"Well I Reckon We'll Just Tighten Our Belts"

Wednesday after the Epiphany
1 Jn 4:11-18
Mk 6: 45-52
In my grandma's basement she has a picture of two old cowboys.  They are so skinny that the tail of their belts reach their knees!  And the caption on the picture says, "Well I reckon' we'll just have to tighten our belts." 

I've had the opportunity to visit with ranchers all of a 4 state area for the last several years.  One thing I notice is the younger ranchers with less experience tend to get more worked up about changes.  Whether the change is in the weather, cattle market, or political office some ranchers can get pretty rattled.  Some have fear especially when a calf dies, a cow is open, or again the cattle market plummets (did I mention that already?). 

Then there are some older ranchers that have been in it for so long that they know the ups and downs and operate their ranch in a way to eliminate that fear and perhaps doesn't let fear shake him out of the business.  If things start getting bad the ranchers simply say, "Well I reckon' we'll just have to tighten our belts."

In today's Gospel we hear of Jesus giving his Apostles a head start across the sea, he puts em in a boat and he goes off by himself to pray.  It says a storm came up and the boat began to be tossed around by the waves.  The Apostles seemed to be in danger!  But they are not afraid of the boat and the waves.  They were like the experienced ranchers, blue collar guys, they worked on this sea everyday and they knew these waves weren't anything to worry about.

In fact what scares them is JESUS!  Not just scares them but terrifies them. 

We as ranchers and people in this world are those men in the boat.  We almost grow comfortable with all the waves nearly drowning us.  We learn to deal with the struggles in this world and rely on our own experience to get us through.  And to let other ranchers or co-workers know about your faith in Jesus...is TERRIFYING.  I think this really is the fear that John talks about in his letter:

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives our fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not perfect in love."

Because our love is not yet perfect in love for Jesus we struggle with fear, and mostly fear of following HIM.  Whether it's going to Mass and Confession or speaking the Truth about marriage, divorce, contraception, abortion, etc... to our friends, family, and neighbors.  We'd rather lay down in the boat and ride out the storm.  But Jesus commands us:

"Take courage and do not be afraid!"

I know it's hard to live a Holy Catholic life.  But it's flat out simple and joyful when we do it because we LOVE Jesus.  So go on, be a Man, take courage, and do not be afraid!
Peace Brothers (and sisters if you're reading)