GOD OF POWER AND MIGHT.

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June 23, 2024.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B.

Readings: Jb 38:1, 8-11; Ps 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31; 2Cor 5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41.

“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” Mk 4:41

A Klingon proverb says: “Real power is in the heart.” A Turkish proverb adds: “Fear does not empty tomorrow of its sadness; it empties today of its power.”

Psalm 46:7 could easily serve as an introduction to our meditation today. The Psalmist, amid all his threads and adversities, sings with great assurance and confidence: "Yahweh Sabaoth is with us, our citadel, the God of Jacob." He assured the people that he who finds his refuge in the Lord fears nothing. No trouble, no adversity can make him lose heart. This assurance of the Psalmist is also what we say in our opening prayer. God never deprives of his guidance; those he sets on the foundation of his love.

God has power over everything. He is the one who created and formed all things. And all depends on his will, and nothing can resist him, not even the powers and forces of the Sea.

Our first reading and the Gospel meet on one point to talk of the Sea. The sea is before all an amazing proof of how amazing God is. But it also symbolizes the abode of the evil spirits and malefic powers. Nevertheless, God has power over them all because he is the one who formed the ocean and sets it firm over the earth.

In the first reading, to the troubled and somewhat hopeless Job, the Lord asks: "Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?" As to remind him that God's power is beyond and above every situation he goes through. Though life might seem hard and our problems look unsolvable, we should never lose sight of God's power. As goes the saying, do not tell God how big your problems are. Rather tell your problems how great your God is.

Jesus in the Gospel demonstrates the greatness of God. We are given the image of a Lord Jesus who has power over everything, a Jesus who dominates all other powers and principalities, even the evil forces that govern the sea. Just a word from him, “Quiet! Be still!”, and the sea and the storm obey. Our Lord is the God of power and might. His words are powerful. They have the power to silence the waters and to keep still the storms. These words remind us of the many scenes of Jesus exorcising devils and the people who were possessed.

Besides the display of power, another great lesson we get from the Gospel is that if the Lord is in the boat of our lives, there should not be room for fear. Was he not the one who commanded the disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” He did not tell them that they would sink. He did not tell them that they were going to die. He just said, “Let us cross to the other side.” Even if he seems asleep we should not fear. Enough to know he is with us. His presence should be our hope of glory.

Oftentimes, when passing through tribulations and hardships, we think the Lord is asleep, that he sees not our pains, that he cares not. What God asks instead is faith in him. To set our trust firmly rooted in him. For, who trusts in the Lord fears no evil. He knows his God is powerful beyond everything and every evil spirit.

If we truly believe in the Lord, we will know that his love impels and us to have faith in him. With such faith, we “come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.” Christ has died and is risen so that all who believe in him, not only should live through him, but also no longer be subjected to evil spirits. We get to the truth that our Lord has power over all things. He has power over death and all forces. In Christ Jesus, we all have become a new creation. Our fears, doubts, uncertainties, and lack of confidence have all been taken away. Jesus has made us new in him. We thus, live through him and in him.

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