 |
“Sleep of Jesus During the Storm”
by Alexandre Bida, c. 1875 |
Readings for Tuesday of the
Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Genesis 19:15-29
As dawn was breaking, the
angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your
way!
Take with you your wife and
your two daughters who are here,
or you will be swept away in
the punishment of Sodom."
When he hesitated, the men,
by the LORD's mercy,
seized his hand and the hands
of his wife and his two daughters
and led them to safety
outside the city.
As soon as they had been
brought outside, he was told:
"Flee for your life!
Don't look back or stop
anywhere on the Plain.
Get off to the hills at once,
or you will be swept away."
"Oh, no, my lord!" Lot
replied,
"You have already
thought enough of your servant
to do me the great kindness
of intervening to save my life.
But I cannot flee to the
hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me,
and so I shall die.
Look, this town ahead is near
enough to escape to.
It's only a small place.
Let me flee there-it's a
small place, is it not?-
that my life may be
saved."
"Well, then," he
replied,
"I will also grant you
the favor you now ask.
I will not overthrow the town
you speak of.
Hurry, escape there!
I cannot do anything until
you arrive there."
That is why the town is
called Zoar.
The sun was just rising over
the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar;
at the same time the LORD
rained down sulphurous fire
upon Sodom
and Gomorrah
from the LORD out of heaven.
He overthrew those cities and
the whole Plain,
together with the inhabitants
of the cities
and the produce of the soil.
But Lot's
wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.
Early the next morning
Abraham went to the place
where he had stood in the
LORD's presence.
As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah
and the whole region of the
Plain,
he saw dense smoke over the
land rising like fumes from a furnace.
Thus it came to pass: when
God destroyed the Cities of the Plain,
he was mindful of Abraham by
sending Lot away from the upheaval
by which God overthrew the
cities where Lot had been living.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Gn 19:15-29
This passage describes the salvation of Lot along with his wife
and daughters from the destruction heaped upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot is given
the boon of salvation because of his righteous actions in the previous section
(Genesis 19 1-14). Lot is
instructed to flee and not look back at God’s destructive wrath. Lot’s wife
violates this instruction (looking upon that which was forbidden by God) and is
turned into a pillar of salt.
The language used to describe the destruction “He overthrew
those cities and the whole Plain” (literally, turned upside down) would be
consistent with an earthquake followed by fire. The passage concludes
indicating that a principal reason for Lot’s salvation was his relationship to
Abraham (Genesis
12:5).
CCC: Gn 19 332; Gn 19:1-29 2357
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 26:2-3, 9-10, 11-12
R. (3a) O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Search me, O LORD, and try
me;
test my soul and my heart.
For your mercy is before my
eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
R. O Lord, your mercy is
before my eyes.
Gather not my soul with those
of sinners,
nor with men of blood my
life.
On their hands are crimes,
and their right hands are
full of bribes.
R. O Lord, your mercy is
before my eyes.
But I walk in integrity;
redeem me, and have mercy on
me.
My foot stands on level
ground;
in the assemblies I will
bless the LORD.
R. O Lord, your mercy is
before my eyes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 26:2-3, 9-10, 11-12
Psalm 26 is an
individual lament. In these strophes the psalmist seeks the Lord's protection
as they approach him (see also Exodus 30:17-21). The singer prays for mercy and purity before God as fidelity
and praise of the Lord are pledged.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 8:23-27
As Jesus got into a boat, his
disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came
up on the sea,
so that the boat was being
swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him,
saying,
"Lord, save us! We are perishing!"
He said to them, "Why
are you terrified, O you of little faith?"
Then he got up, rebuked the
winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said,
"What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the
sea obey?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 8:23-27
Jesus calming the sea is the first of this set of miracles
recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel. There are notable differences between St.
Matthew’s account and that of St. Mark (Mark 4:35-41). First we
note that Jesus leads the disciples into the boat, rather than the disciples
taking him there. We also see a more reverent attitude on the part of the
twelve as they wake him, contrasted with the accusatory tone in St. Mark’s
Gospel (“do you not care that we are perishing?"). This account of
the disciples' experience, in both cases, points directly at the identity
of Jesus as the Son of God, and serves as a proof for the reader.
“Does
this icon of Jesus asleep in the midst of a storm with his distraught disciples
not dramatize the leap from hopeless despair to tested faith? […] Faith makes
us aware of God’s ‘absent presence’ by the very force of the trials faith’s
self-surrender brings on. The disciples would not be weathering this storm if
they had not followed Jesus. And yet he sleeps.” [4]
CCC: Mt 8:20 2444; Mt 8:26 2610
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
When the story of Jesus
sleeping in the boat during the storm was written (and his subsequent command
over the elements), it may have been seen as a proof of his identity as the
Messiah. We see another meaning in this story.
If we view this story as a metaphor, we see Jesus bringing calm to the
storm.
In the fevered pace of our
daily lives, we frequently encounter storms, do we not? They may arise at school, at work, or with
family and friends. The storms may take the
form of situations beyond our control or they may be a result of mistakes we
have made or events poorly handled.
Whatever their source, we are at constant risk of being thrown to our
deaths in sin.
It is difficult to see
clearly when we are in the middle of these storms. Much like a physical storm, our vision is
clouded by the turbulence of the storm.
We cannot clearly chart our actions when our sight is so impaired. If we try to make important decisions while
we are tossed by the storms of emotion, if we react to the situation out of
desperation, we frequently cause more damage than good and end up worse off
than when we started.
Where, we may ask, is Jesus,
when we are twisting in the wind of these storms? Is he asleep in the boat? We certainly hope so because if we are
convinced of this, we can wake him up, calling upon the Holy Spirit to bring
peace and quiet to the storm. Even if it
continues to rage around us, we feel the interior calm of the Lord that allows
us to see clearly, to act correctly. Our
usual problem is we forget he is sleeping there and try to ride the storm out
as best we can.
Today as we remember the Lord
is with us always, we pray that when our life’s storms hurtle themselves in our
direction, we may remember quickly that Jesus sleeps with us in our souls, and
when we become afraid, angry, or desperate we will reach out to him saying
"Lord, save us!” In our faith he will rebuke the
storm and bring us peace.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Sleep of Jesus During the Storm” by Alexandre Bida, c. 1875.
[2]
S.S. Commemoratio[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[4]
Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 364.
No comments:
Post a Comment