A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mk 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:“Let us cross to the other side.”Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.And 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 great calm.Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?Do you not yet have faith?”They were filled with great awe and said to one another,“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
REFLECTION'
Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?
After a 20 year running legislative battle, at last there was victory in 1807 with the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Safe Trade Legislature in 1807. That same year, before his death, the old man who had been fighting for this was heard saying, “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour”.
The conversion of John Newton took place during a sea voyage to England. On March 9, 1748, while on the ship, he read a Christian book and was horrified at what was happening to his conscience. "What if all these things were true?"
On March 10, 1748, his ship was caught in a big storm, one man falling overboard and the ship with severe damage. It was astonishing that there were any survivors. He cried out for mercy and realized,“What mercy can there be for me?” He had concluded that his sins were too big to be forgiven.
For weeks the ship was at the mercy of the sea. He continued reading the New Testament to see if what he had read before was true. He eventually came to believe that there was a God that hears and answers prayers.
This was the changing point or the epiphany for John Newton. He began attending church and began to realize that God’s grace could save even a ‘wretch’ like him! Though he continued to work in the slave industry for another six years, his demeanor, his behavior, his lack of swearing and his new way of thinking was obvious to many. He eventually renounced slavery. Nine years later he eventually became a clergyman. He wrote beautiful poems and hymns, one of which was "Amazing Grace", which described his own spiritual journey.
Yes, there are storms in our lives and we may think that God is not aware of how terrified we are. He seeks us out and will be with us in the middle of our storms. Faith is what leads us to totally abandon ourselves to God and be at peace with our situation. The soul cannot die because the Divine is in us and sustains us. We have no reason to fear death if eternity with God is our reward. John Newton was a new creation after God found him in the ship in the middle of the storm.
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