The Anchoress
A friend of mine is going to be ordained a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church next May. Right now he is taking a class in homiletics, and he’s been showing me some of his homily preparations. This one was so good, (and it is pegged to the readings for June 25th) that I asked him if I could post it here, and do so with his permission.
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– by Greg Kandra
In his offices a co-worker has hanging on his wall a print of a famous painting by Rembrandt, depicting the very scene described in today’s gospel.
A small boat is being tossed in a sea of surging waves. The disciples are panicked. A couple of them are leaning over the side, throwing up. And Jesus is sound asleep in the back.
This co-worker told me he keeps the picture on his wall as a reminder. “That’s our industry,” he said. “It’s never smooth, and you never know when the next wave is coming. You just have to ride it out.”
Yes, that’s our industry, alright. And that’s life. It’s never smooth sailing. We are always facing squalls and surges, winds and rain. Sometimes, it seems we are on the verge of sinking. And, of course, part of the point behind today’s scripture readings is the importance – the necessity — of trusting in God.
Whether we realize it or not, He is as much a part of the storm as the wind and the waves.
In the first reading, God addresses Job “out of the storm” – not from out of the sky, or some place apart, but from “out of the storm.” He is in it. And he reassures Job that He, God, is in control. “Here shall your proud waves be stilled.”
And then, in Mark’s gospel, Jesus stills “the proud waves” by being in the middle of them.
You’ll remember that he is in the stern of the boat –that’s the back, where someone steering the vessel would sit – and he is, incredibly, despite the storm, asleep. The disciples are scared to death, and wake him up. And once awakened, he gets up and calms the sea – and then wonders what all the fuss was about.
“Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
In the early days of the church, when Mark was writing, that was a good question. Christians were being rounded up, imprisoned, executed. The barque of Peter, their little boat, was constantly in danger of going under. Jesus’ words in the midst of the storm must have given persecuted Christians reason to hope. God was with them. The only thing they lacked…was faith.
“Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
We could ask ourselves the same question today, when we face the squalls in our own lives.
When a child is sick…or a job is in jeopardy…or when the bills can’t be paid…or a marriage is in trouble. The sea can surge and “the proud waves” can be about to drown us, and we feel helpless.
That’s when we tend to turn to God – only as a last resort, when we’re most desperate.
The writer Anne Lamott says the two most popular prayers are “Help, help, help” and “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
It’s the “help” prayer that gets the most use, I think.
God, help me get through this. Help me get a job. Help me pass this midterm. Help me find my keys. Help the doctor find out what’s wrong.
It is tempting to think, sometimes, that he isn’t listening, or that he’s abandoned us.
On November 10, 1975, a massive cargo ship was crossing Lake Superior in Michigan, when it hit a storm, and sank, with 29 men on board. That event was immortalized in a famous song: “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
In the middle of the song, there is a haunting lyric: “Does anyone know where the love of God goes… when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”
But the truth is: the love of God doesn’t go. The gospel today reminds us: he is with us. Waiting for us to call on Him…to turn to him. To awaken him.
“Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
Have faith. That is the point I want to leave you with today. Have faith. In every season, in every kind of weather. When the water is surging, when the wind is howling, when it seems we are about to be thrown into the water…remember what happened on the Sea of Galilee. And have faith.
Whatever happens, we will not be abandoned.
We will not be abandoned when our lives seem lost, when friendship is scarce, when we feel unloved … or unlovable. Hold fast. We will not be abandoned. Have faith.
When the money is running out, and the toilet is running over, and the car is running on its last fumes … and you’ve all but run out of hope…remember Christ’s question to his disciples. And have faith.
Have faith…because the God who created the storm is the same God who gave everything for us on the cross…and who remains with us, in the Eucharist we are about to receive. We should remind ourselves every day of God’s tender mercies, of His Real Presence…and his _continued_ presence…in every storm… and in every sunrise the morning after.
Remember what he has done. Remember what he can do.
No matter how terrifying the storm, somehow we will make it to the other side. Have faith.
Because ultimately, we are all in the same boat. And God is in here with us.
– Greg Kandra
Also by Greg Kandra: What Would Mary Do?
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