the will to save
us.
On
the spiritual level, some people ask,
Where
do we get the idea that we need to be saved?
And
that we can't save ourselves?
We
get it from Jesus himself.
Most
all of what we know for certain about God and Salvation comes from
Jesus.
Some
of it he revealed, some of it he confirmed.
But
how do we know we can put our faith in what Jesus tells us?
We
know because we sense the truth of what he said.
Because
the Spirit within us tells us to believe.
And,
not least of all, we know because Jesus performed miracles to give us
assurance.
To
show us that he had the truth and the power of God.
Today's
Gospel gives us one of those many signs.
As
God told Job, and as we see from our own life experience,
No
man can calm a stormy sea.
But
Jesus did.
He
had the power of God.
At
one level our Gospel passage is about that miracle.
That
sign, that proof that Jesus speaks for God.
But
the truth revealed in that story also has a deeper level.
It's
not just about that one storm on that one day two thousand years ago,
Our
lives are full of storms.
And
Jesus can calm those storms too.
When
we look to Jesus for help and comfort and guidance,
We
find the strength to make it through those storms.
Even
the most ferocious storms.
Like
the violence that thundered through that Church in Charleston this
week.
Members
of that Church—family of the slain—have shown remarkable calm.
They
profess love and forgiveness.
Instead
of hatred and revenge the assassin hoped to trigger.
And
they praise Jesus for giving them that calm.
When
the disciples woke Jesus from his nap in the boat they cried,
Do
you not care that we are perishing?
Of
course he cares!
One
of the reliable truths Jesus revealed for us is that we have a God
who loves us.
Loves
each of us personally.
A
God who is so personally close, so accessible to us, that we can call
him Father.
A
God who cares about our welfare and happiness.
Who
wants to give us all that is best for us.
A
God who worked out this mysterious plan for our salvation.
And
sent his only Son to become one of us and to save us.
On
this Fathers' Day we honor our earthly fathers.
Let's
also specially honor our Heavenly Father.
The
Father of all, whose fatherhood makes all of us brothers and sisters.
We're
all God's children.
The
Catholics, the Protestants, the Jews, the Muslims,
Those
who acknowledge a Creator, those who seek an unknown God,
And
even those with no explicit knowledge of God.
We're
all the People of God.
Who
have you ever met who wasn't one of God's creations, one of God's
children?
The
overwhelming Good News today is that God sent his Son to save all
his children.
Whether
everyone knows it or not, Jesus is the source of their salvation.
As
our Evangelical brothers and sisters like to proclaim—
JESUS
SAVES!
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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