Praise the Lord!
Here is my homily for this coming Sunday, the twelfth Sunday
of the Year.
" And they were filled with awe, and said to one another,
«Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?» "
May God bless you!

Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen

http://meynen.homily-service.net/




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Homily for the twelfth Sunday of the Year - Year B - Mk. 4:35-41




" After have spoken in parables to his disciples, Jesus said to
them, «Let us go across to the other side.» And leaving the crowd,
they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats
were with him.

" And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so
that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on
the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, «Teacher, do you not
care if we perish?» And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the
sea, «Peace! Be still!» And the wind ceased, and there was a great
calm. He said to them, «Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?» And
they were filled with awe, and said to one another, «Who then is this,
that even wind and sea obey him?» "



Homily:


" After having spoken in parables to his disciples, Jesus said to
them, «Let us go across to the other side.» "

We are on the bank of the lake of Tiberiade, in Galilee. Jesus has just
spoken to the crowd and to his disciples, teaching them in parables how
to know the Kingdom of God. He is going to cross the lake with his
disciples in order to bring the good news of the Kingdom to the people
who live on the East of the great lake.

" Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat. "

The disciples of the Lord took him with them in the boat in order to
cross the lake of Tiberiade. This very simple action of the disciples
is a beautiful example to follow. It invites us to take Jesus with us,
to closely unite us with him in order to cross with him all our trials
and all our joys. For it is necessary to speak about trial, here. The
disciples are going to be confronted with a terrifying event, that of a
dangerous storm on the lake. Let us love to keep the Lord close to us
and with us, let us love to stay in his very loving and benevolent
presence. Let us imitate this example of the disciples on the lake of
Tiberiade, or even that of the disciples who accompanied risen Jesus
until Emmaüs on Easter's evening, saying with them to the Lord: "Stay
with us!" (Lk. 24, 29)

" A great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that
the boat was already filling. "

This agitation of the sea which threatened the disciples' boat with
great danger was commented upon frequently by the Church's Fathers.
They saw in it an image of the Church, represented by the boat, rolling
around and agitated by all manner during her long pilgrimage on the
earth, moving toward the facing bank which represents the celestial
homeland. Indeed, the water is a frequently used image in the Bible,
more so in the Old than in the New Testament. It could have several
significances according to the context. Here, the water especially
represents the deluge which covered the earth during the time of Noah,
and the boat symbolizes this ark of salvation about which Saint Peter
speaks in his first letter (cf. 1 P. 3:20). Like the disciples in the
boat, the followers of Christ are sometimes tormented and agitated in
different ways: trials, difficulties, sadness, anguishes, and other
torments of soul and body. But if they took with them the Lord Jesus,
if they are united to Christ in their heart, what can happen?

" But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and
said to him, «Teacher, do you not care if we perish?» "

Those who have read and reread "The Story of a Soul", by Saint Theresa
of the Child Jesus (St. Theresa of Lisieux), will probably remember
these words of the Saint when she alluded to the gospel of today. In
the first lines of her chapter eight, she says, "I should have spoken
to you about the retreat preceding my Profession... It was far from
bringing me any consolations since the most absolute aridity and almost
total abandonment were my lot. Jesus was sleeping as usual in my
little boat." When we experience some difficulties, some trials, some
torments, our first reaction is to think that Jesus sleeps and that he
doesn't do anything to alleviate our embarrassment. We look at the
events of the world and we ask ourselves, sometimes with indignation,
why doesn't God do anything in order to prevent such a drama or
catastrophe? We shout then toward the Lord, as though to wake him up
and to ask him to act, as though he wasn't always attentive to our
needs in his eternal Providence. We wake Jesus up, just as the
apostles woke Him.

" He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, «Peace! Be still!»
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, «Why
are you afraid? Have you no faith?» "

Little Theresa continued her narration, saying, "Ah! I see very well
how rarely souls allow Him to sleep peacefully within them." It is
indeed our common attitude. We wake Jesus up, instead of allowing him
to sleep in us. We are afraid of what could happen to us when danger
threatens us, instead of being confident that the Lord is with us and
resting in our hearts. Maybe we took the Lord with us, but our minds,
our souls, are elsewhere. Jesus is inside us, yet, we search for him
where we could not find him! Then, could it not happen that we, too,
might hear the Lord's reproach, "Have you no faith?"

Let us believe in God who is almighty and who can do all things to save
us! Jesus showed his omnipotence in many ways. Today, he asks us to
believe that he could pacify the sea and calm the storm. Let us ask
the Most Holy Virgin Mary, who believed in all the words which were
said her by the Lord (cf. Lk. 1:45), to help us by her intercession.
May this be the fruit of our communion of today.



Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen



http://meynen.homily-service.net/