TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Job 38:1, 8-11; Psalm 107:23-26, 28-31; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41

It is a common human behavior, especially for us believers, to ask God questions in our grieving. Often, we hear some people say, “You should not question God.” Questioning God while grieving is a form of prayer in as much as we entrust every moment of the situation into God’s hand. If we question God with faith, he will surely respond to us, no matter how difficult the situation is.

Many Psalms question God. For example, “How long, Lord? Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (Psalm 13:2-3). Jesus questioned God while he was hanging on the cross, “And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” Which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:35).

Job, in his affliction, cursed the day he was born and questioned, “Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Why did knees receive me, or breasts nurse me? … Or why was I not buried away like a stillborn child, like babies that have never seen the light?” (Job 3:1-16). Also, in chapter 30:20-21, Job lamented to God, “I cry to you, but you do not answer me; I stand, but you take no notice. You have turned into my tormentor, and with your strong hand you attack me. You raise me up and drive me before the wind; I am tossed about by the tempest.”

The first reading is God’s response to Job. The reading says that “the Lord addressed Job out of the storm …” That is, God responded to Job in Job’s storm and assured Job that he is the Lord over his storm. God assured Job that he was in control despite his storm.

Today’s gospel is the disciples of Jesus experience of a storm. “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?’” (Mark 4:37-40).

Storms in our life distress us, as in the case of Job; or terrify us, as in the case of the disciples of Jesus. Sometimes, we do feel that God is silent as in the case of Job; or that Jesus is ‘asleep’ as in the case of the disciples. The readings teach us that God is neither silent nor asleep. He is in control. The wind and the sea obey him, as the disciples later testified.

Today’s psalm tells us about the sailors “who sailed the sea in ships and traded on the deep waters, saw the works of the Lord and his wonders in the abyss. … Their hearts melted away in their plight. … They cried to the Lord in their distress, from their straits he rescued them. He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled” (Psalm 107:13-29).

The first reading tells us that God addressed Job from “out of the storm.” God does the same to us. He addresses us out of our storm; but often, we do not listen to him. Rather, our attention is on the waves of the storm, and like Peter, we begin to sink (Matthew 14:30). Let us turn our attention to God with strong faith, listen to him, and wait on him. May he rebuke our wind, calm our storm, and restore us.

St. Paul encourages us in the second reading that we should not be ruled by distress, or fear, or doubt during storms and winds. Rather, let us be ruled by faith in Christ’s love who makes old things pass away and new things begin. May there be rejoicing and celebrations of new things for you and for me. Amen. 

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92:2-3, 13-16; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34

Today’s readings remind us of a saying: “Bloom where you are planted,” attributed to the Bishop of Geneva, St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622). All the readings speak of planting, blooming, and yielding fruit.

The first reading is Ezekiel’s prophecy about the return and restoration of Israel after the Babylonian captivity. “Thus says the Lord God: I, too, will pluck from the crest of the cedar the highest branch. From the top a tender shoot, I will break off and transplant on a high, lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel, I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar” (Ezekiel 17:22-23).

The imagery in the first reading is powerful and of particular importance: The crest (branch) of cedar is planted on a high and lofty mountain, and it becomes a majestic cedar. The branch of cedar does not wallow in self-pity and complains: “Others are planted in rich soil, and I am planted on rock; for that reason, I am unable to bloom and bear fruit.” Rather, it puts forth branches and stretches its roots through the cracks in the rock and finds water and nutrients and survives and bears fruit.

The second imagery is in the gospel reading: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land … the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear” (Mark 4:26-28). Note, the seed is scattered (cast, thrown, spreads), not sown! Again, the seed does not become envious and give excuses: “For others, the soil is tilled and plowed, and I am scattered on the land; for that reason, I am unable to bloom and bear fruit.” Rather, of its own accord, it sprouts and grows and yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 

The third imagery is also in the gospel: “a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade” (Mark 4:31-32). The mustard seed does not feel worthless and complain that it is the “smallest of all the seeds on the earth.” Rather, “it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” 

A lot of times, it is not what we have that matters but what we are able to do with what we have. Some people have little and achieve much; while some people have much but achieve little or nothing. Someone says, “Life is one percent what happens and ninety-nine percent how you respond.” Another says, “Life isn’t about what happens to you, it’s about how you handle what happens.” Yet another says, “Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Be strong and choose to be positive.” For some people, stumbling blocks are stepping stones to success. While for some people, stumbling blocks are tripping stones to failure. 

You and I are the branch of cedar. We are the seed scattered on the land. We are the small mustard seed sown in the ground. Every aspect of life: family life, vocation, ministry, job, profession, study, business, responsibility, and so on have their difficulties and challenges. We are all encouraged to be resilient, to stretch out, to break through, and to break out. Self-pity, excuses, discouragement, envy, helplessness, and quitting are never a solution. These only result in self-defeat. We must try to bloom where we are planted, whether on rock, or on the land, or in the ground. 

