Job 38:1, 8-11 / 2 Cor 5:14-17 / Mark 4:35-41
There was something that happened in this church 79 years ago that didn't happen in any of the other churches in Singapore.
On 15th February 1942, the Japanese Army attacked Singapore, and from Johor mortar shells were fired with Fort Canning as the target.
At least two mortar shells dropped short and fell directly on this church. The mortar shells went through the roof and exploded in the centre of the church.
Some furnishings and electrical lights and fittings were damaged, and the explosions caused a large crater in the centre of the church.
Other than that, the church was quite intact, and there was no serious damage to the Altar and other religious items. Surprisingly, the stained glass wasn't damaged.
Even though there was a written account, it sounded like an incredible story. Fortunately, this was verified by a couple of living witnesses who were able to describe the damage that was done.
But more than just a true story of how a church suffered damage during a war, it was a story of faith.
It was a story of how faith was tested and shaken in the midst of a critical situation.
Some of the probable questions that could be asked was, “Why didn't God protect the church and allow this to happen? Since God did not protect the church, would He protect His people?”
These are hard questions when faith is tested and shaken. But that generation of Sacred Heart Church parishioners held on to the faith and continued to live out that faith and that is the legacy that was left for us.
The gospel account is also one of the stories of faith that is tested and shaken.
Jesus and His disciples were in a boat, and then it began to blow a gale and the waves will breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped.
But Jesus was in the stern, His head on a cushion, fast asleep. And as expected in the situation of a faith crisis, when faith is tested and shaken and fear grips the heart, His disciples woke Jesus up, and they said, “Master, do you not care? We are going down!”
Well, Jesus had to wake up and after He had ordered the sea to be quiet and to be calm, He said to His disciples, “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?”
Just as we ask hard questions when our faith is tested and shaken, questions like, “Lord, do you not care?” Jesus is also asking us hard questions about our faith, “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?”
Jesus is telling us that we have been given the gift of faith. So, we have the seed of faith in us. It is for us to nurture that faith and to strengthen it.
And certainly, that faith will be tested and shaken. Just a year ago there was the “Circuit Breaker”. It was a challenging time for everyone.
Our faith was also put to the test as worship and religious activities were suspended and churches were closed.
It was a crisis of faith, but as in every crisis, it was an opportunity for faith to be explored and to grow in other ways and means.
Faith tells us that God is not just in churches and at Mass, but He is also out there in our homes, our workplaces, and we have also discovered new ways to be spiritually connected and nourished.
Today as we honour our fathers for loving us, caring for us, providing for us and protecting us, we are also aware that we call God “our Father”.
In the prayer that Jesus taught us, we address God as “our Father”. We believe that God our Father loves us, He cares for us, He will provide for us and He will protect us.
The prayer of the “Our Father”, or the “Lord's Prayer”, is not only to be said in church or at Mass.
It is also to be said at home and wherever and whenever our faith is tested and shaken.
God our Father wants us to know that when the boat of our faith is tossed about in the stormy seas and the waves come crashing in, Jesus is there with us and He will save us.
Yes, we must believe that. That is our faith in God our Father. And that is the legacy of faith that we will leave for the next generation.
Our Father, sung by Fr Stephen Yim