SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - GOSPEL (Mk 4: 35-41) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Feb 3
- 4 min read
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (Mk 4:41)
FIRST READING - 11:1-2, 8-19
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
and Sarah herself was sterile
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar
and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said,
Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mark 4:35-41
From the Gospel according to Mark
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?”
SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - GOSPEL (Mk 4: 35-41)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
Today's Word of God speaks of the power and strength of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to earth to become a human being. And also reflects the weak faith of the apostles while they were with Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is also the image of the Supreme God, the Almighty, the Perfect, the Absolute; there is nothing He cannot do. He holds sovereignty over this world. All must obey His commands.
It is out of love, He came to earth and lived with mankind; especially He chose the apostles to follow Him, to collaborate with Him in the plan of salvation. God gave the apostles more faith: to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah who must come to the world.
Because of that faith, the apostles gave up everything to follow Him. But when the apostles followed the Lord, they still had human weaknesses, not having absolute faith in the Son of the Supreme God, who has full authority over all things.
That is why, when facing difficulties and challenges in life, the apostles lost their faith - as the Word of God today tells us that the apostles were terrified when their boat encountered strong winds and waves, while Jesus sleeping on a cushion. They woke Him up: 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'
Through this story, God teaches mankind a lesson: we must always be humble and lower ourselves, aware of our weakness and fragility, so we must be awake and run to God, to ask Him for the grace of faith, to ask Him to grant us more strength to fight, then we can win against the three enemies: the world, the devil and the flesh, otherwise, we will be exhausted and defeated by Satan.
Today, God calls on humanity to be awake to always believe in the love, the power, and the providence of the Supreme God; do not be afraid of any difficulty or challenge; do not retreat before the traps of Satan that tempt us to become discouraged and to distance ourselves from God.
It is in times of weak faith, in times of fear and anxiety that we need to run to call on the Supreme God.
He will intervene, remove all difficulties, and destroy all challenges; He will show the way to the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
He will give peace to mankind right here on Earth. Do not worry, do not be afraid anymore! Because humanity always has a God the Father who is almighty, perfect, and absolute
He can do everything, so why not run to call on the holy name of God to ask Him to intervene?
As in the Word of God today: The disciples were with God on the boat, and there were big waves and strong winds, while He was still sleeping.
The disciples were so worried! They ran to call on Jesus and it was He who intervened and calmed the sea.
Thus, the disciples were at peace and were able to reach the shore of happiness with God.
Therefore, now, God also calls on everyone that when we are afraid and weak, everyone should run to God and cry out to Him, to ask Him to intervene and help, and He will help.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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