GOSPEL: Mk 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
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In the muzzling of the storm, comparison to the God of Israel who is the Lord of history and nature cannot be avoided. There are cosmic overtones in the account. Jesus “rebukes” the wind as he would the demons; the wind and sea are “living forces” that are subdued by Jesus with his sovereign word of command.
“Who then is this?” is the question not just of the disciples but of all believers. It is a question that invites a response of faith. In subduing the angry sea, as we are told, Jesus is the living Lord. What is true of the God of Israel is also true of him. With Jesus in the midst of the believers, there is nothing to fear from dangers of nature and other “storms” of life.
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SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632895-7328; E-mail: publishing@ stpauls.ph; Website: http:// www.stpauls.ph.
