Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I remember reading, years ago, a story in which the Narrator, an elderly mariner, gives the Reader a brief lesson on learning about the Sea. He made the suggestion that there are three ways in which to come to know the Ocean:
 + the study of maps and charts
 + taking an extended walk along the shoreline
 + setting sail upon the briny

 These would render, respectively:
 + information (from study)
 + insight (the senses gathering information from the actual sea)
 + first-hand experience (from riding the waves)

 Three of our Readings today, guide us along this gaining of knowledge leading beyond the images of the Sea to the reality of Jesus Christ, as the center of our consciousness.

 To begin, the Reading from the Book of Job gives us information about the Sea provided by no less than God the Father, as we heard: “… I set limits for it… and then said to the Sea, ‘Thus far shall you come, but no farther, and here shall your waves be stilled.’”

 Then the verses of our Responsorial Psalm give us insight into humans interacting with the divine upon meeting the Sea, as we heard: “They that go down to the sea in ships, trading on the deep waters, these saw the works of the Lord and His wonders in the abyss”

 And, finally, we heard of the disciples’ first-hand experience of the Sea in our Gospel passage relating the Lord’s calming of the storm.

 The disciples, many of them fishermen, would, of course, have already been familiar with the Sea:
 + having gained information and knowledge from having studied the Book of Job from their youth…
 + having gained insight from praying Psalm 107 with its description of the seafarer and his insights into sailing…
 + having fished from the dock as boys, perhaps, and then upon the sea as men.

 But today we get a first-hand look at these seafarers experiencing unfathomable fear in the midst of a storm at sea — but with Jesus present — which suggests that they knew more about the perils of the sea than about security in the presence of the Lord. However, they called upon Jesus in their distress, and Jesus delivered.

 Returning to land for our purposes of understanding this episode as Gospel, we come to know that Saint Mark’s point in telling the story is not primarily about gaining knowledge of the Sea, it is rather about learning who Jesus is through the demonstration of His supernatural powers.

 The key to Saint Mark’s message is found in the final statement when the Apostles, amazed at the Lord’s power to calm the storm, ask one another, “Who, then is this?” This passage comes fairly early in Mark’s Gospel, just after the Lord’s calling of the Twelve, but before such manifestation of His divinity as will be witnessed later at His Transfiguration  and His Resurrection.

 Called to Christ, they’re confused and stressed-out, and finally amazed and bewildered at this first glimpse of His divinity, yet their calling out to Him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” suggests that they had some inkling of the Lord’s power.

 In our First Reading, God the Father, speaking in the midst of a different storm, asks Job a similar question, citing Job’s questioning of Divine Providence: “Who, then is this, [He asks, in gentle mockery] who created the seas and set its limits…”
 not seeking information, of course, but chiding Job who had dared to question God’s motives… with the query ending not in a question mark, but with an exclamation point.

 There should be no doubt in Job’s mind that God is the Lord of Creation and that He has the power to do things which mere humans cannot explain. Such is true, also, (the Apostles are finding out) of the divine power possessed by Jesus. God the Father chides Job for questioning God’s mercy and love, and now God the Son chides His Apostles, asking, “Why are you terrified? Have you no faith?”

 In many instances in the Bible, the sea symbolizes a fearsome place of evil that only God can control. When called upon by the Apostles, the Lord says, immediately, “Quiet! Be still!” … the same words He uses to silence and expel demons, showing His mastery over not only nature itself, but over evil in its entirety.

 So, the Apostles’ question among themselves, “Who, then, is this…?" demonstrates a burgeoning recognition of the divinity of Christ, especially in His love, His mercy, and His power: in their discipleship as well as in the entirety of their lives.

 Saint Augustine says of this miracle: “To awaken Christ means to awaken your own faith, to recall what you believe. Remember your faith… waken Christ within you. Your faith will immediately still the frightening winds and waves [of your lives].”

 Now, to come to an understanding of how this Gospel event reveals God’s power to calm our lives, we juxtapose our three Readings in which we find:
 + in the First Reading: God the Father is the Lord of Creation
 + in the Gospel: God the Son holds command over Creation
 + and in the Second Reading, Saint Paul tells us that: in Christ we become a New Creation.

 If we can face the storms of life with Christ at our side, He will bring calm in the midst of these tempests — great or small — even though we may retain a “sinking feeling” that He is asleep in the hour of our need.

 Fear and anxiety, misfortune and calamity, are all real-life experiences, but so are peace and tranquility, calming and healing. If, in a moment of fear, confusion, disillusionment… or even terror… we call out to the Lord, who might seem asleep, disinterested, or even absent… His first reaction will likely be to say — not to the storm, but to our frightened souls — “Quiet!   Be still.”

 Further, He might not change the circumstances of our lives, but instead enter into them alongside us, with His divine power… to calm us and bring us the Grace needed to face the storms of life gracefully.

 The other shore may seem far away, our sailing vessels might continue to take on water, but the Lord will guide us masterfully — not to just “any port in a storm” — but to a safe harbor of peace where He will lovingly show us His saving power.