Time To Silence And Quiet The Storm

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of Nativity of Mary, Bloomington, MN

Sunday, June 20, 2021

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. They keep us sleepless at night. In extreme situation they can 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?” These storms can come in different fashions. Sometimes they come unannounced and when we least expect them. No matter one’s status in life, storms are unavoidable. When you are confronted by the difficulties of life, how you handle it is important. If handled wrongly, it can lead to another storm thereby multiplying the person’s misery. This is the reason why some people go through life carrying all forms of storms without any end in sight.

In today’s Gospel (Mark 4: 35-41), Jesus is “crossing to the other side” with his disciples. As the boat sails, a violent storm erupts and threatens their lives. As this is happening, Jesus is asleep on a cushion. Out of fear, his disciples wakes him up and say, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus wakes up, gets up and speaks with authority to the sea: “Quiet! Be still!”  Immediately, there was a great calm. He then turns to his disciples and asks, “Why are you terrified? Do you not have faith?” Still wrapped with shock and awe, the disciples exclaim: “Who then is this whom even the sea and wind obey him?”

This gospel passage teaches that even when Jesus is in your life, in your relationships, in your marriage, in your job, studies, ministry, families, business, vocation etc. problems can still occur. Even with him accompanying us on our journey, we are still going to experience the storms of life. With Jesus in your life, the wind could still turn violent, and you can still be exposed to danger. You can still be in trouble. The difficulties of life can still come. Your spouse may still hurt you. Your son or daughter may still betray you. Even when we are riding with the Lord, it is still possible to lose a job. With Jesus in the boat of our life, health can still fail sometimes, business can still be slow at times. You might even lose your retirement and 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 may still experience a foreclosure of your house. Even with Jesus in your life raising your children and having to pay for their tuition and other expenses can still be tough. None of us is immune to the adverse effects of the plundering and exploitation of nature. 

Our attitude to the challenges of life is what is going to distinguish us from non-believers and faint believers. The disciples’ journey to the other side is our journey. The life of a believer is that traveling to the other side— heaven. 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. Storms are part of human life. From time to time we will experience them in different fashions and forms. When they come, there are basically two opposite reactions: Fear or Faith. True believers lean on faith; they are not totally destabilized. When the violent winds of life begin to blow, they remain calm because they know they have a very big God who is always standing by their side. As humans, they are likely going to experience and express some fear, but due to their faith in God, they are able to make a quick transition from fear to faith. Non-believers and faint-believers, on the other hand, are overwhelmed and crippled by fear. FEAR is False Evidence About Reality. Prolong fear can make us doubt the power of God to save us from our situation. Satan loves people of fear. In fear and out of fear, we can easily do something that radically goes against our beliefs and values. But persons of faith remain calm and prayerful. Like the disciples, they go to Jesus in prayer. After their initial experience of shock, or anger or fear at what has happened, they begin to call upon the Lord for rescue. They call in faith, in expectant faith.

Dearest beloved, what is your present situation? Are you sick? Have the doctors written you off? Have they concluded that you are not going to live again? Have they given you the month, date, and year to die? Did you lose your job? Are the storms of life blowing so violently that you are almost being blown away? Is your business going south? I urge you to turn to Jesus. Do not turn away from him. When the disciples called out to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” he got up, and rebuked the wind: “Quiet! Be still!” Stop keeping silent. Speak out to the One the sea and wind obeyed. Go to Jesus and call out to him. Break that silence. Stop hiding and crying in the secret corners of your house. Stop speaking to the wrong people. Speak to Jesus. Instead of suffering in silence, you can silence the aggressive winds of life. Silence and quiet the storms that threaten to upend your life by going and speaking to Jesus. Don’t suffer alone!