Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about how Jesus with His power and authority, commanded even the wind and the waves in the storm to settle down and cease, showing His power as the Messiah and the Lord of all Creations. And He showed it to His disciples who were fearful and afraid, fearing for their lives even as the storm battered on the ship and it almost sank.

Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith, and He mentioned to them that they should not have been afraid, had they had even the smallest amount of faith and trust in God. This reading, and all the other readings and the psalm today all sounded in tandem upon a central theme, that is the Lord as our Master and our God, who loves us and protects us from harm’s way, and rescues us from trouble.

And He leads us all as the member of His Body, the Church, in a great journey through life and through this world, in order for us to traverse it safely to our destination, that is eternal life and joy which only the Lord our God could provide. And this is symbolised by that journey that Jesus and His disciples took as they traverse the lake in a storm, and Jesus calming down that storm for them.

There are indeed plenty of symbolisms in today’s readings, particularly that of the action of Jesus on that boat that day. The Church of God, the Body of Christ, is often represented as a large ship or boat, and truly, this same interpretation applies in this case too. Jesus and His disciples represents the Church, of which Jesus, who is their Master, is like the captain of the ship, while the disciples represent us all, who are the members of the Church.

For the Body of Christ, the Church of God represents not just the buildings and the assets of the Church, but the true assets of the Church lies in its members and their unity to one another. And Jesus is the Head of the Church that is His Body, in Him we are all united as one people, and He leads us in this journey filled with difficulties and challenges, the opposition and attacks by Satan against us.

For the stormy seas, the winds and the waves represent the challenges that will surely come our way if we remain true to our faith and remain in the Church of God. Satan, who has dominion over this world, is certainly not going to let us go and escape his clutches just like that. He who had made our forefathers to fall into sin and rebel against God will do the same to us as well.

And the disciples’ reactions when they saw the storm was about to sink their ship were truly reminiscent of our own reactions as well. They feared, so we also fear too, when we encounter difficulties, when we are tempted and challenged by Satan and his forces. And this happens when we do not have faith in God or little trust in Him. We are afraid and fearful because we think that in this battle and tribulation, we are alone.

And a natural reaction is for us to abandon the ship and jump into the water. Translating this to reality means that we abandon the Church, we abandon the Lord and all of His ways, succumbing to our fear. Do you know that it is much safer to remain with the ship even though it seems that the ship is about to sink? It is better than to jump out and face myriads of uncertainties and danger outside of the ship.

The Church of God is a haven of protection from the forces of evil, and if we are faithful and remain true to the Lord through His Church, and if we anchor ourselves steadily on Him, then we will not be shaken and no forces of evil can destroy us, for the Lord is with us, and as the Head of the Church, He will steer us through all the dangers and difficulties to our eternal reward.

We should not fear evil, for God Himself showed that He has authority over all things, and by subduing the storm and the waves, He showed that even Satan and all of his might had to submit to the power and authority of God, who is the Master of all. Therefore, there is really no need for us to be afraid of him and his darkness, for God who reigns over all will ensure our safety. Do not fear those who cannot harm our eternal soul.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, from today on, can we commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and trust in Him more? God is our Leader and our Shepherd, and as long as we have Him, we should not be shaken. Yes, there will be challenges and difficulties, but these are after all part and parcel of being one of the faithful ones of the Lord. For the world and Satan who ruled over it, had rejected the Lord in the first place, and therefore they will reject us and persecute us too.

May Almighty God give us strength to walk faithfully in His ways and not to be swayed by the forces of this world. May He give us courage to maintain ourselves and composure in the face of the storms of this world. May we not be discouraged or be frightened by what Satan has employed in order to deter us and make us panic, but let us all remain firmly in our true devotion and faith to the Lord our God. May God be with us all. Amen.