Several years ago, I had an extraordinary conversation with our daughter—one of those special times in a father/daughter relationship that I especially recall on this Father’s Day weekend. She was in the senior year of college majoring in chemistry and I was nearly finished with diaconate formation and in the midst of a masters degree in pastoral studies. We got off on the topic of chaos….and how each of us approached the topic. It was a fascinating discussion and we concluded chaos was the essence of all her study and I had to agree that addressing chaos in its many forms was an integral part of my formation as well.
Today’s readings also remind me of that conversation. In Scripture there are many examples of bringing calm out of chaos. Certainly in the Book of Job we experience chaos in one’s life. Job’s personal life was beset with a series of storms. We can surely relate to Job’s situation when we confront the challenges and even dark spaces in our own spiritual journey. In those times, we, too, turn to God for comfort and courage.
We find in the Responsorial Psalm and in the Gospel reading chaos once again taking center stage in the form of the upheaval of the seas from a storm that sets the scene for the intervention of God. For us, the image is of our life’s journey with its many peaks and valleys, like waves that sometimes seem too strong for us to manage on our own. In the readings, the Lord of the cosmos hears the cries of distress and turns the danger of the storm into a gentle breeze of solace and tenderness. Fears turns to rejoicing and cries of distress become hymns of thanksgiving. But, how do we move from fear to rejoicing when we confront chaos in the many ways it touches us?
Part of that answer is found in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth. Paul offers his example of faith in Christ. Paul refers to the new life in Christ that comes from believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The challenge for the early Christians and the challenge for each of us today is to truly believe that we are a new creation in Christ. With the Easter Season is now behind us, we must remember we are still the children of God made new by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and by the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit.
And yet, throughout life we are confronted with both with good times and bad; joy and sadness; hope and depression; reward and punishment; success and failure; love and abandonment. We all can relate to Job’s experiences of not knowing where God is or the disciples fearing death while Jesus is asleep. How many times have we said to ourselves, “where are you God, where is your loving embrace?”
It is pretty easy for us to imagine ourselves there with the disciples in that boat about to sink. When those times come in our lives, when we feel we are about to sink –when we see no hope, no salvation—that is when we must embrace the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen our faith—a faith in our Lord Jesus and his faithfulness to us. There will always be some chaos, some tension in our lives. Look at Jesus himself.
You realize, from the early days of Jesus, he was creating chaos. Because of him, Mary and Joseph had to flee with him to Egypt. Jesus made trouble with hearers as he spoke of new ways of relating to God . He bothered the political leaders by confronting Roman authority. He was always asking his listeners to choose one way or another, putting them in conflict with others, including with family members.
When you think about it for a moment, getting into the boat with Jesus, being a believer, being a disciple is going to result in personal storms, even chaos, in our lives. Staying faithful to Jesus is an up and down experience. At times, we delight in our being charitable, generous, forgiving, even suffering. At other times, we walk away, abandon ship, getting as far away from being a loving, merciful and forgiving disciple of Christ.
Many of us have personally shared in recent weeks the storm, the chaos in this faith community. Feelings have been deeply hurt. Some may be still angry with others in our congregation. I am confident several of us said under our breath at one time of another, “where are you God?” In these moments, it can be easy to forget we are a community of faith and that the love of Christ and others is the object of our faith—but can we live it? Certainly we can and we will! Our faith is not a guarantee we will not succumb to the chaos experienced in today’s readings, BUT it is a promise that, even if we do nearly drown, Jesus will be with us. All we need to remember is that our Lord is with us, that we can find God in all things- even in those who have hurt us, even those we disagree with. We just need to find common ground and the common good in a collaborative, consensus building way that brings joy and hope into our lives and into this Parish. Each of us needs to listen and to speak with a discerning caring heart.
The same is true to the greater Church as well. This week the Vatican released the first of two documents that may well be the two most important from the Church in a very long time. The first is the encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si “Be Praised” with the sub-title “On the Care of our Common Home.” As all the speculation has suggested leading up to its release, there will be much chaos and disagreement among politicians, academics and the media over its content and recommendations. The other publication to be released on Tuesday has also garnered much speculation and controversy. This is the Working Document for the October Synod on the Family.
For us Catholics, it is important to read and reflect on these documents with a discerning and prayerful heart. It is important for us to listen carefully and respectfully to those we may likely disagree with. It is important for us to seek the common good and to find God in all things—even the chaos, the storms, the disappointments in our lives—for we are new creations in Christ giving thanks to the Lord, whose love is everlasting!