Reflections on the Sunday Readings for 6/21/09 by Dawn

You can find the full scripture readings at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/062109.shtml

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.
Mark 4:37-39

If there's one thing I can do well in life, it is that I can worry like a champion. I worry about everything, I even worry about worrying! Once, in college, my mother told me about something I was unaware of that had been happening in my family for a few weeks. Honest to goodness, my first thought was, "Why didn't you tell me before? I wasted all this time not worrying!" Stress management experts say that only two percent of our "worrying time" is spent on things that might actually be helped by worrying. The figures below illustrate how the other 98 percent of this time is spent:
-40% on things that never happen
-35% on things that can't be changed
-15% on things that turn out better than expected
-8% on useless, petty worries

No matter our place in life or who we are, we all face storms. Some seem worse than others and we often wonder how we'll ever make it through. Contemporary Christian Artist, Scott Krippayne wrote a song that refers to today's Gospel:

Sometimes He Calms the Storm
Find out before too long
How quickly blue skies can grow dark
And gentle winds grow strong
Suddenly fear is like white water
Pounding on the soul
Still we sail on knowing
That our Lord is in control

Sometimes He calms the storm
With a whispered peace be still
He can settle any sea
But it doesn't mean He will
Sometimes He holds us close
And lets the wind and waves go wild
Sometimes He calms the storm
And other times He calms His child

He has a reason for each trial
That we pass through in life
And though we're shaken
We cannot be pulled apart from Christ
No matter how the driving rain beats down
On those who hold to faith
A heart of trust will always
Be a quiet peaceful place

I'm sure many of you can attest to the truthfulness of these lyrics. We fear what we can't control. But the answer is to trust in God's loving mercy. In some of the crisis we face, God quiets the problem, other times He quiets us, filling us with His peace.

It's also important to remember that we don't face the storms of life alone. The Latin word for "boat" is "nave." In the architecture of the church, where we sit is called the "nave." That means we are all in the boat together. We know that it's not a cruise ship or a yacht and sometimes it feels as if it's listing or a little leaky, but we are together, with Jesus at the helm. In those days when you feel "tossed about", lean on others and trust in God.




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