Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 28, 2022
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
When I was a kid, I was afraid of everything—spiders, dark basements, automatic-flush toilets—but storms were the worst. The first crash of thunder would send me diving for cover with my favorite teddy bears. Today’s gospel was one of the only things that could calm me down.
The disciples, too, were afraid of a storm. And with good reason, in my opinion! These seasoned fishers knew a life-threatening storm when they saw one. No wonder they ran to Jesus, screaming, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
But amid this chaos, Jesus was sleeping. Sleeping! And when the disciples woke him up, he dared to say, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
What are we to make of Jesus’ total lack of fear? The obvious answer is that Jesus wasn’t afraid because he knew he had power over the storm. This, in itself, is comforting—it is good to know that God can calm any storm in our lives. But perhaps there is a more profound message here.
For years, my Mom has had a little sign on the kitchen counter that reads, “Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.” Here is the key to this passage—Jesus had no fear, even before he rebuked the wind and the waves. He could sleep through the storm because he had complete trust in his Father. That’s why he calls the disciples “you of little faith.” He wants them to trust that storm or not, he will take care of them.
I still wouldn’t say I like storms, literal or metaphorical, but I do trust that Jesus can calm every storm I face. And perhaps more importantly, I know that Jesus will be with me through every storm I face, reminding me that his perfect love drives out fear.
Prayer
There are times, O Lord, when daily realities frustrate us. Sometimes one thing after another happens, and we feel overwhelmed. These are the times when we most yearn for your presence and your support, yet we don’t feel it or sense it. Please…..tell us what we can do! We need your help so much at those times. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Irenaeus was a bishop who so thoroughly refuted a certain strain of heresy in his region that his words were used throughout the Church to guide the truth that has been handed on to us today.
He was born in 125 and was educated by St. Polycarp, who personally knew and learned from St. John. Irenaeus was sent as a missionary to what is now Lyons, France. Trading routes were leading to the development of that region, and the Church was growing there. Irenaeus was assigned to work as a priest under the bishop, St. Pothinus.
The region fell under a persecution and Irenaeus was chosen to travel to Rome to deliver a letter and speak with the pope about some matter. While he was away, Pothinus was killed, along with many of the other priests who worked with him. Irenaeus stayed in Rome until it was safe, and later he returned to Lyons as its new bishop.
He was bishop there for some 20 years, and expanded the Church in the area. He even spoke the native Celtic dialect instead of his own Greek. Certain deviations of the faith were spreading through the area, and Irenaeus was determined to refute them and guide his flock with the true faith. He learned every variation of the heresy and then explained all of the distorted beliefs in a large work that also described the true faith that came to him from the apostles and is contained in Scripture.
These heresies were from a strain of thought called Gnosticism, which seemed attractive to people because it claimed to offer them secret wisdom that was not available to everyone. Irenaeus said that he was determined to “strip the fox.” His work in defense of the faith spread rapidly and was used everywhere to refute gnostic belief, which was a major threat to the early faith.
It is believed that Irenaeus was martyred, but there is little evidence for this. He died around the year 202, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Irenaeus, you defended the early Church from secret sects and ensured the truth of our faith today—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Irenaeus is available for use under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed March 19, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
