12th Sunday OT - Fr. Leo
The disciples experience a crisis in today’s gospel. While out on the water, gales of wind threaten their lives. Full of fear and anxiety they plea to Jesus to save them. Coming out of his peaceful sleep, he calms the wind and the waters.
Then comes a greater challenge. Jesus says to them, ‘Why are you so frightened. How is it you have no faith?’ Trusting when life is in peril is a lot to ask. Here the disciples who had witnessed Jesus’s power to heal, were still scared to death.
It takes time to come to the fullness of faith. Maybe next time the disciples would be a little more calm about things. As we age andmature, life’s experiences can be the arena to grow in faith. Over time, as we continue to trust in God, we slowly come to that inner peace no matter how many or big the crisis is in our lives.
This is a gift we grow into by being open to the internal journeys of our soul. I believe older people who age well, are models here. As they age with grace and every moment becomes a gift, they teach us the beauty of life even as physical life slowly takes away all we think is important in this world. Their souls are liberated as they come to be one with God and all who have gone before them. Many dream of the parents in the days before their transition.
This is the faith Jesus calls us to in today’s scripture. The faith that keeps our hearts calm in the worst of times. God is with us and will never let our souls perish. Let us pray for this faith that we may live always in the peace of God’s presence. Amen.