Liturgy of the Sunday

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!'

Psalmody

Psalm 106

Antiphon

Let us thank the Lord for his mercy.

'O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.'

Let them say this, the Lord's redeemed,
whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe

and gathered from far-off lands,
from east and west, north and south.

Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,
finding no way to a city they could dwell in.

Hungry they were and thirsty;
their soul was fainting within them.

Then they cried to the lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress

and he led them along the right way,
to reach a city they could dwell in.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men.

For he satisfies the thirsty soul;
he fills the hungry with good things.

Some lay in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and chains,

having defied the words of god
and spurned the counsels of the Most High.

He crushed their spirit with toil;
the stumbled; there was no one to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.

He led them forth from darkness and gloom
and broke their chains to pieces.

Let them thank the Lord for his goodness,
for the wonders he does for men;

for he bursts the gates of bronze
and shatters the iron bars.

Some were sick on account of their sins
and afflicted on account of their guilt

They had a loathing for every food;
they cam close to the gates of death.

Then they cried to the lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.

He sent forth his word to heal them
and saved their life from the grave.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men.

Let them offer a sacrifice of thanks
and tell of his deeds with rejoicing.

Some sailed to the sea in ships
to trade on the might waters.

These men have seen the Lord's deeds,
the wonders he does in the deep.

For he spoke : he summoned the gale,
tossing the waves of the sea

up to heaven and back into the deep;
their soul melted away in their distress.

They staggered, reeled like drunken men,
for all their skill was gone.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper :
all the waves of the sea were hushed.

They rejoiced because of the calm
and he led them to the haven they desired.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
the wonders he does for men.

Let them exalt him in the gathering of the people
and praise him in the meeting of the elders.

He changes streams into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,

fruitful land into a salty waste,
for the wickedness of those who live there.

but he changes desert into streams,
thirsty ground into springs of water.

There he settles the hungry
and they build a city to dwell in.

They sow fields and plant their vines;
these yield crops for the harvest.

He blesses them; they grow in numbers.
He does not let their herds decrease.

He pours contempt upon princes,
makes then wander in trackless wastes.

They diminish, are reduced to nothing
by oppression, evil and sorrow.

But he raises the needy from distress;
makes families numerous as a flock.

The upright see it and rejoice
but all who do wrong are silenced.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the love of the Lord.

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 we can read in it the trust they have in their master. In this cry we can see the innumerable cries that rise up from this world of ours, shaken by waves of all kinds that endanger men and women especially from the poorest countries, and sometimes entire peoples, such as those torn by wars and conflicts. We too may be surprised by Jesus' sleep. It is clear, however, that this is a notation that wants to teach us the continuity of the presence of the Lord at our side. Even when we are in the storm the Lord is by our side. He may seem asleep. We would like a life without storms, without problems, and without fear. But life is also a struggle, precisely, against evil, against storms that want to prevent us from reaching the shore of peace. Jesus' sleep indicates his full trust in the Father: he knows that He will not abandon anyone. Rather, he awaits our prayer and our cry for help. Prayer is originally a cry for help. It is also a personal cry. But not only that. There is a ministry of intercession that we must rediscover: Christians pray for everyone. We saw this during the coronavirus pandemic. Pope Francis reflected precisely on this episode: in the name of the whole world, in an empty St. Peter's Square, before God, he repeated the cry of the apostles on the boat: "Lord, why are you sleeping?"
At the disciples' cry 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 preventing to reach the shore of fraternity, justice and peace. But Jesus does not allow it. It was he who told them to go to the other shore and there he brings them. 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. Although this second fear is as strong as the previous one, it has incisive characters that cut deeply into the depths of the soul. 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 are welcomed by Him whom surpasses them in love. It is the fear of losing the only true treasure of love we have received; 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.