Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In Wind And Storm
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Amos questions the people of God, asking them to give an account of how they have responded to God’s love.
Gospel. We have to recognise the Lord’s presence and keep trusting in him when storms rage within us and in our world as they threaten to engulf us and make us ask: “Lord, where are you?” These may be the storms of temptation, of doubts and fears regarding the faith, of threatened loyalty. The winds of change, too, may be howling typhoons tossing the bark of the Church around, before we can enter the calm waters of a renewed Church. The Lord is there; we should not be afraid.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you let your Son reassure us
with a word of reprimand:
“Why are you afraid, people of little faith?”
Let that little faith grow in us
and make us absolutely certain
that you are with us in your creation,
in the dark and in the night,
in the wind and in the storm,
even in the depths of death.
For you are the God who said:
“I am there for you”
now and forever.
First Reading
I Will Hold You Accountable
Hear this word that the Lord speaks against you, people of Israel, and against the entire family he brought up from Egypt.
I have known only you among all the families of the earth; therefore, I will hold you accountable for all your wrongdoings.
Do two people walk together unless they have agreed?
Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has caught something?
Does a bird get caught in a snare if the snare hasn’t been baited? Does a tiger spring up from the ground unless it has caught something?
If a trumpet sounds in a city, won’t the people be frightened? If disaster strikes a city, has not the Lord caused it?
Yet the Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets.
If the lion roars, who will not be afraid? If the Lord speaks, who will not prophesy?
Call on the people living in Ashur’s and Egypt’s palaces: Come together against the hill of Samaria and see the many scandals and oppression there.
These people do not understand what is right, says the Lord, because they store in strongholds what they have taken through violence and extortion.
Therefore, this is the word of the Lord: The enemy will surround the land; your strength will be broken down, and your strongholds will be plundered.
The Lord says this: “As the shepherd rescues a pair of legs or the tip of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so will some of you be saved, O Israelites of Samaria who lounge on comfortable couches and rest on pillows of Damascus.”
“Hear and accuse the nation of Jacob,” says the Lord, God of hosts.
“On the day I call Israel to account for his crimes, I will also punish the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be broken off and fall to the ground.
Then I will demolish the winter house and the summerhouse. The ivory palaces shall be ruined, and the great house was destroyed.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (9a) Lead me in your justice, Lord.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
You hate all evildoers;
you destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the Lord abhors.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
But I, because of your abundant mercy,
will enter your house;
I will worship at your holy temple
in fear of you, O Lord.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I trust in the Lord;
my soul trusts in his word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Calming a Storm
Jesus stepped into the boat, and his disciples followed him.
Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, causing waves to crash over the boat. But Jesus was asleep.
The disciples woke him up and cried:
“LORD save us! We are lost!”
But Jesus answered:
“Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?”
Then he stood up, rebuked the wind and sea, and it became completely calm.
The disciples were amazed. They asked:
“What kind of man is he? Even the winds and the sea obey him.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the Church of Jesus Christ, that its faith and love may not waver in the difficulties and storms of our time, we pray:
– For sailors and fishers, that the sea may be peaceful and generous to them; for all who travel, that they may safely reach their destination, we pray:
– For ourselves, that we should never be afraid, for we know that Jesus is with us. That we may remain serene and in peace, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
We have prepared this bread and wine
to welcome your Son in our midst.
May we also recognise his presence
and keep relying on him
in our human achievements.
May no success, however great,
cause us to forget
that without him we can do nothing,
that this world is your creation
and that we can be fully human only
in Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and with us forever.
Prayer after Communion
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to whom else should we entrust ourselves
than to Jesus, our God-with-us?
Let him sail with us to brave the waves,
and to face the heart of the storm.
When he is with us,
even when apparently asleep,
let us no longer be afraid
of committing ourselves to your sea,
for we are sure Jesus will lead us
to your safe harbour of peace forever.
Blessing
“Why are you afraid, people of little faith?” Let us entrust ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. With him, we can overcome all difficulties. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 8:23-27
Why are you so afraid?
It is important to remember, however, that the evangelist is not giving an eyewitness account of the calming of the storm. A piece of theology containing numerous biblical references is presented to us. The evangelist wants to answer the question people have asked since Jesus began his public ministry: “Who is this person? ”
The disciples enter the boat with the Master, but where do they go? The passage immediately following today’s reading tells us that Jesus and the disciples reached the other side, in the territory of the Gadarenes. There, he drove out demons from two possessed men, and the demons entered a herd of pigs. That implies that the people of this land were pig breeders. Therefore, they could only be pagans because Jews do not breed nor rare pigs.
In ancient literature, the image of the boat indicated a community or an association. Matthew narrates the story of the early Church, where the Master invites the Christian community to go to “the other side" - to the pagan nations to bring them the message of the Gospel. The boat - that is, the Church - has the mission to bring Christ to the pagans, but during the crossing, a storm makes it impossible to continue the journey. During the dangerous crossing, Jesus sleeps while the disciples struggle to survive against the waves of the sea.
This scene may recall Jonah's journey to Nineveh to deliver the Lord's message to the pagan population. When caught in the storm, he was fast asleep at the bottom of the ship (Jon 1:5). Today's Gospel presents Jesus sleeping. The apostles wake him up by saying, "Lord, save us!" We are lost! But how could they think the Lord could save them? This is a prayer of the early Church to the Risen Christ.
The word sleep is often used in the Bible to indicate death. Even Jesus used it metaphorically, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep" (Jn 11:11); "The child is not dead but asleep" (Mk 5:39-40). Matthew must have interpreted this journey as a symbol of the life of the Church after Jesus' death, left alone amidst the storms and tempests of life. Although the disciples are aware that Jesus is with them, he seems to be sleeping. As the disciples are faced with the dangers of the stormy world, they pray to the Risen Christ, “Lord, save us! ”
The Lord’s presence is always with them and with us through his message: “Why are you so afraid?”