First reading Job 38:1,8-11
From the heart of the tempest the Lord gives Job his answer
From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer. He said:
Who pent up the sea behind closed doors
when it leapt tumultuous out of the womb,
when I wrapped it in a robe of mist
and made black clouds its swaddling bands;
when I marked the bounds it was not to cross
and made it fast with a bolted gate?
Come thus far, I said, and no farther:
here your proud waves shall break.
Responsorial Psalm 106(107):23-26,28-32
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
Alleluia.
They who sailed the sea in ships,
trading on the deep waters,
These saw the works of the LORD
and his wonders in the abyss.
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
Alleluia.
His command raised up a storm wind
which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
their hearts melted away in their plight.
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
Alleluia.
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
and the billows of the sea were stilled.
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
Alleluia.
They rejoiced that they were calmed,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
Alleluia.
Second reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
We do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh
The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them.
From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.
Gospel Mark 4:35-41
‘Even the wind and the sea obey him’
With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’
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Why are you frightened?
“They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are lost!”. The disciples of Jesus feared that their boat might sink due to the heavy storm. When trials of life surround us, haven’t we cried out to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care? Why are you not helping me?” We feel as though there is no way out from the overwhelming waves of problems. While the disciples were struggling with their fears, Jesus peacefully slept in the boat. His action of sleeping in the middle of a storm conveys to us that His inner peace as He slept on in the storm came from His faith that God the Father was with Him.
“Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? Have you still no faith?”. The disciples were afraid because they looked at the waves and forgot that Jesus was with them in the boat. Today, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not be engrossed in our problems to the point that we feel overwhelmed with stress and hopelessness. With Him in our boats, He will give us the inner peace we need.
Reflective question:
What strikes me the most as I pray with today’s gospel?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
