Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 28th January 2023

​The bitterly cold weather seems to be improving and becoming more springlike and the dawn chorus these past two days certainly gives the impression that Spring is on its way. The snowdrops are now accompanied by primroses and daffodils and there’s a feeling of hope in the air. The days are lengthening and you get a sense of light at the end of the tunnel. Toby really enjoys going out for his walks, particularly if there are canine friends to walk and play with. Next week we’ll celebrate the last of the Christmas feasts, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple or the Purification of Our lady, also known as Candlemas, and we’re already planning our Lenten parish programme.

 

​Today we keep the feast of St Thomas Aquinas, the great Dominican philosopher and theologian, the saint who wrote the beautiful texts for the feast of Corpus Christi. We commend to his intercession all those who are studying or teaching philosophy and theology, as well as the Synod process that is taking place all over the world. May his writings and prayers illumine our deliberations.

 

​Today’s Gospel from Mark, (Mk 4: 35-41), sees Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee for the first time with his disciples. I wonder how many times he’d crossed previously. “With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘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.” It’s not said how far they were planning to go or even their destination. Was it just to get away from the crowds for some well-earned peace and quiet? It looks as though they took nothing with them and there was more than one boat. But things didn’t go to plan. Jesus was in the stern fast asleep, leaving the sailing to others. He was a carpenter, not a sailor. A gale begins to blow. “Then it began to blow a 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 going down!’”

 

The boats were small and precarious in bad weather. The disciples are frightened and wake Jesus, hoping he has the solution to get them out of danger. They’re looking for a miracle and a miracle takes place. “And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’” Jesus rebukes the wind just as he rebuked the unclean spirits of those who were possessed. He questions the faith of his disciples that has proved lacking. If they really believed he was the Messiah, then fear of the elements should have no place in their lives. The calming of the storm causes them to ask each other. “Who can this be?” Can we think of events in our own lives that have led us to ask the same question?