HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II. 30.06-2020.

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Readings: Amos 3:1-8. 4:11-12; Psalm 5:5-8 and Matthew 8:23-27. 

SAVE US LORD, WE ARE PERISHING. 

 

We celebrated yesterday the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul as our ancestors in faith. The liturgy of today present to us the little faith of the apostles, how their faith was shaken to its foundation by the great storm as they cried for help, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” As storms make trees takes deep roots, in the face of anxiety and danger, God saves those who put their faith and trust in Him.

 

The Gospel present to us that Christ was asleep when the disciples were terrified of the great storm. It must have seemed strange to them that Christ could sleep in the midst of such a great tempest, as the boat was swamped by the waves. It convey a “dramatic contrast”; the storm raged, the disciples panicked, “But He was asleep.” We are impressed by the fact that He needed to sleep, showing His true humanity. He became tired and would sometimes need to catch sleep wherever He was able to, even in unlikely places. “It was the sleep of one worn by an intense life, involving constant strain on body and mind. We know what it is, when great storm presses heavily on us, the tendency of having sleepless night is there, just like the case of the disciples, but Christ, not only needed sleep, but also could sleep in the storm, he was not restless, He was at peace even in the storm.

 

The phenomenon of the storm is well known to us, it brings panic; it brings fear. That was why Christ asked the disciples, “Why are you afraid, oh men of little faith?” Why will Christ respond this way when His disciples were frightened and called for help? Dear friends in Christ, Is not the case that He was unhappy that they woke Him from His peaceful sleep in the storm that made him reacted that way. His reaction was first to their fears and unbelief and later reacted to the storm. He spoke to the men first, for they were the most difficult to deal with, and later spoke to the storm. They were with Him and were afraid. Invariably, they have not trusted Him enough. They actually have many reasons to have great faith in Him; they had seen Him do significant miracles, showing great power and authority. They had seen an example of great faith with the centurion who trusted Christ to heal his servant; they had Christ with them in the boat, and they saw Him sleep; His peace should have given them peace but they were fearful. When we trust God as we should trust Him, there is little or no room left for fear, for Christ as conquered fear, and the greatest fear of man is death, which He did conquer on the cross.

 

After rebuking the fears of His disciples, He rebuked the storm and the storm obeyed Him. Dearest friends, our faith in providence and our trust in Christ can help us survive storms and disturbances and not be driven to despair. We all have storms that confronts us, and our present storm for now is the corona virus that has shook the faith of many Christian, but I urge you all to put your faith in Christ in the midst of this turbulence, for the storm will not last forever. Not all storm come to disrupt our lives, some come to clear our path. When we come out of the storm, we will not be the same person who walked in. That is what the storm is about: it makes us strong. May the good Lord give us the grace to sail peacefully with Him, even in the midst of storms that confronts us through Christ our Lord. Amen! Peace be with you!

 

Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