“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
Homily for Tuesday, of the 13th week in Ordinary Time, Daily TV Mass
“And they went and woke Him up, saying: ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’” (Matt. 8:25) ChatGPT, via: NCBC.ca
“Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness. . .” (Psalm 5:8)
Jesus Calms the Storm
It’s not uncommon for people who may be experiencing serious challenges with regard to their faith, to make statements such as: “God doesn’t exist, God doesn’t care, or He is fast asleep.”
Today’s Gospel speaks to us of a God, who far from abandoning us in the midst of our difficulties is present to us, especially during life’s trials. God is present during the great storms of life, both the personal and collective.
Having performed a number of miracles and seeing the large crowds, Jesus ordered His disciples to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. And as they embarked, surely the disciples must have been very confident owing to the fact that the Son of God was with them in the boat.
But they must have been surprised and even confused when the waters rose, the waves threatened to swamp the boat, and they saw that Jesus was fast asleep.
And we can only imagine how confusion gave way to fear, and fear to desperation, until finally the terrified disciples called out to Our Lord, who immediately, rebuked the wind and the sea, and all became calm once more.
Crossing Over “To the Other Side”
Our Lord calls us to cross over with Him “to the other side.” While Matthew describes the journey to other side of the Sea of Galilee, we should always keep in mind our own ultimate destination, which is none other than everlasting life. As today’s Gospel shows us, things can go wrong even when Jesus is in the boat with us. And there may be times when it seems to us that He is fast asleep.
How are we to interpret this?
Is ours a God who is asleep to the needs of His people?
Is God indifferent to the sufferings of the innocent?
Or when Jesus is asleep in the boat, should we regard this an invitation to trust in God?
And herein lies the question of faith that each of us must answer for ourselves on our journey of faith.
For Jesus calls each one of us by name, to be His disciples in our modern world, to cross over with Him to the other side: from suffering to consolation, from this world to the next, and to the joys of everlasting life.
Our journey begins in Baptism when we cross over from original sin to become children of God. Crossing over to the other side involves moving from doubt to faith, from fear to calm, from brokenness to wholeness, from mortality to immortality.
Crossing Over “To the Other Side”, AI ChatGPT.com, thanks to: NCBC.ca
Jesus is With Us “In the Boat”
And if the journey seems difficult, Jesus teaches us that the reward is so great. In fairness to those who regard God as being indifferent, our faith doesn’t change the basic facts of human existence: that people suffer, even the innocent; that disasters may befall us; and the fact that death eventually arrives for us all.
But our faith is capable of transforming the meaning of everything - the meaning of life, and the meaning of suffering. In fact, as the disciples show us in today’s Gospel, it is precisely when we call out to Jesus that He restores peace and tranquility.
The Saints and Martyrs throughout the history of the Church, remain for us inspiring examples of the boldness and confidence that our faith can give us in the face of every suffering and danger.
St. Cyprian, a Bishop and prominent early Martyr, adds that Jesus is not only with us ‘in the boat,’ He is in our hearts struggling with us and within us through the Power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is ready to calm the storms of time for all who awaken Him- and who remain awake to His presence through the life of faith.
The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church, AI-Generated by ChatGPT, thanks to: NCBC.ca
The First Martyrs of the Church
Today the Church remembers The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church, who died for their faith during the persecution initiated by the Emperor Nero in the year 64.
History shows us that Christians were heavily persecuted until the 4th century. The early martyrs refused to worship the emperors as living gods, because they faithfully maintained that Jesus Christ alone was their Lord and God.
Some years ago, St. Pope John Paul II observed that while the Church of the first millennium was very much a Church born of the blood of martyrs:
At the end of the second millennium, the Church has once again become a Church of martyrs.
In our own time, according to one recent report some 388 million Christians—or approximately 1 in 7 globally— face high levels of persecution and discrimination, as we see in Nigeria, North Korea and other parts of the world.
Let us pray for the intercession of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church to obtain for us the grace to always give brave witness to the values of the Gospel in the face of opposition, amid the challenging times in which we live.
For amid the great storms and struggles of this passing life, we too are called to extend to others the light, the love, serenity and peace of Christ Himself.
I invite you to view the National Catholic Broadcasting Council’s Daily TV Mass below. The full version of this Homily begins at 6:00:
Wonderful homily, deep, encouraging, and pertinent as always. Thank you Monsignor Nusca. May Our Good Lord continue to bless you with wisdom, godly insights, and reassurances.
Thank you Monsignor Nuscia for your homily. I feel like I’ve been in a rocking boat for more than 10 years. I trust Jesus, but sometimes I wonder what He is asking me to do. I’ve prayed, and still waiting for relief. I finally lost my temper, after 10 years. Pray for me.