Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal May-June 2024

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
4th week, psalter

FIRST READING

From the Book of Job (Job 38:1, 8-11)
The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said: “Who enclosed the sea behind two doors, when it burst forth from the womb, when I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in dark clouds, when I set its limits, fastening its bars and doors, saying: ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?” - The Word of the Lord. 

Commentary on the First Reading

The Book of Ecclesiastes says that “all is vanity,” everything is vapor. So the question arises: what is truly important in life? If everything is vanity, like the flower of the field, and can be taken away in an instant, then what remains of me? The Book of Job helps us ask this question seriously. In the end, after a long ordeal, Job comes to say: “I knew you by hearsay, but now I know you personally.” Job rejects all the theories of his “friends” and takes the initiative, from the very midst of his existential storm, to direct words of accusation at God, which nevertheless prove to be a way of seeking him. What is extraordinary is God’s response. He answers Job and begins to ask him a series of questions, including today’s. Essentially, God asks him: Job, are you so wise that you have understood everything about life? Job has an extremely positive experience of God’s response to his cry, because it helps him place his unspeakable pain within an infinitely greater setting. In the end, God will say: my servant Job has spoken well of me. Job is each one of us. Each of us has something absurd that we cannot explain and must integrate into our life.

SECOND READING

From the Second Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:14-17)
Brothers and sisters, the love of Christ impels us, and we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised for them. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. - The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Second Reading

“The love of Christ impels us.” This expression is beautiful. It contains an entire program for life. In the Latin version, this Pauline expression is translated as “caritas Christi urget nos”. We translate it as “the love of Christ moves us, drives us, possesses us,” but we can hardly express the intensity of that “urget,” which is the force of the storm, the raging torrent, the wave that dominates us. With these words Saint Paul wants to tell us that the love of Christ keeps us united, prevents us from falling into despair, supports us, guides us, urges us on, embraces us, overwhelms us, calls us, and sometimes even torments us with restlessness, especially when we move away from it. If our relationship with Christ were based on our love for him, it would be too inconsistent and inadequate; that is why the source of everything is Christ’s love for us. This is a reality that envelops and encompasses us: it is impossible to give it a true definition, all the more so because we grasp its full meaning as it unfolds, develops, and draws us into actions that surpass us.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 4:35-41)
On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was a great calm. Then he said to them: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” - The Gospel of the Lord. 

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

There are interesting aspects to the reaction of the disciples and of Jesus. There is one word of Jesus that comes before everything else: “Let us cross to the other side.” It means crossing the sea. Every time the Bible refers to having to cross the sea, the reference is always to Passover. There is an Egypt to leave behind, with its burdens and its comfortable slavery: this is Jesus’ invitation, leading us toward Passover. Freedom is demanding and, in a certain sense, costs more than slavery! The Gospel says that the disciples took him with them just as he was. When you pray, who or what are you praying to? Are you placing yourself before the Lord or before yourself? Do you take the Lord into your more or less rickety boat just as he is, and not as you imagine him? When we take Jesus into the boat just as he is, we can also face storms. Too often we confuse the Lord with our own thoughts! God calls us toward impossible things, because we can already do the possible things ourselves. He promises us life in abundance, eternal life, to become like him, children in the Son. He promises us the impossible. God does this out of love. This is his logic. The Lord calls us to something that we are not able to achieve on our own, but that can only be received: he wants to make us like him, finally capable of loving.