People try to make sense of evils and sufferings happening around us. One of the possible "benefits" of sufferings is to provide a chance for us to mature, to grow out of our old self. Note that they provide a chance only. They don't guarantee success. Therefore, some mature while others succumb.
Today, we read of the miracle of Jesus calming the sea (Mark 4:35-41). Father Martin brought our attention to the fact that Jesus started the whole incident.
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." (Mark 4:35)
Jesus must have known what would happen next. He knew a storm would rise up in Lake Galilee. He knew his disciples would panic. He also knew that the storm would obey his command. He knew ... Yet , he put his disciples in such a situation. Why? Couldn't they delay the journey to avoid the storm or go to the other side with other means of transportation?
The same question is often raised why God deliberately put our first parents to the test. He created Adam and Eve and put them in the garden of Eden. He created the forbidden fruit. He knew the Serpent would tempt the woman. He knew our first parents were no match against the temptation of the Serpent and would succumb. He knew ... Yet, He put our Adam and Eve in such a situation (Genesis 3). Why?
Among the passengers on the boat, there were fishermen. They had weathered through many storms before but this particular storm must have been a very severe one. Now, they feared for their lives and woke Jesus up.
And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" (Mark 4:37-38)
Of course, Jesus cared. He immediately calmed the storm. After that, he questioned their faith.
He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" (Mark 4:40)
Have we no faith? Yes, we have but we our faith is too weak. We know that Jesus is with us but we don't know Jesus enough. The disciples had seen many miracles of Jesus. He healed. He cast out demons. But that was not enough for them in view of life and death. What about us? How much faith do we have in Jesus? We really don't know until the situation arises.
Father Martin told us that he was impressed by the remark made by a 16-year-old girl who collapsed about taking ketamine. She is studying Form One in Tuen Mun. The normal age should be 13. This Form One girl must have a complicated family background. The situation in which she experimented with ketamine is now revealed. Is she undergoing some relationship problem with her peers? Is she frustrated in her studies? Has someone pushed her the drug? We don't know.
In the ward, she confessed that she had been naive in experimenting with drugs. After seeing her mother weeping over her bed the whole night, she would never forget how much she had hurt her mother. She promised never to touch drugs anymore. Father Martin sees goodness arise out of evil. The girl has matured. He encourages the congregation to embrace storms in our life with faith so that we may grow out of our old selves.
Dear Lord, we hide in our old selves in comfort. Bring us liberation. You know how much we are able to endure. You will not bring us into tests which we cannot bear. Amen.
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