12th Sunday of Ordinary Time [B]

 


TWELFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME [B]


What do you do when a storm warning has been issued? Typically, you take shelter. Or, if something catastrophic is being anticipated, such as a hurricane, you might consider evacuating—putting distance between yourself and the storm. On the other hand, there are those who do just the opposite. They would rather close the distance between themselves and the storm. On television they are referred to as “Storm-Chasers.” You could follow their progress on the Discovery Channel, with programs airing from 2007 to 2012. If you are wanting a direct experience of the storm, then you might qualify as a storm-chaser. 


This begs the question of Why? Why be a storm-chaser? Evidently, they have their reasons. It’s about collecting data, developing the science, and improving the early-warning system. So there is a method to the madness. A case can be made for the pursuit of storms. Can a case be made for pursuing the God featured in the Book of Job? Furthermore, what can we say about the Divine encounter recorded in Mark chapter four? Should we turn tail and run? After all, in each instance, the conditions are portrayed as threatening, even severe. God addresses Job from within the vortex of the storm (see Job 38-40). Meanwhile, the disciples have to contend with a “violent squall” that has formed over the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). 


Should we be attracted to this imagery? Or should we be repelled? It’s clear the disciples would rather be somewhere else. By the end of the passage, however, they have gained a new appreciation for the Lord. As for Job, he has suffered extreme anguish over the course of the previous 37 chapters. Yet, now it can be said that a new level of peace is beginning to set in. Recall the example of the storm-chasers and their counter-intuitive way of life. It would appear that the spiritual life can follow a similar counter-intuitive pattern. 


Are you finding that the God of the Bible makes you nervous or uncomfortable? He’s an unpredictable Lord—impossible to understand. Therefore your first instinct is to head in the other direction. You’re thinking you need to put distance between yourself and this turbulent Lord. But then you look back on the case of Job. He comes face to face with the God of the Storm. Does it bring about Job’s personal destruction? Actually, this is where Job finds authentic peace. Once again we are being presented with counter-intuitive results. This episode represents a new beginning for Job. Perhaps this explains why we are hearing about the old being replaced by the new in our second reading (2nd Cor. 5:17). A new plateau awaits you. But it means pursuing the God of the Storm, not turning away from the God of the Storm. 

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