In today's Gospel, Matthew 8: 23-27, Jesus gets into a boat with his disciples "and suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but [Jesus] is asleep." Terrified for their lives, the disciples awaken Jesus. "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" Jesus calmly says to them: "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm."
Right now, we are dealing with a violent storm, the coronavirus sweeping the country. Thousands are dying across the country every day. Our hospitals in some States are reaching their capacity. ICU beds are at a premium. Healthcare workers are stretched to the breaking point. Last night news claimed that we are at a very dangerous point in dealing with this pandemic. Another news this week stated that the virus is out of control in this country! Also, foreign countries have banned anyone from our country to travel to theirs. "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" Jesus asks to us: "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" With the psalmist in today's responsorial psalm, we expectantly bring our plea for the end of this virus to the Lord.
We know that God can, at any point in this horrible experience, get up, rebuke the virus, and save us from further attack! However, we also need to realize that, I think, God expects us to do our part to stop its spread and not expect God to miraculously destroy a virus whose spread we are not willing to stop by appropriate measures within our power! Let us not put God to the test because we are unwilling to discipline ourselves!
Do the harsh words in today's first reading, Amos 3: 1-8; 4: 11-12, apply to us? Yahweh says to the Israelites: "I brought upon you such upheaval as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: you were like a brand plucked from the fire; yet you returned not to me, says the Lord."
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