Gospel for Tuesday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial of Blessed Junipero Serra, priest (USA)

Old Calendar: Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

From: Matthew 8:23-27

The Calming of the Storm

[23] And when He (Jesus) got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. [24] And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. [25] And they went and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." [26] And He said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. [27] And the men marvelled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?"
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Commentary:

23-27. This remarkable miracle left a deep impression on Jesus' disciples, as can be seen from the fact that the first three evangelists all report it. Christian Tradition has applied this miracle in various ways to the life of the Church and the experience of the individual soul. From earliest times Christian art and literature have seen the boat as representing the Church, which also has to make its way around hazards which threaten to capsize it. Indeed, very early on, Christians were persecuted in various ways by Jews of their time, and were misunderstood by the public opinion of a pagan society--which also began to persecute them. Jesus' sleeping through the storm has been applied to the fact that sometimes God seems not to come to the Church's rescue during persecution. Following the example of the Apostles in the boat, Christians should seek Jesus' help, borrowing their words, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing". Then, when it seems we can bear it no longer, Jesus shows His power: "He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm"--but first rebuking us for being men of little faith. Quite often Gospel accounts are meant to serve as examples to us: they epitomize the future history of the Church and of the individual Christian soul.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.