12th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B. By Tobe Eze

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B.

FIRST READING

Job 38:1.8-11

SECOND READING

2 Corinthians 5:14-17

GOSPEL

Mark 4:35-41

THEME: IT DEMANDS FAITH TO KNOW CHRIST.

If your faith is as big as the mustard seed, you will command the mountain to move and it will obey you (Luke 17:6). This is just an example of what faith can do to us if we have it. Jesus is God and God is a mystery, mystery is something that is beyond the understanding of human reasoning. So, to understand Jesus to a greater extent demands faith from us.

Our faith in Christ should not be a fearful faith for that will make us not to achieve what we suppose to achieve as those who believe in Christ.

A story about millipede and a bird (Nduru). Millipede is an animal that does not fear any man while working on the road. Even when one matches it, one is the one who will shout and run not millipede. That bird (Nduru) after watching this drama for a very long period, decided to ask millipede what is giving it that courage. Millipede told the bird that a Diviner (Dibia) prepared him a charm for that. They fixed a day for them to go to that Dibia for the bird to get its own charm. The millipede met the Dibia before that day they fixed to plan on what to do. That very day came and they went to the Dibia’s house. After preparing the charm, he told the bird terms and conditions involved. The first and the greatest was that it should not run no matter the situation. They went home. The bird was feeding on the ground, a man was coming and it decided not to fly away, when the man was reaching, a great fear came upon it and it flew away. Out of anger it went back to the Dibia to complain but he told the bird that it failed the first and greatest rule which is do not run no matter the situation. The bird told him that fear covered it and he told the bird. YOU MUST CONQUER FEAR BEFORE YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT. We must conquer fear before we build faith in Christ. Continue Reading...........................

In the first reading, God was reminding Job of what he has been doing that should have made him to have faith in him without fear. Second reading is assuring us of our salvation which we can only get through our faith in him who died and rose from the dead for our own sake. He has redeemed us by his own blood, we are now to accept that redemption through our faith in him. The gospel narrated the story of Jesus and his apostle who even up until that moment had not known whom they were following. They were asking whom Jesus is that even storms and winds obey him.

It is only when we kill or conquer the fear in us and build a strong faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins that we will know whom he really is. Jesus himself after calming the winds and storms asked them, where is your faith? He is asking us also today, where is our faith? It is only faith in him that will explain to us the mystery of that kingdom he promised us. It is through faith which must manifest in our works that we can only be saved (James 2:14-26). It is a working and walking faith and not a vocal faith that will save us (James 2:14-26). Fear of people, spirits and many other things should not take away our faith in him who is our redeemer. THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.