12th Sunday of the Year – Who’s in Charge?

Study:  Recall a place in nature that you find particularly calming.  What is it about this location that touches your heart?

Pray:  Take some time to enjoy the opportunities of nature near you.

Serve:  How can you take care of the beauty of creation?  What can you do right now for the care of the earth?

12th Sunday of the Year Readings

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast

There are many beautiful places in the world, and I get to live in one of them.  The forests of northern Wisconsin reveal color and majesty; the water in our streams, rivers, lakes and Great Lakes offer serenity and grandeur; the rolling hills of lush farmland exude the glory of life.

And I call this home.

Nature teaches many lessons: beauty, truth, life, death, change, growth, immensity, and wonder – to name just a few.  Yet nature also reveals through its design and form some clues about the Author who created it all.  Simply put, in the creation we see the signs of the Creator.

The first reading reminds us that the Lord fashioned the world.  God speaks to Job, driving home the point that the power and significance of the planet derives from the the goodness of the Almighty.  From the throne of Heaven God rules his creation far above the scope and understanding of the human heart.

In the Gospel today Jesus calms a stormy sea with a single word.  The Lord who made the universe as power over it; at his command the earth obeys.   Jesus, the Son of God, holds the world in his hands.

From these readings we might rightly assume the transcendent power of God.  But there is more: Jesus Christ – the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords – reaches out from the awesome power of divine supremacy to enter our world and be known by the human heart.  The Lord bridges the distance between Heaven and Earth, allowing us to come to know the one who made us; the Creator allows his creation to draw near.

Take some time this week and immerse yourself in the beauty of creation.  Open your eyes to the wonder and glory that God lavishes upon us.  Offer a prayer of thanksgiving and count your blessings – there is much in the world that soothes and calms our souls!

And remember this fact: the Divine Master who made all creation, died and rose for his creatures – so that we might be united with him forever in Heaven.