Larry Walker was an American baseball player who played for the Montreal Expos, the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1989 to 2005. He was born in British Colombia, Canada and was actually drafted by the Montreal Canadians of the National Hockey League but he never realized his dream of playing goalie in the NHL as he bounced around the minor leagues for several years. He then played baseball for some professional leagues in Canada but at that time making it to the major leagues for a Canadian was just short of a pipe dream. Larry was never drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB). However, at a Canadian baseball tournament in 1984 he caught the eye of a scout for the Montreal Expos and was immediately offered a contract for $1500 and was assigned to the Expos minor league system. Walker labored in the minor leagues for 3 years before breaking in with the Expos, batting a subpar .170 average. Over the next 4 years Walker steadily improved, making the All Star team in 1994. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies where he really hit his stride. He won the Most Valuable Player award in 1997 and the batting title in ’98. Walker played his last 2 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 and ’05. He was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2020. His final year of eligibility for the prestigious honor. Not bad for a kid whose career was on ice and was also not considered a hot prospect for baseball.
Walker never gave up on his dream to play. First in hockey and then baseball. He had faith in his ability. If you were playing the odds, and were looking for someone who could give your floundering team a jump start, chances are you would not have focused on a young hockey player from the land north of the border. But faith is a funny thing. It defies the odds at times. In today’s first reading from the letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, we read that:
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (verse 1)
The rest of Chapter 11 then proceeds to highlight the many figures from the Old Testament that could only be described as the Heroes of Judaism. In our portion today we read of the covenant that God made with Abraham. That he would be the Father of many generations that number like the sands of the seashore and stars in the sky…even though he and Sarah were described as being as good as dead. But they stayed focused on God’s promise. Even when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. The one who was to carry Abraham’s seed forward.
The chapter goes on to talk about Enoch who was raised by God to heaven before his death, after walking with God for over 300 years. Noah built an Ark in the middle of the desert, while being ridiculed by his neighbors. Moses sacrificed his life in Pharaoh’s palace for a life of poverty with the Hebrews only to at first to be rejected by his people. And mocked by the Egyptians. Joseph suffered at the hands of his brothers who sold him off to slavery. He was falsely imprisoned and forgotten in jail. Until God elevated him to be Pharaoh’s right hand man and building a home for his people in Egypt. Joshua led the Hebrew people into the Promised Land after wandering 40 years in the desert. As Hebrews 11:33-34 says:
“by faith they conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.”
One commentator I read called these heroes of the Old Testament, “The Faith Hall of Fame”. They were superstars of Hebrew scripture even after suffering in a way that no one would have expected them to recover from. And what made them even more amazing is that they never received what God had promised. They never saw the Messiah. The Savior from the line of David. The rebuilding of the Davidic line. But they maintained their journeys with God until the end.
And then there is our Gospel reading today from Mark. The familiar story of Jesus and the Apostles in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, when a storm comes up threatening to toss them into the waves to certain peril. It had to be a disastrous storm since most of these men were fishermen and had to have seen a few storms in their careers. We are told that they awoke a sleeping Jesus and asked Him why he did not care that they were perishing. After commanding the storm to silence he was astounded that his followers were terrified. Were without faith. And the last line of the story, for me, is the most telling. At this point in the Gospel, Jesus’ disciples had already seen him working several miracles, Water into wine, curing a man of leprosy, healing a withered hand and healing a paralytic. And after all this, AND Jesus has just calmed the seas, they exclaim:
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Not really material for the Faith Hall of Fame, were they? They were doubters, traitors, and most did not stand by Him when He needed them most. They wanted Him to reign down fire and brimstone on those who would not follow Him. But Jesus stuck with them and, more importantly, they themselves persisted. Though they didn’t understand most of the time, they persisted. When Jesus said that they needed to eat his body and drink his blood, and others left, they persisted. When John the Baptist was killed, they persisted. After Jesus was crucified, they persisted. When he left them physically after the ascension, they persisted. And when facing martyrdom, they persisted.
So, what about us? Do we listen to the secular society who mock those who believe in a carpenter who lived, and died, over 2,000 years ago? Do we shy away from proclaiming our belief in Jesus? And how do we respond to the question, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
