Gospel: January 27, 2024
(Saturday)
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green/White)
Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Angela Merici, virgin
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Create a clean heart in me, O God.
1st Reading: 2 Samuel 12: 1-7a, 10-17
Gospel: Mk 4:35-41
On that same day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd, and took him along in the boat he had been sitting in, and other boats set out with him. Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat, so that it was soon filled with water. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up, and said, “Master, don’t you care if we drown?” And rising up, Jesus rebuked the wind, and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?” But they were terrified, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
Reflection:“Jesus always cares.”
Today’s Gospel narrates the storm on the sea. After the storm, Jesus appeared to expose the weak faith of his disciples. We may reflect on the words of the disciples when they were trying to wake Jesus up: “Master, don’t you care if we drown?” Those with him in the boat could have simply pleaded for Jesus’ saving help: “Lord, please save us!” They doubted not only Jesus’ capacity to save them from that particular danger but also Jesus’ concern for their well-being. At times, we come to a point when we feel that there is nobody around to care for us when we are at rock bottom. We doubt people’s goodness because the storm within us is raging violently. We have to listen and heed Jesus’ words: “Quiet now! Be still!” We need to allow God’s word to calm the storm we experience from within otherwise we will drown in cynicism and perish in isolation. There are and will always be people who truly care and they may come to us in different ways. Nathan, in the first reading, was sent by God to rebuke David. The rebuking of David also shows how God truly cares.
