Lectionary readings
First reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24
Responsorial psalm: Ps 91(92):2-3, 13-16
Second reading: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
Link to readings
This week’s readings reveal a God with power. As God’s creatures, the forces of nature listen to and obey the voice of their Creator. Though the storms of fear and doubt may have played more significant roles in our lives during this past year, God’s love continues to speak to us with words of calm, as it did to Job (First Reading).
It is the love of Christ, not the storm, which ‘overwhelms us’ (Second Reading). This love is shown in the Gospel, when Jesus ‘rebukes the wind’ and the wind and waves obey. He is revealing something about his divine nature. ‘Who can this be?’ the disciples are led to ask as they are filled with awe. Their question may also be seeking a faith response in us as well.
Let’s begin to ponder our own responses with the help of these scripture passages. Although we may yet be experiencing storms blowing around and within us, let’s listen for that strong, yet calm voice, which brings with it peace and security. We may want to pray that the voice of the psalmist may echo throughout our lives in the coming week: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever’.
PSALM 106 (107)
R./ O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.
Some sailed to the sea in ships
to trade on the mighty waters.
They have seen the Lord’s deeds,
the wonders he does in the deep.
For he spoke; he summoned the gale,
tossing the waves of the sea up to heaven and back into the deep;
their soul melted away in their distress.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper:
all the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced because of the calm
and he led them to the haven they desired.
Let them thank the Lord for his love,
the wonders he does for them.
REFLECTION
If I am feeling tossed this way and that at the moment – like those in the storm – it may be difficult to wait for stillness and calm. But I try to be patient. I ask for the help of the Holy Spirit that I might be hushed. Perhaps I could also ask for the grace to recognise the wonders of the Lord in my life.
When ready, I read the text a few times – what am I noticing? To where am I being drawn? I take my time with this. Are the words ‘mighty waters’, ‘gale’, and ’storm’ saying something to me? Perhaps I’m feeling small, swamped, forgotten? I speak to the Lord ... What about ‘haven’, ‘whisper’, ‘rescued’, ‘led’? Again, I ponder and then open my heart to the Lord ...
During the first lockdown, an image was frequently shared showing Christ in the midst of a storm, reaching out to us. Below were the words: ‘Focus on me, not on the storm’. How am I being invited to do that through the readings of today’s liturgy? Do I have a sense of God who is more than willing to enter the storms of my life and be with me?
I stay with what is rising in my heart, and share that with the Lord. When ready I end with ‘Glory be to the Father …’
GOSPEL
Mark 4: 35–41
With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened?
How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’
REFLECTION
Taking note of how I am feeling, I move gently into prayer. I pay attention to what I can hear around me – perhaps there is a gale blowing, or maybe all is calm. What can I ‘hear’ within myself? Do I feel unsettled, agitated? I ask for the Spirit’s help and, perhaps, for the grace to trust or for the gift of faith.
I read this very familiar gospel slowly, two or three times. I stop wherever I feel drawn. What am I particularly noticing today? Are there any questions surfacing for me? Perhaps I am struggling with a particular storm in my life at the moment. Or is there something I am afraid of? I ponder….
Jesus questions the disciples’ fear and their lack of faith. What might he be asking of me today? How does this make me feel? As I continue to pray, I ask: How might this gospel account apply to me? Do I feel that the Lord is asleep sometimes, and I need to wake him? Can I be honest with him?
In the calm following the storm, the disciples are filled with awe. This leads them to a question of their own: ‘Who can this be?’ Perhaps I ponder their question myself.
Can I recall times when struggles have led me to a greater realisation of God’s presence? ... a deeper understanding of who the Lord is? I remain alongside the Lord, in the calm and the quiet, happy to be with him. When ready, I end with a sign of the cross.
I remain in God’s love for me and end my prayer slowly: Our Father ...
Prepared by St Beuno’s Outreach in the Diocese of Wrexham