Power Over the Storm

06-20-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

The Scripture readings this weekend emphasize the manifestation of God’s power over storms. If you are familiar with the book of Job, you will recall that, prior to the fi rst reading today from chapter 38, Job’s life of suff ering and pain caused him to question God; Job asked why he, an innocent and holy man, was experiencing so much misfortune and how he could find strength to keep trusting in God in the midst of so much loss and adversity. In the fi rst reading, we heard God respond to Job’s questions out of the storm. God asks Job a series of questions reminding him of the magnitude of His power over nature and all creatures and assures Job that He is in full control of the situation in his life. We find a similar situation in the Gospel when the Apostles cried out to Jesus in the midst of a storm and Jesus responded by calming both their fear and the storm. The Responsorial Psalm also describes the helplessness of people caught up in the midst of storms on the sea and how they were saved by calling upon the Lord.

There comes a time in everyone’s life when we find ourselves in a “storm,” a situation that is beyond our ability to control or cope with alone. These storms might be a spiritual one that threatens to extinguish the light of God in our lives, an emoࢼ onal storm that threatens to destroy the quality of our lives, a psychological storm that threatens our relationship with others, or a physical storm that attacks our health. The storms in our lives have the ability to either draw us closer to God or drive us away from Him, ending in spiritual death. The diff erence between a storm that draws us closer to God and one that drives us further away from God lies in how we choose to respond to the storm. If we choose to ignore God and handle the storm on our own, it will overwhelm us. On the contrary, if we, like the Apostles in today’s Gospel, call on God in the midst of a storm, He will rescue us and draw us closer to Himself.

As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, we pray that all fathers model their lives after St. Joseph who trusted in the Lord in the midst of the storm in his life. May God come to their rescue when they find themselves in the midst of a storm or one in their family’s life; may He continue to provide for them so they can, in turn, provide for their families. Amen.

Thank you and remain blessed,

Fr. James