We recently held our parish picnic. It is held mostly outdoors, so weather was critical for success. The forecast for Saturday looked terrible, so people kept coming up to me to make sure I was praying that God would give us good weather. I’ve always struggled with praying for the right forecast, but I also understand the intention behind it. Parishioners wanted us to be able to have a beautiful weekend in which we could celebrate each other on our beautiful campus outdoors. As it turns out, we had gorgeous weather on both days, but I never take any credit for the weather. I do pray that people stay safe while they visit with us and that we all are hospitable to make people feel welcome. But the weather is out of my control.
In the Gospel for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus’ disciples are in a boat in a similar predicament. They’re having bad weather, and Jesus is with them. They ask Jesus to take away the storm, which eventually happens; but storms exist in our lives in more ways than just the forecast. What do we do during the torrential parts of our lives, and what part does God play in that?
We can pray not to have difficult moments or torrential situations in life, but we know that those are a part of ordinary human existence. Weather forecasters are getting better at warning us ahead of time, but we are always reminded that weather is not in our control. How do we deal with the other things in our lives that are out of our control?
The disciples in the boat couldn’t imagine that Jesus wouldn’t do anything about this storm. It didn’t seem like His presence made much of a difference. It wasn’t until the storm was gone that they were able to have faith. Is that true about us right now? Do we need the storm to cease before we will believe, or can we believe that Jesus is present during the storm? Does the faithful presence of Jesus make any difference to us as we experience trials?
“Give thanks to the Lord, His love is everlasting,” is our responsorial psalm for this weekend, but a question remains. Do we believe deeply in the everlasting love of God in the midst of turmoil as we do in the midst of peace? Take time to check internally, so that we can clearly understand where we are.
Does God have to be our rescuer before we believe in His faithfulness? Do we purposely avoid difficult situations because we don’t experience God’s presence in them? Does our fear keep us from being sacrificial in love?
I have experienced a hurricane, a tornado and an earthquake. Our region has severe storms, and we have witnessed signs and wonders in the sky. We trust those who study astronomy to teach about the truth of the cosmos. But we don’t quite know what to do with its periodic unpredictability. Some of us go back to very primitive beliefs that God is somehow trying to punish us for something we did wrong. Some people see good weather as a sign of favor from God.
The Scriptures this weekend remind us that we weren’t there when creation happened. We didn’t put the planets and stars and the universe in place. As Catholics, we believe that God is responsible for the beauty of all of the universe. Can that belief actually help us to live faithfully both in beauty and in tumult?
Father Donald Wester is pastor of All Saints Parish in St. Peters.