A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (6:45-52)
After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.
REFLECTION: What jumps out at me in today’s Gospel, is the last sentence; “On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ miracle of feeding the five thousand, and still, they could not resist the temptation of unbelief. They are in their boats at sea, and getting tossed by the stormy waves, when Jesus appears to them, walking on the water and they can’t believe their eyes, even after witnessing the incident of the loaves. And Mark’s Gospel goes as far as saying; “On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” That makes me wonder what chance I have, a sinner, to stay faithful to following Jesus Christ. If I’m not careful, and remain hopeless, I will end up surrendering to my temptation, and just like the disciples, harden my heart. It can be that easy, due to our human weakness.
The Gospel of Mark also tells us that the disciple’s boat was been tossed about by the sea while rowing. The condition of the sea may be compared, to the condition of our hearts, when we are crossing difficult moments in our lives. Moments that may be so difficult, that we lose our courage to remain faithful to God, and trust in His time. It can happen to any one of us. Any one of us, who is a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark’s Gospel also tells us that Jesus saw the disciples and their boat getting tossed by the stormy sea, but He does no go out immediately to rescue them, until the fourth watch. Why do you think that is? While we do not know exactly the reason in this case, we do know, that God doesn’t always save us out of trials immediately. We can see that in Romans 5:3-5. Sometimes God sees best to let us experience trials for a while, in order to develop our character. I like to think, to purify our faith. Perhaps some of you who are parents, sometimes may notice your child struggling to do something. Is it always in their best interest, for us to step in and do it for them? No. Some things, our children need to struggle with in order to learn. Maybe they need to learn how to do it. Or maybe they just need to learn, that they cannot do it. Letting them struggle for a while, can be an opportunity for them, to learn to be humble. Or to learn their own limitations. Or maybe to learn how to ask for help, and not rely on themselves. There are many possibilities. For the disciples, they were able to witness once again, Jesus’ miraculous power. Because they had struggled already for a long time, against the wind, Jesus’ miracle of stopping the wind, became even more amazing, and highlighted His divine strength, against their human weakness.
ACTION FOR THE DAY: Do not grow impatient or angry with God if He doesn’t immediately save you from a trial you are facing. Just as Jesus was nearby and ready to help His disciples when it was really best for them, God is also nearby even in our trials and will step in when we need Him to, but not necessarily when we want Him to.
Instead of blaming God or growing impatient or angry, when facing trials, we should look at ourselves and ask what lessons we can learn from it. Maybe we need to be more patient on God’s timing, and work on the condition of our hearts, so we can be more faithful, and courageous when crossing our storms.
AUDIO REFLECTION:
LINK TO DEACON5 WEBSITE: https://deacon5.com/