Archbishop of Sydney

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney
Mk4:35-41 2 Cor 5:14-17 Job 38:1.8-11

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
25/6/2006

After Easter, Pentecost and Trinity the readings today were something of an anticlimax.  Discrete enquiries with a couple of priest friends indicated that their feelings were similar, although they prudently left them understated.

My first thought was the memory of a primary school boy who was being quizzed about the liturgical seasons of the year e.g. Lent and Advent, and was then asked about Ordinary time, which resumes after Easter, today being the twelfth Sunday in Ordinary time.  “Ordinary time” the boy explained is when nothing happens”.

The fact that I recalled this incident after I read the readings to commence my sermon preparation and decided to recount it are indications of how hard up I felt I was for this sermon and of the force of original sin in our lives, that inclination not just to do the wrong thing, but to be frivolous and mischievous.

Actually there is plenty of food for thought in the readings.  If we begin with the account of the calming of the storm by Our Lord in today’s gospel, we should remember that it is reported in all three synoptic gospels, Matthew and Luke as well as Mark.  It obviously made a profound impression on the apostles.  “They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘who can this be?  Even the wind and the sea obey him’”.

I have never been in a wild storm at sea and never been in a cyclone, although Bishop Ted Collins of Darwin recorded the winds and noise when Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin more than 30 years ago.  You can hear it in the Darwin museum and I moved through that exhibit quickly.  I was once present during a mild earth tremor in Papua New Guinea, lying down for a siesta, and I simply thought that the gin and tonic I had drunk must have been stronger than I believed!

For the moment though I don’t want to talk about fear, about the human urge to pray when we are frightened (often felt by irreligious people too) and about the need to strengthen our faith in God.  I want to talk about God as the creator and lord of the universe.

The Old Testament passage from Job emphasized God’s benevolent control.  The sea is behind closed doors, bounds have been marked which it should not cross.  The proud waves can break only at the bolted gate, there and no further.

Psalm 106 deals with the other side of the coin, of the waves of the sea leaping tumultuous out of the womb and the souls of the sailors melting in their distress.  The Lord rescued them, the storm was stilled to a whisper and the waves of the sea were hushed.  So they thanked the Lord for his love and the wonders he does for men.

The evidence for God from creation is mixed.  While we certainly have a preponderance of evidence that God is both good and rational, from the succession of night and day, the four seasons and the generally suitable conditions for human existence, there are floods, earthquakes, volcanoes and even the occasional tsunami, those giant waves which follow earthquakes under the ocean.  Apparently there is evidence of one such, thousands of years ago, on the east coast of Australia.  Nature is often beautiful, but it is flawed and is always relentless.  For it intentions are irrelevant and consequences good or bad follow inevitably.  Hence we have pollution and erosion or e.g. cleaner rivers and regeneration from good or bad ecological practices.

By definition God is creator of the universe as well as the Lord of history and judge of all humans.  I have remarked publicly before of the surprise of a press interviewer when I pointed out that God was creator.  I can only presume that she thought of God like a public affairs manager in a huge company, who looked after the human side of the business, while production and management were in someone else’s hands, or perhaps in no hands at all.  I also presume that ignorance about God often includes ignorance about what should be in a definition of God!  We can take basic Christian notions for granted.

Despite the human suffering sometimes produced by nature (leaving to one side the terrible sufferings evil human beings inflict on others), we can see evidence for our good and rational God in his creation, in the fantastic laws of physics for example.  It is no coincidence that modern science and its manuals developed out of the Christian world!

We still need faith to say year to our good God, but we have solid evidence for this conclusion.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.