David
grew very angry with that man and said to him: “As the LORD lives, the man
who has done this merits death! He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because
he has done this and has had no pity.” 2 Samuel 5-6
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 great calm. Then
he asked them, “Why are you terrified?” Mark 4:38-40
Piety
Be.
Be still.
Be still and know.
Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm
46:10)
Study
Actions have consequences. David learns the hard way when Nathan
presents a test case. In the test, a powerful man takes advantage of his poor, helpless
neighbor. Hearing the story, David is outraged and denounces the rich man—thus
unwittingly pronouncing judgment on himself. “You are the [rich] man,” Nathan
reveals. Perhaps David should have
learned from the wind and the stormy seas in today’s Good News. Perhaps he should have been more humble and
not passed judgement on his neighbor.
But he did and he fell right into Nathan’s rhetorical trap.
Just like David sentences the hypothetical rich
man to pay restitution four times over for what he has done (“He shall restore
the ewe lamb fourfold”), David will pay for his wanton adultery with the deaths
of four of his sons. The notes in the New American Bible teach us (remind us)
what happens: David’s judgment
foreshadows the deaths of four of his own sons: the child born of his
adulterous union with Bathsheba; Amnon (13:28–29); Absalom (18:15; 19:1); and Adonijah (1 Kgs 2:24–25).[i]
The disciples also learn that actions have
consequences. When they fear for their
lives in the storm, Jesus commands the wind and the waves to be quiet. Jesus not only rebukes nature, but he also
rebukes his companions for expressing their lack of faith. Yet who among the loyal
readers of Your Daily Tripod would not be afraid if we were in that boat,
too?
Jesus also sees how his actions have
consequences. The combination of silencing
the demons in Mark 1 and calming the seas and storms here, are signs of Jesus’
power and presence. It begins to reveal
the Epiphany to his followers: Who is this
itinerant preacher? For even though Jesus
commands the people he heals to tell no one about his actions, they cannot keep
from singing Jesus all the way to Good Friday. Yet it was the path he was on
from the Annunciation. Indeed from when Adam took a bite at the apple.
Action
If the winds and the seas and the demons obey
Jesus, who are we to disobey? Obedience
and humility are the preferred actions and dispositions.
The Benedictine Sisters of Erie website presents
a reflection by Sr. Joan Chittister on today’s second step of humility passage from the Rule of St.
Benedict:
The question, of
course, is how do we recognize the Will of God? How do we tell the will of God
from our own? How do we know when to resist the tide and confront the
opposition and when to embrace the pain and accept the bitterness because
"God wills it for us." The answer lies in the fact that the Jesus who
said "I have come not to do my own will but the will of the One who sent
me" is also the Jesus who prayed in Gethsemane, "Let this chalice
pass from me:" The will of God for us is what remains of a situation after
we try without stint and pray without ceasing to change it.[ii]
How do we know when to resist the tide of
human opinion and act according to the will of God? How do we know when to have faith that will
get us through any storm? How do we know
God? Maybe we have to get in the boat
with him when the storms approach.
No comments:
Post a Comment