Trust and Faith in the Midst of Chaos

• 🙏 Lord, open our hearts, minds, and ears to listen and understand as we dive into your word tonight.
• 🌪️ The image of the Lord hushing the storm to silence reflects the idea of finding peace and stillness in the midst of chaos and turmoil.
• 🌊 St. Augustine's idea of Christ being asleep within us during storms challenges us to trust rather than give in to anxiety.
• 🌪️ How are you weathering the storms? How are you trusting in the Lord are you am I when the storms of life come because he's proven time and time again that he has the authority to command them.
• 🙏 If we acknowledge the fear and say I'm going to push ahead and move forward regardless of the fear, then we are emulating Jesus Christ on his way of the Cross.
• 🙏 The Lord shows us that he is not unfamiliar with suffering, so when we are in the storm, we can see him walking with us.
• 🌪️ "God gives us more than we can handle all the time, the phrase is God will never give you more than you can handle without him."

Power and Authority of Jesus Over Natural and Spiritual Forces

• ⛈️ Calming the storm shows dominion over chaos and death, evoking the power of God as described in the Old Testament.
• 🌊 Jesus's power over the storm signifies his defeat of the Canaanite god ball, showing his dominion over false worship and false gods.
• 🐸 The plagues in Exodus represent the defeat of Egyptian gods, showing the power of the one true God over false deities.
• 🙏 Jesus embodies the power of God, bringing order and new life where there is chaos, doubt, suffering, and despair.

Symbolism and Parallels in Biblical Stories

• 🌱 The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, small but powerful, just like the faith that can calm the storm.
• 🌅 Just as God brought order and life to the formless and void Earth, we can bring structure and purpose to our own lives.
• ⛈️ The imagery of Jonah in the Old Testament foreshadows the death and resurrection of Jesus, showing beautiful parallels between the two.

FIRST READING AND PSALM

• 00:00 📖 Studying the readings for Sunday mass allows for a deeper encounter with the Lord, leading to a new identity in Christ and authentic self-love through revering and loving God's name.
  • The 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time features challenging readings with connections between the first reading, psalm, and gospel, and the purpose of studying the word of God is to have something happen inside of us.
  • Preparing for Sunday mass by studying the readings allows for a deeper encounter with the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, which is the source and summit of our Catholic Christian faith.
  • The second reading from 2 Corinthians discusses how we are a new creation in Christ, giving us a new identity that we share with Christ.
  • Loving God's name is authentic self-love because it allows us to share in our identity with Jesus, and revering and loving God's name is important.
• 03:17 📖 Acknowledging Jesus as Lord and truly believing in it allows us to have confidence in God's love, as seen in the first reading from The Book of Job.
  • Acknowledging Jesus as Lord and truly believing in it allows us to have confidence that we are set firm on the foundation of God's love, and by doing so, we can be assured of never being deprived of his guidance.
  • The first reading comes from The Book of Job, which is a tricky but lovely book, and the speaker mentions the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.
• 05:02 📖 Job, a righteous man, faces tragic events testing his faith, while his friends accuse him of sin, but he maintains his righteousness.
  • Job, a wealthy and righteous man, faces a series of tragic events that test his faith, including the loss of his family, livestock, and health, and his wife encouraging him to curse God.
  • Job's friends try to convince him that he must be guilty of sin because of his suffering, but Job maintains his righteousness and refuses to accept that he deserves his misery.
• 06:51 📖 Job and the Lord engage in deep philosophical conversations, with Job eventually calling on the Lord to speak, leading to God speaking for several chapters in the Book of Job.
• 08:05 📖 God has control over the sea and the wind, the Old Testament talks about this, and we must remember that he is the creator of all.
  • God alone has control over the sea and the wind, and the purpose of the reading is to show that the Old Testament talks about this, with the expectation that the preacher will focus on this idea.
  • God is both merciful and fierce, and we must remember that he is the creator of all.
• 10:11 📖 God is the Lord of all and has control over the sea, a powerful force that cannot be fully controlled.
  • God is the Lord of all and if he's not the Lord of each individual person, they need to be called to task, and even though God never accuses Job of sinning, he addresses him out of the storm and tells him to prepare for combat.
  • God created the sea and has control over it.
  • Water is a powerful force that creates and adapts, and cannot be fully controlled.
• 12:36 📖 The Lord's control over nature is evident in Psalm 107, and we should give thanks for his everlasting love, as seen in the experience of sailors in a storm.
  • The Lord can control the nature of things, so we should turn to Psalm 107 and give thanks to the Lord for his everlasting love.
  • People who sail on the sea saw the works of the Lord and experienced a storm that caused their ship to be tossed by massive waves.
• 14:22 🙏 God's power is shown in controlling the elements and rescuing those in distress, for which we should give thanks.
  • Their hearts melted away, they cried to the Lord in distress, and he rescued them, calming the storm and bringing them to safety.
  • God's power is evident in his control over the elements, and we should give thanks for his kindness and wondrous deeds.

