A long, loooong time ago, my father and uncle bought a motor boat. Back then these boats were all wood, not fiberglass, with wooden benches, instead of cushioned seats. Our families used it for water skiing, and for fishing, fresh water or ocean. One Saturday, my father and uncle took me, my brother and a cousin out into the sea, off of Lynn Harbor, for some fishing.

We were having an enjoyable day, when suddenly a storm came down on us. The waves were huge, the boat was bouncing up and down. The bench we were seating on suddenly collapsed; to say we were scared would be an understatement. We did finally reach the safety of Nahant harbor; but that was an experience.

Needless to say, I think I can empathize with what the disciples were going through, on their own boat. Still, these were veteran fishermen, who should have known how to sail through rough seas. One can understand Jesus being peeved with them.

Still there is a lesson to be learned. I think that all of us need to reflect on our own responses might be, when the world tosses challenges at us, especially challenges to our faith, to what we believe; to what actions we are being asked to take, in the name of the Gospel; which we are called to proclaim by word and deed.
In the world, out there, we see new challenges; challenges to world peace, challenges to peace and harmony in our nation, in our communities; some would say even in our Church. There are storms a brewing out there, storms that threaten to swamp us.

How do we respond? By first of all, by having faith. To believe firmly that God is with us. Yes, it is a challenge, and there may be times when we may not meet that challenge. Yet, Christ is with us, encouraging us to strive to live the Gospel, to proclaim the Good News. The Holy Spirit is with us, to calm our fears, to inspire us to push on, in living the Gospel. And Father is there to embrace us all, to be a comfort to us all, no matter what trials we face.

“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”