Called Into The Depths

Father Robert Barron has provided an excellent presentation entitled: “Called Into the Depths.”  It was given as an address to the U.S. Naval Academy.   He made it especially relevant to the young men and women at the Academy who listened to him in a Church, I assume at the Academy.  I suggest you listen to his very worthwhile 1½ hour talk.

Barron spoke of Noah, Jonah, and Jesus with their connections to the sea.  Speaking to sailors, Barron’s selections were wise.  Noah built an ark at God’s command.  The ark enabled Noah and his passengers to endure rough seas.  We are supposed to build our own ark with pitch on the inside and outside to prevent leaks and sinking.  Our ark is the strength we gain from faith and God.

We also can use the ark we call our Church in which we sail to withstand rough seas and troubled waters.  All churches have a nave extending from the altar to the front of the Church (center aisle). The word “nave” derives from the Latin navis, meaning “ship.”  Every weekend (and weekdays for some of us) we sail in Mashpee in our Christ the King ship with Captain Edward Healey at the helm.

Jonah used a ship to sail away from God.  He fled when God commanded him to go to Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian Empire and to advise those people to repent.  The Assyrians ruled over the Jews.  When in a storm, the boat’s sailors threw Jonah over when they realized he had disobeyed God, and the storm was punishment.  A “big fish” swallowed Jonah later to spit him up on land.  Jonah then did what he was told.   

We often sail away from God especially when we hate, persecute, lie, and betray.  The winds will blow against us when we do.  It’s we who should repent, not those with whom we disagree or dislike.

Jesus used boats to sail to the “other side.”  He prevented his disciples from sinking in storms.  Jesus knows the course we should set and keep.  He raises us up when we sink with despair, depression, and loneliness.  He is our life preserver.  We simply need to reach for his hand that is always offered to lift us back into his boat to then sail into the depths.

Deacon David Pierce