Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
The Orthodox Churches celebrate Pentecost

First Reading

Job 38,1.8-11

Then from the heart of the tempest Yahweh gave Job his answer. He said: Who pent up the sea behind closed doors when it leapt tumultuous from the womb, when I wrapped it in a robe of mist and made black clouds its swaddling bands; when I cut out the place I had decreed for it and imposed gates and a bolt? 'Come so far,' I said, 'and no further; here your proud waves must break!'

Second Reading

2 Corinthians 5,14-17

For the love of Christ overwhelms us when we consider that if one man died for all, then all have died; his purpose in dying for all humanity was that those who live should live not any more for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life. From now onwards, then, we will not consider anyone by human standards: even if we were once familiar with Christ according to human standards, we do not know him in that way any longer. So for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Mark 4,35-41

With the coming of evening that same day, he said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.' And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a great gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, 'Master, do you not care? We are lost!' And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Quiet now! Be calm!' And the wind dropped, and there followed a great calm. Then he said to them, 'Why are you so frightened? Have you still no faith?' They were overcome with awe and said to one another, 'Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.'

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

"Do you not care that we perish?" It is certainly a cry of despair, but it also reveals the trust they have in that master. It is easy to discern in that cry the countless cries rising from this world of ours that is tossed about by waves of all kinds that endanger men and women especially from the poorest countries, such as those torn apart by wars and conflicts. We too may think that Jesus is asleep as the events of the world continue to the point of even greater tragedies. The Gospel wants to tell us that Jesus does not abandon us and is still with us, even when we are in the storm. Of course, we may think he is asleep. We would certainly like a life without storms, without problems, without any fear. But life is also a struggle against evil, against the storms that want to prevent us from reaching the shore of peace. Jesus' slumber indicates his total trust in the Father who, he knows, will not abandon anyone. Rather he is waiting for our prayer, for our cry for help. Prayer starts from a cry for help, even personal, but not only. There is a ministry of intercession that we need to rediscover: Christinas are called to pray for all.
At the cry of the disciples Jesus wakes up, stands up straight on the boat, and threatens the wind and the raging sea. Immediately the wind is silent and the sea becomes calm. God overcomes the hostile powers that do not allow the crossing, that is prevent us from reaching the shore of fraternity, of justice and of peace. The episode ends with a unique detail. The disciples are taken by a great fear, and they say to one another, "Who then is this?" Mark's text speaks of fear rather than wonder. It is the holy fear of being in the presence of God. Yes, it is the fear of those who feel small and poor in front of the saviour of life; the fear of those who are weak and sinful, and yet know they are welcomed by Him whom they have offended and who surpasses them in love; the fear of not knowing how to take advantage of the closeness of God in our daily lives; the fear of dispersing the "dream" of a new world that Jesus has begun in us and with us. This fear makes us realize that we are already on the other side.