12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deacon Tim's Column 6-21-09
On this 12th Sunday in ordinary time our Gospel selection (from Mark) is a familiar one. Towards evening Jesus tells his disciples that they should all cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Because of the winds coming down the mountains surrounding the Sea of Galilee the effect on the waters would produce large waves. If you have ever been on a lake or near a lake when a storm blew up you know how fearsome that can be. Couple this with the darkness starting to fall and you have the scenario described in the Gospel. The waves were breaking over the boat (the boat used by the fishermen on the lake were sturdy enough but not built to resist more than the normal waves) to the point that it was taking on water. Through it all though, Jesus was sleeping. Immediately before this calming of the sea in Mark's version of the Gospel, Jesus had been preaching, teaching and curing those with afflictions. The scribes and Pharisees had been very vocal in opposing him to the pint that Jesus refuted their arguments. No wonder he was tired and could sleep through a storm. Jesus had faith though. After the disciples awakened him in terror (and who can blame them) Jesus asks "Do you not yet have faith?" This wasn't really a rebuke but a way for Jesus to try to help them cross over from fear to faith. I wonder how many times Christ asks us "Do you not yet have faith?" Life becomes so much easier if we just trust in the Lord. It takes a while to get to the pint where we have complete trust in Christ. You don't have to be a saint to achieve this. This building up of trust takes time, sometimes it takes an entire lifetime. Dr. Max Wisha, the head of the U of M Cancer Center said that people who have faith in God in General have a better response to the treatment, handle it better (the chemotherapy and radiation) and have a longer survival rate. The more we place our trust in the Lord, the more peaceful we become. I know that it's become a trite prase but it is very true, "when one door closes, God opens another for us." We have to keep reminding ourselves that God is the ultimate parent, all loving, all caring and all compassionate. When we place our full faith and trust in God we can accomplish anything and we can attain a tremendous amount of serenity. This faith entails not just trusting, but also listening. Whatever we need (the emphasis is on need, not want) God will give it to us. God directs us if we are cooperative. I don't mean that God plays us like puppets but he does let us know what direction we should proceed in, sometimes very subtly. As I think back over my life I can see God's hand in things. Almost seven years ago when the PBJ Outreach was started, one of my concerns was money. Would we have enough for the week. Would we have enough for next week. These were legitimate concerns I thought. I also wondered if this (the PBJ) was the right thing to do. Since we started off small, operating on a shoestring budget, God made me aware of what he wanted. We had a single jar in church. The first week we needed $ 95.00 to provide the food etc. to feed the small amount of people we were serving. We received exactly $ 95.00 in the jar that week. The next week we needed $ 112.00. We received exactly $ 112.00. After that I figured it was up to God to take care of the financing. On this Fathers' Day I would like to extend blessings and praise to all the fathers out there, the biological fathers, the adoptive fathers, those acting in a "father" role, all grandfathers and all men who take an interesting in children. Grace and blessings to you and your families. Deacon Tim 734-502-1818