Through Faith We Have Access to Solutions Beyond Our Imagination

INTRO

Good afternoon!

When I start reflecting on this gospel. I thought - this is an easy gospel to preach about. The story is simple - Jesus shows his mighty power by calming the force of nature. It didn’t take long to see into it a much deeper meaning. The main question that I had was - How can it be that the disciples accepted Jesus’s invitation and then they got in a storm? And became afraid? They are following Jesus, doing His will, traveling with Him in the same boat! What can go wrong?

The disciples became afraid of the storm. I have noticed that when I become afraid it is because I don’t think that I am going to be ok.

YOU

Have you ever had the thought? I am not going to be ok. 

ME

I have, and more than one time. Back in December 2015 I heard that the diaconate class was about to start. With great enthusiasm Lorel and I started the application process. As you might know the wife has to sign off on it too! My application was turned in after the deadline and by the grace of God I was accepted in the discernment class. I was super happy and filled with joy - I felt that I was in the boat with Jesus, safe and secure to navigate with Him.

Until I received an email from Dcn Morris who was leading the discernment group to confirm my phone number and attendance for the January meeting. All of the sudden a major storm started inside me - What in the world am I doing? Me? Diaconate formation?

It was so strong that Dc Morris almost gave up reaching out to me because I could not even reply to a simple email.

By the grace of God Lorel and I arrived at the first discernment meeting and by the end of the morning a great peace came all over me. This is a great place to be. The storm was quieted down as I got closer to Jesus and His ministry.

YOU

Have you ever had a similar experience? You think that you are being faithful, navigating life with Jesus in the boat with Him and the storm still comes? Fear and anxiety come?

GOD

In today’s gospel the disciples are invited to get in the boat and cross to the other side of the sea of Galilee. Notice that they were open to the invitation without any resistance. They were open to follow God’s will expressed through Jesus’s invitation. During the navigation a strong wind and a storm came and started shaking the boat, the waves filled the boat with water and the disciples were afraid that they were not going to be ok, that they might die. Consider, that many of the disciples were expert fishermen, they had sailed through those waters many times. Jesus was a carpenter, not a fisherman. Even though they were expert sailors they reached out to Jesus because they knew that he could make things better. As soon as they did Jesus rebuked the storm and the wind and a great calm came about. We can probably imagine that the disciples also experienced great calm in their heart - now they knew that they were going to be ok. 

In a moment of terror and fear the disciples knew where to seek a solution for the scary storm. They had Jesus right there and they reached out to Him. They didn't try to continue to fix the problem on their own, by their own strength and skills. 

Through Faith we have access to solutions that we can't even imagine or understand.

As for my story, I wouldn't have ever imagined that at the end of my first discernment meeting a tremendous peace would fall over me. It wasn’t even in my wildest thoughts of possibilities. 

In a similar way,  the disciples too remained in awe of Jesus calming the storm and calming their hearts full of fear.

There is a line that connects my story to the story of the disciples in the boat. We both walked towards Jesus. I walked towards the diaconate meeting and responded to God’s call. The disciples stepped toward Jesus in the boat asking for help.

We both didn’t know that we would have found peace - we couldn't even imagine it. The same might be true for you.

Keep God close, where you can always go to Him in the storm. Seek first the Kingdom of God! God’s solutions and miracles come to us in many different ways. Sometimes it is physical healing from a disease, sometimes it is power over the force of nature. Other times the miracle comes as acceptance. Finding peace to accept a situation that seems unbearable to us by our own strength.

God will always be close to us in a storm. He calms the suffering but even when he doesn’t, he remains with us to accompany us side by side, strengthening us, giving us courage, purpose and acceptance.

YOU

Do you keep God nearby? That you can turn to Him at any given time?

Today you and I are here, gathered together in this boat, navigating life and we have Jesus with us. We are here because we know from scriptures that miracles are possible for those who walked towards Jesus and keep him close to them. 

The blind gained sight, the paralyzed walked, the afflicted rejoiced, the sinner was transformed into a brighter life. We profess it in the Creed each Sunday that we believe in such power when we say - “I believe in one God the Father almighty …”

WE

While we don’t understand everything and how at times it seems that prayers are not answered, we know that miracles are real and they have changed people’s lives. This is why we are here to receive the Eucharist. 

In a few minutes Jesus will be close to you - receive Him, and become the new creation that trusts in God.