Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Job 38:1, 8-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
Reading II: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
Jesus was on their way to the other side of the lake, when a violent squall came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, threatening the disciples’ survival. The boat was understood to represent the church which had rough sailing. There were many incidents in church history which almost caused the sinking of the church. There were times when she was overloaded with riches and forgot the poor. Or the power of authority made the ship veer away from the right direction, and service was no longer as her main task. Or the sinfulness of the leaders made people doubt if this was really the church of Christ. Christ never promised a church of saints, for he knows man’s need for salvation all too well. Anybody who refuses to be part of the church because she is sinful and human also refuses to accept salvation from the Lord, for those who are most resistant to his preaching are the self-righteous.
We will always find difficulty to accommodate Jesus in our boat. People load their boat at times with so many religious articles and practices that there is no more space for Him. They are celebrations that do not meet the Lord there, only worldliness, show and extravagance. Material preoccupations may also fill our day or week, leaving no time for daily prayer or for our Sunday mass.
Efren Tomas
In 2004, Father Efren arrived on Maui, Hawaii to be the Pastor of Christ The King Catholic Church in Kahului, Maui until 2012. He calls Christ The King his home because this was his first parish in Hawaii.
All Posts