Examination Sunday
Job 38:1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41
Last Sunday, in the parable of the sower, the sower sowed his seed and went to bed, and God took care of his seed for him while he slept, and his seed yielded a pumper harvest. This Sunday, it is Jesus who slept — God slept — and there was commotion, threat of death and helplessness! Last Sunday, our readings were talking about trees, plants, seeds and farming; this Sunday, there is water everywhere — the sea that God gave limits to, in the first reading, and the sea on which the boat is struggling for survival, in the gospel.
Our Ordinary Time of the Church, which we started last Sunday, forces us to see God in the ordinary things of life; otherwise, it is going to be difficult to grow to maturity in God. It is the realization of the presence of God in the ordinary things of life that helps us to possess the knowledge of God. For example, basically every Christian knows that Job suffered terrible things, even though he was a good and righteous man. Compared with today, do we and those we know and love not suffer though we are innocent? Just look at Covid-19 and how many lives have been lost and are still being lost! With covid-19, the story of Job readily comes to mind.
The first lesson of Ordinary Time is to ask: how does God work and make himself present in ordinary ways? If last Sunday God made himself present through the activities of farmers, horticulturists, and gardeners, he makes himself present, this Sunday, through sailors, fishermen/women, ocean divers, swimmers and all who use water, in all forms. However, we need to pay attention to the two ways God makes himself present through water today—he is the Lord of the seas and all waters.
Like parents teaching their children to ride a bicycle or drive a car, like teachers teaching their students/pupils in school — there is always an assessment to find out, whether those being taught understood their lessons. Teachers give assignments and examinations to test the knowledge of their students/pupils. Driving instructors allow the learner to drive, while they watch. There is always the risk taken to let go of a bicycle, not with the intention and wish for an accident, but to see how a learner will maneuver on his/her own. What God is doing in our first and gospel readings is similar to a teacher/instructor, who tests the knowledge of his students/pupils/disciples/followers.
Because of Job and the disciples of Jesus in the gospel, this Sunday is ASSESSMENT OR EXAMINATION SUNDAY. For instance, all was well with Job, up until the examination day—the day he lost everything except his life. The wealth and children that made his life meaningful, all disappeared in the twinkling of an eye! That was EXAMINATION DAY for Job. In other words: is it possible to believe in God in material and social poverty? In fact, what is the meaning of life, if there is no wealth and children? Our first reading puts the meaning of life, NEITHER in material possession NOR in social capital — the meaning of life is in God-the-Creator of all things. The simple message of our first reading is this: God is the Creator of everything in existence, including the seas and oceans of the world; he takes out of existence, but he can bring back into existence whatever he takes out of it. To prove this reality to Job, God will restitute to Job, all that he lost during his EXAMINATION period! The description of how God tames the sea, in our first reading, is an example of God’s omnipotence—he has power to do all things!
In today’s gospel, the disciples who have been living with Jesus and have got used to his miracles — had their EXAMINATION DAY. While they were in a boat with Jesus, Jesus fell asleep. This is understandable because the EXAMINATION was not for Jesus; as a matter of fact, Jesus set the EXAMINATION for his disciples; knowing that they couldn’t cheat, he went to sleep! To the credit of the disciples, because they were overwhelmed with fear and couldn’t perform a miracle, they woke Jesus up. It is habitual of students to accuse teachers of inconsideration when an examination is difficult—exactly what Jesus’s disciples did: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
The message of this Sunday is in the second reading. If the aim of every teacher is for the students to learn and be independent in the future; since the objective of all instructors is to help students obtain their driver’s permit/license; Jesus wants to form adult Christians, who can weather the storms of life. Every life must come up against some storms. According to our second reading, Jesus Christ has already placed the power of survival in each one of us: “for everyone who is in Christ is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). Are you aware that you are a new creation because Christ dwells in you? Do you realize that God is not external but internal to you? No wonder Paul says: “I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). When you are faced with difficulties, prove that you are an adult Christian by displaying your faith, through your invocation of God (prayer).
EXAMINATION SUNDAY is also self-confidence Sunday. If Job was able to ace his examination: he was able to trust and find God despite the loss of children and material wealth; then, you and I can weather any storm that comes our way, because God is always with us, through thick and thin. In our gospel, as soon as the disciples remembered that Jesus was in their midst and called on him for help, he got up and stilled the storm. In like manner, when we realize that God dwells in us, our miracle takes place, no matter what we may be going through.
In their fear and panic, Jesus asked his disciples only one question: “Do you not yet have faith?” In order to ace any Christian examination or temptation, all we need is Faith. Our faith does not come out of the blue. We build up our faith and confidence in God, through our daily lives. Like every relationship, we get to know the other better by the day; so it is with God. Waiting to display faith, when the going gets tough, requires haven acquired faith in God through the ordinary things of life. Students learn and practice what they learnt in school before sitting for and examination. You and I must learn to see God in the simple and ordinary things of life, so that we can invoke him, when we encounter storms — for with God, all is possible!