Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time (July 4, 2017): Is Jesus sleeping on your boat?

Genesis 19:15-29
Ps 26:2-3, 9-12
Matthew 8:23-27
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070417.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/17_07_04.mp3

“But he was asleep.” This sentence from today’s Gospel could describe how we feel about Jesus when our prayers go unanswered. Is Jesus asleep in the midst of our needs? What do we have to do to wake him up?

Maybe we pray extra rosaries — a whole novena of rosaries, and when the nine days are finished and nothing’s happened yet, we start again and the word “novena” now means “nine plus however many it takes for Jesus to wake up.” Or maybe we make a bargain with God: “If you rescue me from this soon, I will go to church every day! Hellooooo? Did that wake you up?”

The reply that comes from Jesus is: “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”

Like the disciples in the storm-tossed boat, we forget that as long as Jesus is on board we’re in no danger of being destroyed.

Storms are normal. Jesus never taught the disciples how to build a bio-dome that keeps the bad weather out and surrounds us with perfect conditions. So why are we surprised when storms occur? Why do we assume that life as a Christian should be steady, smooth, and easy? It’s because we instinctively know that we belong to another world: Our true home is heaven. God gave us a bit of heaven within our souls when he created us.

And because God also gave us the dust and dirt of the earth when he created us, we instinctively feel the deterioration of our temporary bodies. We sense the nearness of destruction. Thus, we get terrified when stormy problems hit us. We fear that they’ll swamp us beyond our ability to stay afloat.

So Jesus came to take care of us. He destroyed destruction when he rose from the grave. Believing in this, we have no reason to fear that our problems will become disastrous. And yet we do fear, and so we look at Jesus and think, “But he’s asleep. Otherwise everything would be all right by now.”

However, what’s really asleep is our faith. While we snooze, Jesus stands on our boats saying the same thing that the angels told Lot in today’s first reading. “Be on your way, or you will be swept away! Don’t look back or stop. Don’t look at what could have or should have been, for this will stop you from moving forward on your journey of faith growth. Look instead at my mercy.”

As scripture says in today’s Psalm, when we walk in integrity our feet stand on level ground. By walking forward in God’s mercy, we follow where he leads us and, like Lot, we walk away from destruction. Even if it’s a long, storm-filled journey, we are safe.

My Lord, Jesus Christ. I thank you for being always by me. May I never forget who You are while in the middle of my storms. You are the reason for me to keep sailing on confidently, boldly and faithfully. Amen.