IN WIND AND STORM
Amos questions the people of God and asks them to give an account of how they have answered God’s love.
We have to recognize the Lord’s presence and to keep trusting in him, when storms rage within us and in our world as they threaten to engulf us and make us ask: “Lord, where are you?” These may be the storms of temptation, of doubts and fears regarding the faith, of threatened loyalty. The winds of change too, may be howling typhoons tossing the bark of the Church around, before we can enter the calm waters of a renewed Church. The Lord is there, we should not be afraid.
First Reading: 3:1-8; 11-12
Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account—and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!
“Out of all the families on earth,
I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling,
I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”
Do two people walk hand in hand
if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
if nothing trips it?
When the alarm goes off in the city,
aren’t people alarmed?
And when disaster strikes the city,
doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
without first telling his prophets the whole story.
The lion has roared—
who isn’t frightened?
God has spoken—
what prophet can keep quiet?
“I hit you with earthquake and fire,
left you devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning stick
snatched from the flames.
But you never looked my way.
You continued to ignore me.”
God’s Decree.
“All this I have done to you, Israel,
and this is why I have done it.
Time’s up, O Israel!
Prepare to meet your God!”
Gospel: Matthew 8:23-27
Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat—and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!”
Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.
The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea come to heel at his command!”
Prayer
Lord our God,
you let your Son reassure us
with a word of reprimand:
“Why are you afraid, people of little faith?”
Let that little faith grow in us
and make us absolutely certain
that you are with us in your creation,
in the dark and in the night,
in the wind and in the storm,
even in the depths of death.
For you are the God who said:
“I am there for you,”
now and for ever. Amen.
Video available at: bibleclaret.org
