Happy first day of summer: the longest day of the year.
And happy Fathers’ Day. I'm sure many of you remember something humorous about your Dad. Mine had a good-natured humor, and a quick wit. Here are only two of his comebacks:
I would say: Daddy, can
you put my shoes on?
He would say: No, they
won't fit me.
I would say: Daddy, I
hurt my foot!
He would say: What did you do that for?
Yes, fathers are a blessing.
So, what does the word of God say to us today?
First, the Book of Job addresses the eternal question: why do bad things happen to good people? God doesn’t answer Job's question directly. God simply uses the image of the sea and its incredible power to say that He is mightier than these waters.
Yes, God is the creator of this awesome universe and we are mere creatures. We live briefly on a planet that is billions of years old. We see astonishing courage and compassion, and appalling cruelty and injustice. We search for meaning in life, we age, and then we die. And we may ask, what is the ultimate purpose of my life?
Paul in his Letter to the Christian community in Corinth speaks about God’s saving work. God through Jesus by the power of the Spirit has begun a new era. We are new creatures by the grace-filled waters of baptism, destined for life eternal. Do we live as new creatures?
In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus is on a small boat in the Sea of Galilee. He says,
"Let us cross to the other side."
A storm suddenly arises with crashing waves. And guess what: Jesus is asleep. The frightened disciples awaken him and beg Jesus to save them. Jesus simply calms the waters and asks: do you not yet have faith?
One of my favorite books is Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. He had a family, a good profession, and a comfortable home in the Austria of the 1930s. But because he was Jewish, he lost every earthly thing he treasured, especially family, in the Nazi death camps of WWII.
This loss brought him face-to-face with the fundamental questions of human life: How should I live now? What on earth am I here for?
Frankl, a psychiatrist, discovered that people could put up with incredible sufferings, without losing their will to live and their respect for others, if they saw that these hardships had some greater meaning.
In their hearts, people yearn for someone or something beyond themselves to live for. This can take different forms: family, a profession, a righteous cause. When a person finds something that gives transcendent meaning to life, that purpose awakens new energies in them. They become men and women of faith.
Belief on the other hand is a profession of the essential truths of our faith, as in the 4th century Nicene Creed.
We say: “I believe in one God” despite many who question God's existence.
We say: God is almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. Yes, completely Other and beyond ourselves, guiding everything to an ultimate purpose.
And yes, we believe in one lord, Jesus Christ. He came down from heaven for us. He invites us into His triune life forever.
Jesus who for our sake was crucified, died, was buried and rose again is our reconciler; and his resurrection anticipates our own indescribable life beyond this earthly life.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life. The power of the Spirit is within us.
We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic community of disciples, and we look toward the resurrection and the life to come.
What we believe truly matters. Pope St. John Paul II wrote:
“It is no accident that
we are here. Each and every human person has been created in the ‘image and
likeness’ of the One who is the origin of all that is. We have within us the
capacity for wisdom and virtue. With these gifts, and with the help of God’s grace,
we, a faith-filled people, can build a civilization worthy of the human
person.” And so, let us continue to live lives worthy of our status as
sons and daughters of God our Father. Amen.
