Do you ever feel like you're being called to something new? Called to a new place? Called to do something different, be someone different, be more yourself? I am in that moment right now as I transition from serving as a Catholic parish priest, to retirement or what we now refer to as “senior status.”
We all have these feelings, these senses, these epiphanies at different times in our lives. And sometimes we listen to them and sometimes we ignore them. Or, more likely we “freak out.” The theme that we read in this week’s Gospel is the theme about the storm. It's a great theme. Why? Because our lives are stormy. There are a lot of sunny days, but there are a lot of storms in life. In the Gospel, Jesus and the disciples are going out on the lake, you know, on that day when evening had come, that's when we're weary. Hopefully, we wake up in the morning excited for the day, ready to get at it. Not every day maybe, but by the time we come to the evening, as the days go on, things don't go as we expect them. Life is unpredictable and that can wear us down. And so, by the evening, people are weary and disciples, they're weary, Jesus is weary.
Jesus says to them, "Let's go across to the other side." What's the other side in your life right now? If Jesus said to you today, "Let's go across the other side. Come with me and let's go across the other side." What does that mean to you? What would he be inviting you to? Because I think today he is inviting you and me to go with him to the other side.
And maybe that's got something to do with your relationship with God. Maybe it's got something to do with your job. Maybe it's got something to do with your spirituality. Maybe that’s got something to do with your church? Maybe it's got some to do with your health, your marriage, your children. You know what it is for you and I know what it is for me during my “so-called retirement “when Jesus says to us today, "Come with me and let's go across to the other side." We don't want to, right? Sometimes we don't want to or perhaps more correctly, we want to be on the other side but we don't want to go across the lake to the other side. We want Jesus to just sort of pick us up and drop us on the other side. We don't actually want to make the journey. We don't want to make the transition, or put more bluntly makes changes in our life. And that's why we're resistant, because we're mindful that out on the lake, hey, it's stormy out there. The lake's unpredictable, life out on the water is unpredictable and can turn very quickly and can get very scary.
So, when Jesus comes and says, "Hey, guys, let's go out on the lake and go across the other side," we are a little bit hesitant, or shall I say, obstinate, I’m not going nowhere, another way of saying “I’m not willing to make changes in my life because it’s too scary.”
Jesus and the disciples, they get in the boats, they go out there. A great storm of wind arose and the waves began to beat the boat and the boat began to fill with water. Where's Jesus? He's asleep. What does this tell us?
Like so many things. Firstly, it tells us most of the things we worry about, Jesus would sleep through. Most of the things we worry about, Jesus would sleep through because he knows there's nothing to worry about. We know that most of the things we worry about never actually happen. Imagine how much more Jesus knows that. So, all the disciples, they are freaking out.
Jesus is asleep and they finally wake him up. Right? What do they say to him? "Teacher, do you not care? You don't care about us. We're perishing here and you're asleep, taking a nap." Jesus calms the waves, says, "Peace. Be still." Calms the waves. And he says to them, "Why are you afraid?" What's he really saying? He's really saying, "Hey guys, I'm right here. I've been taking care of you for almost three years now, you know? Why are you afraid? Haven't you learnt yet, if you're with me, you're going to be okay? The problem is when you step away from me, that's when you should worry. You step away from me, that's a real storm. That's a storm to be worried about, but you're with me, why are you afraid?"
So, there are two questions I want you to think about today. What is the other side that Jesus is inviting you to journey with him to? And the second question is, what is the storm in your life at this time? We've all got a storm in our lives. Sometimes it's an afternoon shower and sometimes it's a hurricane but we've all got storms in our lives. There's always something happening. There’s change for me in my retirement and soon there will be change for you. What is the storm in your life right now? And where is Jesus in the storm? Are you with Jesus in the storm? Is Jesus asleep? Because if he's asleep, he's telling you, "It's okay, we're going to get through this, this will pass. Stay with me. You'll be all right. I'll make sure you're all right." That's what he's saying to us. Jesus is telling us that we are going to be fine. He is telling you that no matter what changes are coming, you all are going to be fine. What's the storm in your life and what journey is God inviting you to? Come to the other side.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are in the midst of a storm and afraid to make the journey that God is inviting us not to worry for He is telling us that we are going to be just fine.
