Faith amid the Storms
At any given point of time, we find ourselves face-to-face with storms big or small: interpersonal, social, political, economic, psychological, spiritual. That is the stuff of life. We may eventually learn to weather the storms, but there are times when we fail to bounce back. Then, if humble enough, we may turn to God and ride it out. Thus, a storm acts as a reminder that God truly exists…
The backstory of God’s faithful servant Job, in the First Reading (Job 38: 1, 8-11), is not that he disbelieves; on the contrary, he is an upright man, firmly committed to God. Why, then, does he lose everything – family, wealth and even health? His suffering hurts the core of his being. He wonders why he is at the receiving end. Might he have secretly or even if unknowingly displeased God? At any rate, he is angry and questions the Almighty.
God’s response to Job is the crux of today’s text. Evidently, Job was acting as a judge in his own case. God demands to know if he can explain every phenomenon of the universe. If not, why question His designs? The virtue of hope lets life’s events cause wonder and love, and not dwindle into distress and despair. Before long, Job understands that there is more than meets the eye. He sees that back from the day of Original Sin suffering has been an inseparable part of life; and that God is beyond human understanding.
To sustain life, we need to make a leap of faith. It was something that even the disciples had failed to do at first, so we know it is never easy. In the Gospel text (Mk 4: 35-41) they are baffled, not to say outraged, by Jesus’ indifference to their boat rocking in the rough sea. For His part, the Lord wants his disciples to ask for help – to pray! – so He might promptly assist them. His command ‘Be still!’ was not magical but divine. Did they realise they were before the Creator Himself? Filled with awe, they said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?’
A question that Jesus put to His disciples, He puts to you and me today. When we face trouble and our faith vacillates, He asks: ‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’ These very questions, coming as they do from Jesus' mouth, are so reassuring; they suggest that Jesus is ever ready to help us. ‘Who then is this?’ Yes, we must get to know Him more closely, seek a personal encounter and establish a deep rapport with Him, confide in Him… Not that problems or sufferings will vanish, but we will learn to trust in Him through thick and thin. And what’s more, it will bring us peace of heart.
As the lyrics of that hymn make it clear, ‘No one can give to me that peace that my Risen Lord, my Risen King can give…’ And when God is with us, who can be against us? We have to make an effort to rise above ourselves. Then, no storm will shake us, no battle, rattle us. Hence, St Paul in the Second Reading (Cor 5: 14-17) exhorts us to be ‘in Christ’, for ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.’ Elsewhere, the Apostle famously said, ‘It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2: 20).
All in all, we must abstain from a business-like relationship with God – that is, seek Him only when we are in trouble. We cannot be like the sailor who, when caught in a tempest, said: ‘Help me, O Lord, and save me just this time; be sure I will never knock at your door again.’
Never knock at the Lord's door ever again? Ours is a valley of tears where troubles are a staple of life. Indeed, we must cry to the Lord in good times and in bad. Needless to say, He is with us and rescues us from our distress (Cf. Ps 28-29). The weaker we feel, the stronger is His support – when we live through Him, with Him, in Him. Our Lord has said: ‘I will be with you till the end of times’ (Mt 28: 20); He leads us to a safe haven. His must be the final victory. Instaurare Omnia in Christo: we have to restore all things in Christ.
Banner: https://shorturl.at/ZxYQw
