The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to combat the fears in our lives by living in the Spirit of Love as we encounter storms on our journey.
Leading to peaceful waters
(January 7 is the Memorial of St. André Bessette in Canada.) The reading from the First Letter of John proclaims the centrality of God’s Love in the Christian Life.
[4:13–21] The testimony of the Spirit and that of faith join the testimony of love to confirm our knowledge of God. Our love is grounded in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God and the example of God’s love for us. Christian life is founded on the knowledge of God as love and on his continuing presence that relieves us from fear of judgment (1 Jn 4:16–18). What Christ is gives us confidence, even as we live and love in this world. Yet Christian love is not abstract but lived in the concrete manner of love for one another.1
Psalm 72 is a prayer for guidance and support for the King.
[Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus walks on the water.
[6:50] It is I, do not be afraid!: literally, “I am.” This may reflect the divine revelatory formula of Ex 3:14; Is 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1–3, 10, 13. Mark implies the hidden identity of Jesus as Son of God.3
Andy Alexander, S.J. shares that this is a wonderful day to ask for the grace to let God's love into our hearts and to let that love drive fear away.
In the gospel, there's a storm at sea. Pope Francis, at the beginning of the pandemic turned to this passage and reminded us that while we are all "at sea, in a storm," we are in the same boat, with Jesus. Whatever sea tosses us around, whatever storm threatens our security, whatever fear begins to take hold of us. Jesus is there to say, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" Our role is to be open to, to ask for, to trust and rely on that love. We can choose to live in his love and to let his love drive out our fear. Then, we will have courage and be freer and more centered and readied to calm the stormy seas others are facing, because we know he is with us always.4
Don Schwager quotes “The wind was against them,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD).
"Meanwhile the boat carrying the disciples - that is, the church - is rocking and shaking amid the storms of temptation, while the adverse wind rages on. That is to say, its enemy the devil strives to keep the wind from calming down. But greater is he who is persistent on our behalf, for amid the vicissitudes of our life he gives us confidence. He comes to us and strengthens us, so we are not jostled in the boat and tossed overboard. For although the boat is thrown into disorder, it is still a boat. It alone carries the disciples and receives Christ. It is in danger indeed on the water, but there would be certain death without it. Therefore stay inside the boat and call upon God. When all good advice fails and the rudder is useless and the spread of the sails presents more of a danger than an advantage, when all human help and strength have been abandoned, the only recourse left for the sailors is to cry out to God. Therefore will he who helps those who are sailing to reach port safely, abandon his church and prevent it from arriving in peace and tranquility?" (excerpt from SERMON 75.4)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:45-52 comments that sometimes we are like those disciples: we don’t understand what God is doing or why. Maybe we don’t notice him working in a situation, and we start to doubt whether we can count on him. Or perhaps we don’t realize how much we need him when we’re in a storm. But Jesus knows our limitations. Instead of getting annoyed with us and distancing himself, he gets into our boat—not only into the specific situation but into our feelings and thoughts as well.
What might it look like when God gets into your boat? Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed one morning at the thought of all you have to accomplish that day. But then you come to prayer, and you experience a deep sense of peace. Or perhaps you can’t understand why one of your children seems to resent you. But then God helps you understand why your child is feeling that way, and you realize your need to reconcile. Or you and your spouse might be disagreeing about an important issue, but then Jesus opens your heart to see things from his or her point of view. Jesus wants to get into your boat. He wants to encourage you and support you when you’re struggling to understand. He wants to come alongside you, just as he did his first disciples. So today, invite him in, and be open to how he might want to reveal himself to you. “Jesus, thank you for getting into my boat with me. Come more deeply into my heart and life today.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments that when we know the Spirit of Love in our hearts we will witness to Jesus as a sign of that Love. The peaceful waters in the “nature miracle” of the Gospel allude to Psalm 23. Friar Jude notes that the disciples in the Gospel of Mark misunderstood Jesus until the Cross and Resurrection.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that healthy religion gives us a foundational sense of awe. It re-enchants an otherwise empty universe. It gives people a universal reverence toward all things. Only with such reverence do we find confidence and coherence. Only then does the world become a safe home. Then we can see the reflection of the divine image in the human, in the animal, in the entire natural world—which has now become inherently “supernatural.”
Instead of nurturing awe, reconnection, and awakening, I’m sorry to say that today we have a lot of ideological hysteria and junk religion—on both the left and the right. Junk religion is similar to junk food because it only satisfies enough to gratify the momentary desire but does not really feed the intellect or the heart. Junk religion is usually characterized by fear of the present and fear of the future. What we experience when people have really met God is that there is no fear of the present because it is always full. There’s no fear of the future because a loving God is in charge. There’s no fear of the past because it has been healed and forgiven. Then people do not use God to avoid reality or to fabricate a private, self-serving reality. They let God lead them into the fullness of Reality; not away from dilemmas and paradoxes, but right onto the horns of the human dilemma!7
Our Life in the Spirit reveals Love as the nature of God and our path to service, surrender, and fearlessness in accord with God’s will.
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