Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 22nd June 2024

Jan Breughel, Christ in the storm on Sea of Galilee

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Whenever I travel to my relatives in France by boat, I am reminded that we who live here are Islanders, the sea is part of our collective history, and often plays a part in individual lives, not least the fact that most people on this Island are fond of going to the seaside for a holiday. Because we have such a high tidal drop and also a variable coastline, many who live and work by the sea are aware of its beauty, but also its dangers. For instance one national preoccupation, the state of the weather and prevailing winds. are important considerations before setting out on a sea journey. There are also many popular sayings associated with the sea and its weather, such as the well known:

'Red sky at night, sailor's delight.

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning!'

Our responsorial psalm echoes this ambivalent and cautious love affair we have with the sea, for though it is a psalm of praise, it sets before us a sense of something out of our control and far greater than ourselves:

"Some went off to sea in ships,

plied their trade on the deep waters,

They saw the works of the LORD,

the wonders of God in the deep.

He commanded and roused a storm wind;

it tossed the waves on high.

They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths;

their hearts trembled at the danger".

(Ps 107:23-26)

In this summer season we need a bit of that cautious nautical reverence for the waters, and as we holiday or visit the seaside, might we give thanks to the Creator for this aspect of creation, but take time to learn more about the waters that cover the earth, that we might begin to respect and cherish it as something deeply connected with our own origins and life. Water plays a huge part in the Christian journey, its symbolism is rich and deep, from that plunge into the waters of rebirth at baptism, to the cleansing blessing of water in various rituals but also in our scriptures as something that only God can contain.

This is something our first reading shares with us in God's answer to Job, a rhetorical question, which places humanity in a subservient, not primary role within the whole created order of things. Yes we might be the image of the Divine One in Jesus, sisters and brothers of the Lord, but we are not 'gods' and our task in this world is not that of dictatorship, but to be good servants of all under our care, true stewards of God's love for all that exists. So God's words to Job need to be taken not as a challenge or put-down , but understood seriously by each one of us as a reflection on who we are in the great scheme of things.:

To us God also asks: "Who shut within doors the sea,

when it burst forth from the womb,

When I made the clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling bands?

When I set limits for it

and fastened the bar of its door,

And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther,

and here shall your proud waves stop?

(Job 28: 8-11)

Being an Island nation should keep us in mind of the many things beyond our control, but also of the majesty of our blue planet. An apocryphal story by Henry of Huntingdon has one of the greatest of our Anglo-Saxon Kings using the sea as a lesson in humility. Whilst we may be familiar with the first part of the tale of Canute (or Cnut, 985/95 to 1035) setting his seat on the shore and commanding the waves to go no further, only to get his feet wet in the incoming tide, the second part reveals why he did this: '"But the sea carried on rising as usual without any reverence for his person, and soaked his feet and legs. Then he moving away said: "All the inhabitants of the world should know that the power of kings is vain and trivial, and that none is worthy of the name of king but He whose command the heaven, earth and sea obey by eternal laws". In other words, Cnut far from being arrogant is depicted as a person of true humility and deep Christian faith, understanding that before the Holy One, his power is as nothing.

Canute's lesson in humility can be discerned in Sunday's gospel which portrays Christ in a boat, crossing the sea during a storm, sleeping though the crashing waves and tumultuous wind. Here is the Lord of Creation at peace with the turbulence of the weather, who in answer to the distress of those with him, simply tells them not to be afraid, and calms tempestuous nature. This makes for us a powerful pictorial point, one found in the theological statement made by Paul in our second reading: "So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come". ( 2 Cor 5: 17) It might be difficult at times to glimpse the new creation about us, but in that image of Christ in the boat we have the answer to Job's question and our psalm, that it is in Christ all things are made new, and that includes us!

LECTIO

Psalm 107

Some went off to sea in ships,

plied their trade on the deep waters.

They saw the works of the LORD,

the wonders of God in the deep.

He commanded and roused a storm wind;

it tossed the waves on high.

They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths;

their hearts trembled at the danger.

They reeled, staggered like drunkards;

their skill was of no avail.

In their distress they cried to the LORD,

who brought them out of their peril;

He hushed the storm to silence,

the waves of the sea were stilled.

They rejoiced that the sea grew calm,

that God brought them to the harbour they longed for.

Let them thank the LORD for his mercy,

such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.

Let them extol him in the assembly of the people,

and praise him in the council of the elders.

St Basil of Caesarea (ca. 330-379)

Steer the ship of my life, Lord, to your quiet harbour, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.

Show me the course I should take.

Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can see the right direction in which I should go.

And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace.

Amen