In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers the various storms that assail us in life, and hoe God guides us through them.
Readings for Saturday of the third week of Ordinary Time can be found here.
In 2015, the UK’s Met Office began the practice of naming winter storms. The first one, in November of that year, was Abigail. Storms are given names suggested by members of the public which are applied in alphabetical order as the storm season progresses. The most recent, on 26 January, was Storm Chandra, which brought widespread flooding to the south of England.
The disciples of Jesus included experienced fishermen. You would have thought that they had seen storms like the one described in today’s Gospel many times before. Yet sometimes a storm can arise the likes of which have rarely been seen, and even those who have been through a lot are left terrified, wondering if they will survive.
It can be like this in life. Sometimes we are assailed and battered by circumstances and events that are so frightening we might question whether we will be able to get through it. These storms may be beyond our control, or they might be self-inflicted. In our first reading, David experiences such a storm of his own making when Nathan the prophet confronts him about his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. Matters worsen when the child which Bathsheba bore as a result of the affair dies; David lies on the ground, will not get up, and will not eat.
In the boat on the lake, Jesus was with the disciples all the time, albeit asleep. It is he to whom they turned in their hour of need. Likewise, David acknowledges his sin before God, who later blesses him with another child, Solomon. God does not promise that we will never experience the storms of life, but he does promise to be with us, to be there for us, and to help us survive.
South Cardiff Ministry Area 