LAITY REFLECTIONS FOR THE 12TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)
1st Reading: Job 38:1, 8-11
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Ps 107:23-24.25-26.28-29.30-3 I (R. 1)
2nd Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14- 17
Gospel Reading: Mark 4:35-41
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Ps 107:23-24.25-26.28-29.30-3 I (R. 1)
2nd Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14- 17
Gospel Reading: Mark 4:35-41
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| Benjamin Adewale Ajai. |
REFLECTION
These readings and Psalm invite us to have faith and trust in God, especially in times of turmoil and uncertainty.
St. Paul, in the second reading expresses the transforming power of Jesus which echoes the calming of the storm in the Gospel, where Jesus brings peace and renewal to the chaotic situation.
In general, in moments of fear and uncertainty, we should remember Jesus' words, "Peace! Be still!" and trust in His presence and power in our lives.
Through faith, we can find calm in the midst of chaos and be transformed by His love.
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| Igbinazaka Angela |
REFLECTION
The Gospel reading hit me so hard today because I am being reminded of the manner of man Jesus is; one who can command the sea to be still, one who can walk upon water, one who can raise the dead and heal the wounded.
What else do I need when this same Man is my maker and creator; in that no man can curse me when He has blessed me. I need to celebrate the fact that I found myself in the same boat with Jesus and He can calm my troubled sea, no matter the circumstances surrounding my life, He assures me of his mark on it.
Today marks a very solemn day for me when I looked back and saw that three years have passed since I lost my beloved brother, whose death left me with so many memories and questions. But having read today's reading, I find solace in the word of God and I am consoled that all my worries can be cast on Christ.
Jesus wants me to build the capacity of my faith and become a new creation and I should live for others and for the sake of Christ himself. That’s why the psalmist reminds me that the mercies of the Lord endures forever hence I must give thanks to the Him for his goodness.
May we be disposed to grow in faith and trust totally in the Lord. Amen
REFLECTION
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| Comfort Mary Edewor. |
When I reflect on this incident of Jesus calming the storm at sea, with Himself and His disciples in the boat, I begin to understand more clearly how l react to challenges that cross my path in this journey of life. I believe that Jesus knew exactly what was happening even though He was sleeping. That was a great opportunity to know how much faith and trust in His power to save them that the disciples had. I know how easy it is for us Christians to shout "Jesus I trust in you", especially during the 3 o'clock prayer. Yet when it is time to demonstrate that trust, we melt like wax with fear and anxiety.
The storm of life does not just come once, but many times in our lifetime and so we must be prepared to face it each time trusting in the power of him who spared nothing, not even his life to save us. He has promised that in time of distress, we should call on Him and He will rescue us. "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief"
REFLECTION
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| Nwamara Chisom Angelica. |
As always, Jesus continues to show us his supernatural power.Immediately He spoke to the storm,it became calm. This is not a magic but just to show us that He is a powerful Lord. This portion of the Bible is telling us to be always strong in our faith in God no matter the challenges we face in this world.
Sometimes, ill health,lack of job,poverty,marital problems etc can make us question the existence of God but if we are steadfast in our faith in God,we will persevere and be victorious.
So I pray we will not be people of little faith,let us always trust God no matter the circumstances we may find ourselves in.May God's grace continue to see us through in our earthly sojourn Amen.
REFLECTION
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| Jude Akiti-Momodu. |
The first reading taken from the book of Job is a reminder that we know nothing as we may sometimes wish to assume of ourselves even against God’s divine instructions. On our own we are not in control and we know nothing of the existence of a world we were intended to subdue and have dominion over (Genesis 1:26-28) , a world considered to be our own physical domain in which we live and interact each day. If we have such a mini and insufficiency of knowledge of our realm, how then can we explain the event and phenomenon or other external realms. This is why we should trust and rely only in God’s wisdom, it’s depth is far more Superior in comparison to ours (1 Corinthians 1:25).
The first reading shows God in the event of the second day of Creation where He in his mighty and mysterious way as a Master Architect and Builder carefully orchestrated order out of chaos, the world was covered and intermixed with water, but with a single word, the waters beds was formed and dry earth (land) came forth, forming a defined boundary in restriction to the over domineering water bodies with the new existence of a dry Land.
To further expose the depth of man's ignorance, God revealed what was used as a swaddling band and garment to secure these boundaries. Left to my logical reasoning, I would have opted for a rock sediments or a mountain wall to fulfill this obligation but God revealed it was the cloud and a thick darkness, literal or figuratively speaking; what ever that meant, who would have ordinarily thought of that ? who would have even imagined its possibility? But God knows it all. So also He knows us better than we know ourselves. He know our ending right from our beginning, God knows our purpose in life, the reason for our existence is known to Him and its only in Him we can know this things; this is why we need to rely on His Paternal guidance to find meaning and purpose in our life not been proud or relying on our self abilities, human connections, weight or privileges. We should rely primary on God for guidance and directions through life ups and downs.
The responsorial Psalms prefigures the messianic role filled by Jesus, in a more practical sense as witnessed in the event of the gospel reading, this was an old testament account pointing to Jesus’ Divine nature as God, as announced in the gospel acclamation (Luke 7:16). It was a known fact by the Jews to be a Divine Ordinance; the act of speaking order and commanding the events of nature, it’s a God thing to do as exhibited by the God-man Jesus Christ, in order to show that He is God Himself. We were created in his image and likeness as gods (John 10:35, Psalm 82:6), which implies we are called to share in this dominion over other creatures and nature. this was why St. Paul in the second reading advice we live not for our self (fleshly Nature) but for Christ. Because that is the only way we can truly exact authority and be victorious over life’s situations and challenges, it is a privilege only obtainable in Christ. We are victorious not because of our self making or abilities but only because of God living in and through us.
The event of the gospel reading depicts a voyage, and life itself is like that Journey we don’t need luck, experience or human philosophy/wisdom to scale through it, water bodies is used in scripture sometimes to represent obstacles and challenges (Lamentations 3:54, Psalms 69:1-2, 2 Samuel 22:17-18) , life itself is a challenge, one we must conquer in Christ. As Christians we must realize that having Christ in our lives is like having him in that sealing boat about to wrack by the turbulent waves and billows of the ranging sea’s of Life. We should never be distress over anything in life, distress is a product of hopelessness and ignorance. Christians are not to live through life in like manners with people without Christ; hopelessly struggling in reliance of falsehood ideologies and self abilities, we should confront life with hope in the faith we profess and the life we live as children of God, we are a vessel just like that sealing boat of the disciplines, let’s always know and remember we have in us a voice that everything, both seen and unseen, possible and impossible, known or unknown to us, are in subjection to his decrees and ordinances. May His mighty voice continue to speak for us, through Christ our Lord, *Amen* .
*Shalom* .. 👋
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