Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
As I was reading today’s Gospel, I imagined its scene: the big storm, the boat being tossed about and filling up with water, Jesus sleeping, the disciples rushing to Jesus and waking him up, and then Jesus calming down the storm. The evangelist Mark wasted no time in telling us the good news that the kingdom of God is bursting into human life by showing us Jesus’ power over nature.
Perhaps our spiritual life is like this boat, small and vulnerable to the storms of life. Like the boat, do we make space for Jesus to rest within us? Then in the downs and tumultuous times, do we go to Jesus and ask him to calm them? On the other hand, are we terrified like the disciples? Do we have a faith strong enough to withstand whatever life throws at us?
In the first reading, David seems to be a person whose faith in God was strong enough to help him weather the storms of life. When the prophet Nathan helped David realize the sin of his affair with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, David repented right away. A strong faith is seen in the return to God and, as today’s Responsorial Psalm indicates, in finding joy in God and helping others return to God.
I would like to conclude my reflection with this prayer. I feel that it can be helpful to us as we make it through life’s challenges.
God, oh God, it is you I seek.
And, with your constant loving support
I will even try to seek you in lost causes,
those dark and forgotten places that I can't imagine you present.
And yet you are there.
Help me to be there too,
seeking, finding, proclaiming your goodness
even as the day darkens
and my spirit draws back to my false safety of self.
Fill me with wonder of your goodness,
replacing my self doubt with confidence
in you and your sure and steady help.- Author Unknown
-Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI