The Storms of Life

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily of the 12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Holy Names of Jesus & Mary Catholic Church

Memphis, TN, USA

June 21, 2009

The storms of life simply speaking are those things that inconvenience us. They are those life’s experiences that bring us to tears. They trouble us and sometimes can lead to a loss of interest in life itself. The storms of life keep us sleepless at night. In extreme situation they lead some people to depression. They are those life’s experiences that make people ask questions like “God, where are you?” “God, why me?” Lord, why must I suffer?” “God, have you abandoned me?” The storms of life can come in different fashions. Sometimes they come unannounced and when we least expect them. These storms of life can be emotional, psychological, spiritual, material etc. No matter one’s state of life, storms are unavoidable. From time to time, we experience one form of storm or the other. Some people even experience more than one storm at the same time. When one is confronted by the storms of life, how he or she handles it will go a long away in determining how long the storm will last. If handled wrongly, it can lead to another storm thereby multiplying the person’s misery. This is the reason why many people go through life carrying all forms of storms without any end in sight.

Dearest beloved, I want you to mark this: no one goes through life without any storm. The storms of life are part and parcel of our human life. Jesus never promised us a stormless or a painless way of life. The Lord himself had his own storms. As a matter of fact, his started from childhood. He was born in a manger; he was born in a place of animals. As an infant, he was a target for destruction by Herod. Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt for his safety. Besides, Jesus was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His foster-father, Joseph was a poor carpenter. Jesus was born in poverty. Like poor children from poor backgrounds, he experienced hardship and lack. As an adult, he was even more vulnerable. Despite the huge crowd that followed him daily, Jesus knew he was exposed to danger. The religious leaders never liked him. As an adult, Jesus was hungry. He had his own storms of life. And he never promised his followers a storm free life. He knew that life would be rough and tough for us. For in his own life he had experienced the roughness and the toughness of life. But he has a message for us. In Gospel of Matthew 11: 28-30, Jesus says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” From the above quotation, our Lord acknowledges the weariness and the burdens that there are in life. He therefore invites us to come to him and learn from him for he is gentle and humble in heart. Even after coming to him, he did not say it is going to be a pain free life. But coming to him would obviously make a huge difference in our life. Jesus says “You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is life.” With Jesus in our life, the yoke will be easy and the burden will be light. With Jesus in our life, the storms of life will be easy and light. With Jesus in our life, even with the presence of storms, we will not be defeated. With Jesus in our life, the storms of life will not overwhelm us. With Jesus in our life, we will not be crushed and obliterated by the painful wind of life. With Jesus in your life, whatever may be the storm in your life, you will always have a companion. Jesus will accompany you in the journey and lighten the weight of the burden and refresh you when you need it. Scripture says “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” I add, the strength of the Lord will be your joy.

In today’s Gospel taken from Mark 4: 35-41, Jesus was “crossing to the other side” with his disciples. As the boat sails, a violent storm came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. But Jesus was fast asleep. Having worked all day, he became tired and dozed off. Terribly afraid of the situation, the disciples yelled at Jesus “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” The Lord’s smooth sleep has been disturbed. So he woke up and rebuked the wind “Quiet! Be still!” As soon as he said that there was great calm again. Jesus now turned to his disciples and asked “Why are you terrified? Do you not have faith?” Filled with shock and awe, the disciples wondered and said to one another, “Who then is this that even the sea and wind obey him?”

Great event Brethren! Great story, dearest beloved! With Jesus in our life, with Jesus in our journey, with Jesus in our relationships, with Jesus in your marriage, with Jesus in your job, with Jesus in your studies, with Jesus in my ministry and in religious life, with Jesus in our families, with Jesus in your business, with Jesus in our vocation, with Jesus accompanying us in life, the storms will still come. With Jesus in our life, the wind could still turn violent. With Jesus journeying with us, we can still be exposed to danger. We can still be in trouble. With Jesus in your life, the difficulties of life would still come. Your spouse can still betray you; he or she can still be unfaithful. Your son or daughter can still misbehave. With Jesus in your life, it is still possible to lose your job. With Jesus in her life, the young lady over there could still find it hard to find a life-partner. The man out there could still suffer from heartbreak because his lover walked out of his life. With Jesus in your life, health can still fail you sometimes. With Jesus in your life, business can be slow at times. You might even lose your life-benefit and would have to begin afresh. Your credit card company can still overcharge you; the money you pay for your health insurance can still double up; you can still experience a foreclosure of your house. With Jesus in your life, raising your children and having to pay for their tuition and other expenses can still be tough. With Jesus in your life, you are still not immune to the adverse effects of the current global financial crisis that started here in America.

Our attitude to the storms of life is what distinguishes us from non-believers and faint believers. The disciples’ journey to other side is our journey. Their experience is our experience. They had Jesus with them, yet there was storm. We have Jesus with us too and there are storms also. If you have never experienced any, wait for your turn. The storms are part of our life; from time to time we will experience them in different fashions and forms. When the storms come, there are basically two opposite reactions: Fear and Faith. A true believer leans on faith; he is not totally destabilized. When the violent wind of life begins to blow, he remains calm because he knows he has a very big God who is always standing by his side. For a non-believer and a faint-believer, fear easily creeps in. Fear is false evidence about reality. Fear makes you doubt the power of God to save you from your situation. Satan loves people of fear. In fear and out of fear, we can easily do something that radically goes against our belief and value. But the person of faith remains calm and prayerful. Like the disciples, he goes to Jesus in prayer. But unlike the disciples, he does not call upon the Lord in fear. He calls out to the Lord he believes in. He calls in faith; he calls in expectant faith.

Dearest beloved, what is your present situation now? Are you sick? Have the doctors written you off? Have they concluded that you not going to live again? Have they given you the month, date, and year to die? Have you already lost your job? Are you worried and troubled by anything? Are the storms of life blowing so violently that you are almost being blown away? I urge you right now to run to Jesus (RTJ- Run To Jesus). Do not run away from Jesus; run to Jesus. Remember what he did when the disciples called out to him “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Today’s gospel says he woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea “Quiet! Be still!” When you run to Jesus, he will speak the same words to your troubles “Quiet! Be still!” You will experience calm and peace again. The violent storms threatening to destroy you will cease. What is your storm? Do not let that storm destroy you. Stop keeping silent. Speak out to the One whose words are obeyed even by sea and wind. Run to Jesus and speak out. Break that silence; stop hiding and crying in the secret corners of your house. Instead of being quiet, let the storms of your life be quiet. By the time Jesus is done with you, you will sing:

What manner of man is Jesus that even the sea and wind obey him? What manner of man is Jesus that even the storms of my life fled in obedience to him?