12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - /2015 - Gospel: Mk 4:35-40
Reshaping
In order to reshape something new from an old item it needs to be broken or disjointed before it can be reshaped. The action is at the same time both destructive and constructive. It is the combination between dead and new life. For example after a bush fire new life arrives out of ashes and a new life brings freshness to the earth and it revegetates the regions where the fire went through.
The force of nature hopes to open our eyes to have a new insight about how small we are and how limited we are in the vastness of the universe. We are placed in the universe and sometimes we forget that we are smaller than a single grain of sand on a beach and yet our ambition is to explore something which is larger than the mind can hold.
Rocky waves do come to our lives and when it happens we have two choices to choose from. People with strong faith would turn to God in prayers for protection. In time of troubles they hold even firmer in God with hope and seek inspiration and strength to endure the situation and at the same time look for help from their fellowmen rescue efforts. The Apostles experienced that in time of troubles they made petition to God and with a simple command the force of nature obeyed God's voice. They were surprised that even the powerful force of nature listened to God's simple command. We know that human beings have no such power but with the help of technology experts in their field can make prediction before things happen and plan ahead for the rescue in the hope of reducing any possible fatalities. It is acceptable when an expert in a field fails to predict a natural disaster that is about to happen but when God answers not what we asked for we blame God for not caring of the human race. It happens because we place our will before God's.
People with strong faith in Jesus would have no trouble to accept miracles that exist in our world. Miracles happen to strengthen our faith in God but when there is no miracle our faith stands firm because faith has its foundation not on miracles but on Jesus. We believe that our life on earth is a transitional one and the way in which God calls each person to God should not determine by us but we should place our trust in God's loving care and mercy. It is not our will but God's will be done as Jesus teaches us in The Lord's prayer. We all love to live a joyful and long life on earth and that is our will but besides our own will and wants we need to respect God's will who creates us and calls us into being and design our lives according to God's goodness and mercy.
Jesus was calm on the boat when the storm came simply because Jesus had the utmost trust in God. When the storms come to our lives we too learn from Jesus, trusting in God and acknowledging that the rocky waves that disturb us will calm and through it wisdom opens our eyes to see God's will unfold and we respond accordingly in faith and hope and with gratitude.
The force of nature hopes to open our eyes to have a new insight about how small we are and how limited we are in the vastness of the universe. We are placed in the universe and sometimes we forget that we are smaller than a single grain of sand on a beach and yet our ambition is to explore something which is larger than the mind can hold.
Rocky waves do come to our lives and when it happens we have two choices to choose from. People with strong faith would turn to God in prayers for protection. In time of troubles they hold even firmer in God with hope and seek inspiration and strength to endure the situation and at the same time look for help from their fellowmen rescue efforts. The Apostles experienced that in time of troubles they made petition to God and with a simple command the force of nature obeyed God's voice. They were surprised that even the powerful force of nature listened to God's simple command. We know that human beings have no such power but with the help of technology experts in their field can make prediction before things happen and plan ahead for the rescue in the hope of reducing any possible fatalities. It is acceptable when an expert in a field fails to predict a natural disaster that is about to happen but when God answers not what we asked for we blame God for not caring of the human race. It happens because we place our will before God's.
People with strong faith in Jesus would have no trouble to accept miracles that exist in our world. Miracles happen to strengthen our faith in God but when there is no miracle our faith stands firm because faith has its foundation not on miracles but on Jesus. We believe that our life on earth is a transitional one and the way in which God calls each person to God should not determine by us but we should place our trust in God's loving care and mercy. It is not our will but God's will be done as Jesus teaches us in The Lord's prayer. We all love to live a joyful and long life on earth and that is our will but besides our own will and wants we need to respect God's will who creates us and calls us into being and design our lives according to God's goodness and mercy.
Jesus was calm on the boat when the storm came simply because Jesus had the utmost trust in God. When the storms come to our lives we too learn from Jesus, trusting in God and acknowledging that the rocky waves that disturb us will calm and through it wisdom opens our eyes to see God's will unfold and we respond accordingly in faith and hope and with gratitude.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia