Faith Amid The Storm

Weekly Missionary Reflection
12th Ordinary Sunday, 23 June 2024
Job 38:1.8-11; Ps. 107:23-24,25-26,28-29,30-31; 2Cor. 5:14-17; Mrk. 4:35-40

“He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still! The wind ceased and there was great calm.”
(Mark 4:39)

Today’s Gospel is telling about Jesus calming the storm. On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus told the disciples to cross to the other side. This event took place on the same day after Jesus taught the crowd beside the sea on land on the boat. The disciples must have been very exhausted after crossing the sea with Jesus on the boat. They might start to sleep and rest, however, suddenly there came the storm and rough sea that almost drowned their boat.

In the situation of life and death, the disciples began to panic and search for Jesus. Where was Jesus? He was sleeping in the stern. Seeing Him sleeping, the disciples asked if Jesus did not care that they were perishing. This saying of the disciples to Jesus is not a request, instead it is a rude rebuke. They saw a calamity before them and Jesus was sleeping. They forgot that Jesus was the Creator. Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea: “Quite! Be still!”, so the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Jesus rebuked the disciples for being scared and not believing. 

This story reminds us that there will be storms and challenges in our lives. As the disciples were scared of the storm, we also felt scared and worried when facing a big life problem. Jesus reminds us to keep believing and stay calm. He is the reigning God over everything, including the storm of our lives.

Jesus was on the same boat with the disciples, despite He was sleeping. This shows that Jesus is always with us, even when we feel He is far away and doesn’t care. His presence gives us hope and strength to overcome our fear. 

Jesus rebuked the disciples for lacking faith. We are invited to ponder how deep our faith to Jesus is during the hardship. Do we tend to panic, doubt His power, or stay calm and surrender to Him? Strong faith to Jesus will give us peace in the midst of storm of life.

The order to “be quiet and be still” is not only for the wind and sea but also for our lives. God does not prohibit us from being afraid, as long as the fear does not control our minds and heart. To be in this situation, we must be prepared to face the challenges in our lives. Thus, our faith in God must be expressed in all situations. 

Today’s mission: fully believe in God through continuous daily prayer.

(Ignasius Lede – Commission for Mission of The Bishop’s Conference of Indonesia)

DAILY DEDICATED PRAYER

Lord, our Father, I present my today prayer, thought, word, work, joy, and sorrow in unity with Your Son, Jesus Christ, who always presents Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit animating Jesus, also be my guidance and strength today so that I am ready to be the witness of Your love.

Together with Mary, Mother of Jesus, and the Church, in particular, I present my prayer for our Pope and apostle prayer of the Indonesian Church this month:

Universal Church Intent: For migrants fleeing their homes 
We pray that migrants fleeing from war or hunger, forced to undertake journeys full of danger and violence, find welcome and new opportunities in the countries that receive them.

Indonesian Church Intent: For the young people
We pray that the churches will be more open and able to embrace the young people in the process of identity formation so that they can experience Christ as their Friend and Saviour.

Amen.