The first reading in this morning’s liturgy comes from the Book of Job, one of the more interesting and challenging books in the Jewish scripture.
And this selection that we listen to is from a dialog that’s going on between Job and God, has been terribly afflicted as he has lost family, possessions and is in great physical distress.
And so Job questions God as to why these things are happening to him.
And in that is this very beautiful dialog where God addresses Job.
And the question to Job really is, who’s in charge, who’s responsible?
And then you have that selection where God speaks of how he has control to see how he has, in a sense, what creation in its proper order Job comes to realize that ultimately all things happen by God’s design.
And you come to the second reading Paul is writing to the Corinthians.
And again, it’s that idea of trust.
Trust God, for God is ever making all things new.
And then you come to the gospel and this is at the end of Chapter four, Jesus has been in the boat teaching the people along the shore.
Great parables that we’ve listened to over the past few weeks and evening has come.
And he says to the disciples, let’s go to the other side of the great Sea of Galilee Lake.
And as they go across, as is wont, in that particular body of water, because it’s literally like a canyon surrounded by the great mountains of that area of the mountains you see familiar with the Golan Heights.
So when the wind comes through, it comes like a tunnel and it has great force and great power and so is the sea, that is usually very calm and all of a sudden be turned into turmoil.
And that’s what happens with them as they’re crossing over and they become frightened, rightly so.
After all, the waves are coming over, the boat is filling up with water and they’re terrified that they will, in a sense, find the boat overwhelm at Jesus remains asleep up in the front.
Oh, they go to wake him and he gets up. Asks, why are they terrified and then addresses the sea and the wind, basically forces them subside.
Well, they were amazed, but if you were rooted in the scripture of their day, you would recognize that what Mark is describing is an event of revelation.
Jesus is revealing this hour. He’s revealing his person as a way of instilling greater trust in altered faith.
But it’s really great a trust or if you listen to that first reading from job,
God is very clearly saying, I control all. It is I have brought it into being.
And if you listen to the psalm where we give thanks to God for his everlasting love, within that psalm is again a recognition of the power of God over nature.
So Jesus manifest is power, you manifest his power over nature in a sense, a way of saying to them, I am God in your image.
Even when you think I’m not listening, even when you think I am not attentive to your needs, know that I am, I might appear to be asleep, but God never sleeps is ever.
And what our need be asleep to be asleep.
Sometimes the response of God is not within our understanding.
But that doesn’t mean that God is not paying attention.
Sometimes God’s process of responding to our needs arose over time, doesn’t happen immediately.
We would like it to happen. We would like instantaneous results.
You know, I asked God today who do this to cure me of this illness.
And one would expect that before the day is over, the illness will be gone.
But maybe God has a different plan and that plan might well be that we will be cured of the illness.
But it will take time because it will involve others who must use the gifts and the talents that God has given them to work on our behalf.
Helps to provide us with therapy or perhaps to provide us with medication or other types of service that will eventually use.
It isn’t an issue that God isn’t listening. God is listening, that God is listening in God’s time, not in our time.
Oh, again, the word of what Jesus is encouraging them and it fits in with the parables that we’ve listen to.
Trust that God remains at work. Trust that God hears your pleas. Trust that God responds to your pleas.
That God will never have his back to you, but will ever be at your side walking with you.
Whatever the challenges, whatever the struggles, whatever the opportunities are that come to you each day of your life.