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Texts of the Readings
June 21,
2009
Twelfth
Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Betty Jane Lillie, S.C.
Job 38: 1, 8-11
X
Ps 107:23-26, 28-31
X 2 Cor 5:14-17 X
Mk 4:35-41
It may strike us as being a bit of
subtle humor that liturgical readings in Ordinary Time should be formed
around a theme of a squall. But in the end we may see it as more
ordinary than we thought at first.
In the Gospel reading Jesus and some of the disciples were
caught in a squall on the Lake of Galilee. Such a situation is not
unusual in that area. Some versions of the Bible present the disciples’
outcry as, “Lord save us; we are perishing.” That was not an exaggeration!
But in the face of that we need to keep the person of Jesus foremost in our
attention. Jesus’ response was twofold. To the squall he said, “Quiet! Be
still!” To the disciples he said, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet
have faith?”
What a surprise! It seemed to them to be perfectly reasonable
to fear for their lives! To Jesus it was all very simple: they did not yet
have faith! For them it was hard to know how to act in such a situation.
“Who is this whom even wind and sea obey?” The issue here is about the
identity of Jesus.
From this reading we can reflect back to the first reading from
the Book of Job. The Lord addressed Job out of a storm—sometimes translated
whirlwind. (RSV) That is often the setting for a theophany which is
a literary form that reveals a divine appearance. Our passage forms part of
one of God’s responses to Job. The whole speech is a background for the
Lord’s self-revelation in a sharp contrast between who Job thinks he is, and
who God knows who he himself is. It ends in a statement of very sharp
irony. If Job thought he had all the answers to the wonders God worked in
creation, then he surely must have been around when God created the world!
That would make the number of Job’s days very great! (Job 38:21) The
response of God was a sarcastic jibe to a man who in his bewilderment lost
the sense of what he was talking about! (Job 38:2)
Again the interchange points to the identity of God. Here also
God is in charge. Here also there is a call to faith. Job needs to recall
who God is, as well as who he himself is in God’s presence. Finally Job
assumed a humble stance before God and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. (Job
42)
Grasping the concept of who the Lord is requires the grace of
God. The idea of trusting in God’s care for us and putting difficulties in
his hands sometimes seems unreasonable. After all, we are in charge, aren’t
we? Or are we?
In our second reading Paul gives us a Christian context for
reflecting on our relationship with Christ. It is the love of Christ that
drives/impels us. Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. New things have
come. We no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us and was
raised. (2 Cor 5: 14-17)
The Psalmist wraps it up for us. Those who see the wondrous
works of the Lord and cry to the Lord in their trouble are glad when quiet
returns and thank the Lord for his steadfast love. (Ps 107)
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