Saturday of the Third Week In Ordinary Time
That Man Is You!
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
One of the most poignant, dramatic pages of the Old Testament is read to us today. David, the faithful servant of God, has committed adultery and murder. The prophet arouses the king’s indignation against those committing injustice and then tells David: That is what you have done! That man is you! The king’s acknowledgement and repentance are immediate and deep; God’s forgiveness, too, is instantaneous and absolute. “That person is you” applies often to us too; when we judge and condemn, is it not often our faults we condemn in others?
Many people are afraid today. Our times are very insecure in many aspects, with wars, violence, and economic and moral crises. Life seems to move too fast for many. And the Church, in its leaders and members, is often upset and afraid. God seems far away, like a God who sleeps, a God who seems indifferent to our fears and uncertainty. Where are our faith and hope? Let us turn to him who journeys with us and wakes us up, Jesus, our Lord and brother here among us.
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God, merciful Father,
you do not seek the death of sinners,
but that they repent and live.
Your heart is too large to reject us
when we have been unfaithful to you.
Open our eyes to our share
in the evil in and around us;
give us new hearts,
humble in recognizing your patient mercy.
Make us toward our neighbor
understanding, patient and forgiving
for you have brought us pardon and peace
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the many who bear the burden of sin and guilt; for those who suffer from the sins of others, that they may keep trusting in God’s forgiveness and goodness, we pray:
– For those who are hardened in sin, that they may be touched by the Spirit of the Lord to repent and change their ways, we pray:
– For ourselves and those dear to us, that the good there is in us may be stronger than evil in us and around us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Merciful Father,
humbly we bring before you
this bread and this wine
as an offering of reconciliation.
Let your Son be, here among us,
the Lamb that takes our sins away
and restores us in your love.
And may our bonds with you and each other
become closer and deeper,
because we have experienced your forgiveness
in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God of mercy,
we know that we are the people
who have failed you and one another
by our inability to love and serve,
our fear from committing ourselves,
our guilty silence.
Help us to brave
the waves and the storms of life
by the strength of this Eucharist.
Grant this through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Blessing
Our patient God is a merciful, forgiving, loving God. That should also be our own attitude and the mark of our communities. May God give you this patient, forgiving love, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Mark 4: 35-41
Why are you afraid?
In today’s Gospel (Mk 4:35-41), Jesus calms the storm that threatens to overwhelm the disciples' boat. Despite his presence, they are consumed by fear and cry out: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” (v. 38). Like them, we too experience storms in life—moments of loss, anxiety, or unexpected challenges—that make us feel as though we are sinking. We may question why God seems silent in our struggles, yet the Gospel reminds us of an essential truth: Jesus is always with us.
Even when Jesus appears to be “asleep,” he is present, sharing in our trials and waiting for us to turn to him. His stillness tests and strengthens our faith, calling us to cry out to him in prayer. True discipleship demands more than acknowledging God’s presence—it requires us to actively trust him, to share our fears and struggles with him, and to rely on his guidance.
Faith begins with recognising our dependence on God and acknowledging that we cannot navigate life’s storms alone. Jesus, when approached by the disciples, calms the wind and waves, showing that he is our refuge and strength. His question, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (v. 40), challenges us to shift our focus from fear to trust.
A God who sleeps!
"Let's go to the other shore," Jesus tells his followers in the Gospel today. Imagine him saying it to us, Christians of today, in the midst of this health, economic, social, global crisis ... The Church, also facing its own crisis, must listen to the Lord who invites us to move on, to change our perspectives, our ways of understanding faith and living it. Let's go!
We are faced with a piece of theology which contains numerous biblical references. In the Gospel, purpose of the evangelist is to gradually reveal the identity of Jesus and answer the question people have been asking since the beginning of his public life: “Who is this person?”
In ancient literature, the image of the boat indicates a community or an association. In our story it is the Christian community together with different Christian communities already existing at the time when Mark was writing the Gospel. The boat is to bring Christ to the land of the pagans. Jesus falls asleep at the stern! Stern is the place for helmsman or the captain. How can a captain sleep totally unaware of the storm and impeding danger.
Sleep in the Bible, is often used to indicate death (Job 14:12; Sir 46:19). Even Jesus uses the word sleep figuratively, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep” (Jn 11:11); “The child is not dead but asleep” (Mk 5:39-40). Therefore the sleep of Jesus is referring to his death. Now the disciples are tossed by the waves—which are the tragedies of life, persecution, tensions and disagreements within the Church community. But, Jesus although present in the boat, is asleep and does not intervene directly in human history.
Christians can, at times, feel alone in the face of problems, adversities, failures and ask, “Where is God? Where is Christ? Why does he not manifest his power?” Sometimes we feel him distant or absent; his silence baffles us and instils fear. We would shout to him, with the Psalmist: “Awake, O Lord, why are you asleep?
Jesus reveals to us a God who “sleeps”, who leaves things as they are, who has nothing to fear in front of the outbreak of violence of evil, who is not afraid of losing control of the situation. He is a God who lets go, allows that envy, rivalries, lies, injustices break out. Then, when evil seems to have the last word, he turns the cards.
Yet the impression that he is asleep remains. With our cry, which is prayer, we would like to wake him up and force him to intervene. But he is already awake, he just has a different vision of the danger and how to deal with it. He asks for our unconditional trust. Yes, we are tossed about by the waves of the sea, but even if we do not realise it, we are accompanied by him.
Mark 4:35-41
Awaken the power of Christ asleep within us
In the wonderful story of the calming of the storm at sea, we witness the spiritual dynamics of fear and trust. Making their way across the lake, the disciples stand symbolically for all of us journeying through life. When they confront the mighty waves, they are immediately filled with terror. In the same way, we experience fear when we are confronted with the trials and anxieties of life.
The image of Jesus "asleep on a cushion" represents the divine power that is "asleep" withineach of us. The image of sleeping Jesus represents the divine energy that remains unaffected by the fear storms caused by the grasping ego.
From a spiritual perspective, it is evident that the divine power successfully calmsthe waves: "He awoke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Quiet! Be still!’”
This beautiful narrative suggests that if we but awaken to the presence of Christ within us, then we can withstand even the most frightening storms. At the conclusion of the story, Jesus asked the bewildered disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” He is wondering why they have not yet experienced the change of heart necessary for living in the kingdom of God. (Courtesy: Bishop Robert Barron)