July 4, 2017 Tuesday 13th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Gen 19:15–29 Gospel: Mt 8:23–27
Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning a fierce storm hit the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep. They woke him and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!” But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?” Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.The disciples were astonished. They said, “What kind of man is he? Even the winds and the sea obey him.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A boat moored at an ill-equipped harbor is about to sink because of sudden tidal surge. Passengers call on God in his various titles. They shout, “Santo Nino de Cebu, Jesus de Praga, Santo Entiero, Diyos Espiritu Santo…” A man who knows nothing about religion yells at them, saying, “This boat is sinking, and you are still calling for more passengers?” They reply, “We are calling the Lord.” The man inquires, “Is he a drug lord, or a gambling lord that you should still accommodate him even if this boat is already overloaded?” Moral lesson: Crisis time is too late a time to know the Lord for the first time.
In today’s Gospel strong winds drove the disciples to their wit’s end. But they had Jesus in their midst and all they had to do was wake him up. But consider the following circumstances. They were fishermen and Jesus was a carpenter. Why would expert fishermen seek help from a carpenter on issues about perils in the sea? Thus, the fact that they bothered to wake him up means they considered him not as a carpenter but as a man with extraordinary powers.
Crisis time is too late a time to know the Lord the first time. If God is a stranger to our lives we won’t be calling out on him in the first place. Instead of opening our eyes to the power of God over problems, crisis will harden our hearts as we sulk in self pity thinking that the gods have abandoned us. But if we have God in our lives, all we need to do is call out on him, and the subsequent divine intervention will even deepen our faith.
Crisis time is too late a time to know the Lord the first time. The trouble with some people is that they remember God when pinned to the wall, but ignore him when out of trouble or even wish he didn’t exist to meddle in their lives at all. Those who welcome God into their lives in this manner do not know God at all. They will just treat him like a machine. When prayers said hurriedly in times of emergency are not heard they dismiss God as out of order. What a terrible situation it would be when we shall have no God to call on in times of difficulty! –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT <message/ name/age/address> at i-send sa 4467.