GOSPEL READING

• Click on playlist icon in upper right hand of video

• 00:00 📖 Even in life's storms, God remains present and in control, as seen in the Book of Job's test of faithfulness.
  • Keith Nester discusses the upcoming Sunday readings for the Catholic church, focusing on the age-old question of where God is in the midst of life's storms.
  • The readings discuss the idea that even in the midst of trials and storms, God remains present and in control.
  • The Book of Job is about a bet between God and the devil to test Job's faithfulness, with the devil claiming that Job is only faithful because of his blessed life.
• 03:20 📖 Job faces calamities and questions his suffering, but God challenges his understanding of the world.
  • Job had a blessed life, but Satan inflicted him with calamities to test his faith.
  • Job questions why he is suffering, his friends tell him to curse God, but God finally speaks and challenges Job's understanding of the world.
• 05:50 🙏 God questions Job's understanding and reminds us that we are not entitled to demand answers for the problem of evil and suffering.
  • God is questioning Job's understanding of creation and his ability to question God's wisdom and power.
  • We cannot demand answers from God, as we are not entitled to them, even if we have been good by our own standards.
  • The problem of evil and suffering in the world does not necessarily mean that God owes us an explanation, as his plan and purposes are beyond our understanding.
• 09:37 🙏 Trust in God's plan, even when things don't make sense, and find faith and praise in the midst of suffering.
  • Life doesn't always follow the idea of good actions leading to good outcomes and bad actions leading to bad outcomes, sometimes things happen as part of God's plan and it's hard to understand, but there's more to it than just enduring tough times.
  • God has a plan, as seen in Psalm 107, where those in distress cried out to the Lord and were delivered.
  • The song "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns is about finding faith and praise in the midst of tragedy and suffering.
• 12:54 📖 God wants us to approach suffering from a different perspective and live for Him, not for ourselves, recognizing His power and love in the midst of storms.
  • The theme of the readings is that we are who we are no matter where we are, and God wants us to approach suffering from a different perspective.
  • The love of Christ controls us, and those who live should live for him, not for themselves, and we should no longer regard anyone from a human point of view.
  • The mindset of a new creation in Christ is about recognizing God's power and love in the midst of suffering and storms, rather than regarding things from a human point of view.
  • Adopting the mindset of Christ leads to a new creation mindset focused on trust, perseverance, gratitude, and obedience, which sustains faith and relationships with God through life's challenges.
• 17:41 🌊 People walk away from God in difficult times, but we must focus on being faithful and understanding that adversity is within God's ultimate permission and will.
  • People walk away from God during difficult times because they lack understanding and feel entitled, but we must be careful not to become bitter and disappointed.
  • Focus on asking "what does it look like for me to be faithful in this situation" rather than getting hung up on "why" questions, as human understanding is limited compared to God's design and love for us.
  • Jesus calms a storm, showing that even those who have seen great things from God will still struggle when the storms come.
  • Adversity can cause even the strongest people to falter, but Jesus remains unworried.
  • Jesus teaches that nothing happens outside of God's ultimate permission and will, even the storms in our lives, which is a hard lesson to learn.
• 23:32 🙏 Trust in God's love and find comfort in Jesus, despite life's challenges and unanswered questions.
  • The speaker reflects on the difficulty of watching his mother suffer and die from pancreatic cancer shortly after his parents retired and achieved their dream of buying a cabin in the Colorado mountains.
  • Life is full of challenges and unanswered questions, but we must remember that God loves us and we are not entitled to understand everything.
  • Trust in God's love and find comfort in Jesus, rather than trying to make sense of everything.
• 27:49 🙏 Jesus comforts those who mourn, God will show up for you, don't give up, unpacking the mass prepares the Community of Faith, encourage testimonies and support the community.
  • Jesus comforts those who mourn, even in the storm, and God will show up for you in various ways, so don't give up and remember that even when things feel out of control, God has a plan and will walk with you.
  • Prayer for strength and faith in the face of storms, seeking to be like the Saints who endured and standing firm in love and trust.
  • Unpacking the mass is like a pregame warm-up for the Community of Faith to prepare themselves to receive the one who calms the wind and the waves in the Blessed Sacrament.
  • Encourage others to share testimonies, spread the word about unpacking the mass, and invite people to study the readings with small groups.
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