The second reading urges us, “Brothers and sisters: [Be] always courageous … [and] walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7). Those who walk by sight are those who are overwhelmed, disheartened, demoralized, and who quit in the face of the challenges of life. But those who walk by faith are those who have faith in God and who believe in themselves.

We are to make the best out of every situation we find ourselves. Where there is a will, there is a way. Our God who has planted us on a high and lofty mountain, or scattered us on the land, or sown us in the ground will not abandon us. God’s grace dwells with us wherever he plants us. All we need to do is to cooperate with God’s grace. Let us walk by faith: faith in God, and faith in ourselves, and be courageous. We pray with St. Paul, “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Amen.

TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR, B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Genesis 3:9-15; Psalm 130:1-8; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35

The story of Adam and Eve and their disobedience to God by eating from the forbidden tree and the punishment they received from God was one of the stories that captured my imaginations when I was a child. Our catechism teacher told us that the bump visible on the front of men’s throat was called “Adam’s apple” because Adam was about to swallow the apple in his mouth when God called him, and as he responded to God, the apple chocked him and got stuck in his throat. We were told the story to teach us the consequences of disobeying God’s commandments and yielding to Satan’s temptations.

The first reading narrates the blame game of Adam and Eve. Adam blamed God and Eve: “The woman whom you put here with me.” Eve was no longer “The bone of my bone and the flesh of my flesh” Adam had called her when God gave her to Adam (Genesis 2:3). How quickly human beings turn around in bad times! Eve blamed the serpent: “The serpent tricked me into it.” God listed out various punishments for Adam and Eve and banished them “from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which [they] had been taken” (Genesis 3:16-23).

The sin of disobedience of Adam and Eve is called the Original Sin. We all have a share of the Original Sin before the Sacrament of Baptism. The Sacrament of Baptism erases the Original Sin.

Another sin Adam and Eve committed was that none of them accepted responsibility for their action. Each blamed the other. May be, their punishment would have been lighter if each of them had accepted responsibility and did not blame and point accusing finger to one another.

In 1 Samuel 15, when Samuel confronted Saul for not fighting a holy war as God had directed, Saul denied responsibility and presented excuses. “The soldiers spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord” (1 Samuel 15:15). Samuel retorted, “Obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

Administrations, groups, and persons will make huge progress if they look inward, discover the reasons for their failure or problem, take responsibility, and work toward finding solutions. This is more helpful than looking outward for who or what to blame and accuse. This popular saying is very true, “If you point one finger, there are three more pointing back at you.” Scripture calls Satan, “accuser of the brethren,” who is overcome “by the Blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:10-11). May the Blood of the Lamb help us to overcome ‘blaming spirits’ and ‘accusing spirits.’

Blame game has many negative consequences. It is a stumbling block to possible solutions. It further creates tensions and resentments. John Maxwell says, “People who blame others for their failures [or problems] never overcome them. They simply move from problem to problem.” Taking responsibility heals tensions and resentments and creates paths to progress.

Have you ever worked or lived or associated with a faultfinder and accuser? Or, are you one? That was the problem with the scribes in today’s gospel. They sneered at Jesus as being possessed by Beelzebul, inconsiderate of all the good works he was doing. Let us stop blaming and accusing one another. Let us stop pulling one another down. Let us stop destroying one another. Let us appreciate God’s goodness in each other, encourage each other, and build up each other. Whoever destroys God’s goodness in another person blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that the blasphemer “will never have forgiveness.”

Adam and Eve’s temptation is different from that of Jesus. Many times, the temptation to quit from doing God’s will comes from relatives and loved ones, as in the case of Jesus in today’s gospel. “His relatives … set out to seize him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” “His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent word to him and called him.”  St. Paul advises us to be quick to discern when Satan “masquerades [himself] as an angel of light” and resist him. 

Another difference between the two temptations is the way Eve responded to the serpent and the way Jesus responded to his relatives. Eve gave the serpent the opportunity to win her over by dialoguing with it. Jesus did not give his relatives such an opportunity. Jesus responded the same way he did when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-12). Jesus used the words of the Scripture to resist and dismiss Satan: “Man shall not live by bread alone.” “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Also, Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23). No dialoguing, no conversing!

Let us learn from Jesus and heed St. Paul’s advice, “Do not leave room for the devil.” Other translations: “Give no opportunity to the devil;” “Do not give the devil a foothold;” “Don’t give the devil a chance” (Ephesians 4:27). We pray for the grace to do so. Amen.