BOARDING THE BELIEVERS’ BOAT

Reflections on the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Job 38:1, 8-11, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, Mark 4:35-41

The Gospel begins with an invitation, “Let us cross to the other side”. Jesus’ call introduces a change in the routine of his disciples. He asks them to leave the security of the shores and venture into the Sea of Galilee when darkness begins to settle in and a storm is fast approaching. In the biblical world, the waters of the sea (even if a small lake) represent evil because, unlike the steady dry land, the sea is a place of uncertainties. He asks them to cross “to the other side”, into the so-called ‘pagan’ territory, to an ‘unknown’ field of mission.

Christian discipleship is a call to ‘cross’ to unexpected areas of mission. It is a challenge to exit one’s safe zone and sedentary lives. This journey, which is both external and internal, is risky and rewarding, for it often takes us to unventured but exciting avenues and gives us the courage to journey without the resources of a well-defined map or GPS but the company of Jesus. Discipleship involves stepping out of the ‘familiar’ to move toward God with trust. This call is also extended to Job in the first reading today. To the Hebrews, the Mediterranean Sea was the great sea that they plied to travel between Israel’s cities and to Egypt in the south and Phoenicia and Syria in the north. They knew the danger of a boat stuck in a storm at sea. Yahweh reminds Job of who created the seas and who set their limits. He invites him to trust.

Faith is a journey, a path, a pilgrimage, a history of permanent departures and arrivals. Growing in faith becomes difficult when become stagnant in the safety of our preconceptions, prejudices, worldviews, ideologies, traditions, customs, and rituals. Faith challenges us to relearn what we have been taught, re-verify what we have been told, revisit what we have become used to, and reinvent what has always been done in a certain way. However, this movement from a static to a dynamic mode of faith is not an easy journey. It keeps us in a permanent walking mode, asking us to embrace a new way of relating to God and the world. It obliges us to brave the challenges and risks that await us out there in the seas.

Yes, the master is with us on the boat for he is our constant travel companion. However, there is no guarantee that our sail is going to be a smooth one. Strangely, it is quite the opposite. For Jesus leads us right into tumultuous waters. He sends us like sheep among wolves. He walks with us to Judea, where people await to stone us. He encourages us to proclaim the gospel in streets, marketplaces, Temple courts, and synagogues alike, where we are bound to meet with confrontations and opposition.

There is a remarkably contrast in the way Jesus and the disciples react to the storm. While the disciples panic, Jesus is fast asleep. The terror of the disciples is understandable. They are stuck in a storm in the middle of the lake, at a good distance from the two shores. It is night and the bad weather makes it impossible for the disciples to orient themselves or align their boat by looking at the position of the stars. The boat is possibly beginning to sink. Which trained swimmer, professional fisherman, or qualified sailor would not panic in such a situation? However, Jesus asks rather surprisingly, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

What differentiates the two contrasting approaches to the storm is awareness. Jesus’ awareness is not focused on the storm. The disciples, on the other hand, cannot see anything but the tumult. Jesus is aware of something the disciples do not seem to realise. He is aware of the power of His Father’s presence, who is always by his side. “And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him” (John 8:29). Perhaps, when faced with storms in our lives, we too panic and lost sight of what matters. We are aware of what is happening but fail to realise who we are with!

The Gospel wishes to teach the post-Easter Church and our own local churches today that in the darkest of nights and the most violent of storms, the master is still with us. Discipleship means facing the structures of sin, injustice, and evil with a faith-inspired certainty about the presence and power of one who accompanies our fight against them. Let’s board the discipleship boat and cross to new missions.