This homily (on 2 Samuel 12:1-7A, 10-17 and Mark 4:35-41) was delivered on 01 February 2014.
Whenever I come across a Gospel story that’s recounted in several of the gospels, the biblical scholar wannabe in me sits up and pays more attention than usual. What we have just heard today, “the Storm at Sea,” is one such story. It is reported in all three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Interestingly, all three versions include one apparently unnecessary detail–namely, the Lord sleeping in the boat at the height of the storm–although Mark, usually the least elaborate of the evangelists, adds a charming detail about Jesus asleep on a cushion.