Calming the Storm
Sometimes, you just need a little peace.
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? - Mark 4:35-41
Today's Gospel reading shows us a different Jesus, one who is exhausted. He cannot go anywhere without the crowds crushing him, and he needs a little peace.
But when he tries to take his rest, he is awakened by his disciples who fear for themselves.
Sounds a bit selfish, doesn't it? But isn't that how we tend to react? Don't we put our needs above the needs of others automatically, without giving it a second thought?
Jesus rebukes them telling them, in effect, if you had faith, you could have let me be.
Perhaps we cannot calm the storm, like Jesus did, but we can ride it out with faith in Him. For us, what happens happens. But we can handle it, knowing we will be saved.
The problem is the doubt. That's what gets us and causes us to fear.
Our expectations are different from God's. We expect God to give us more time here in this life, and that may not be His priority at all.
Does that mean we shouldn't pray for help? No. But we should face fear knowing we have a promise from God to be with Him as He is with us.
And who knows, we may just be able to calm the storm ourselves, not by believing we can, but by preparing to deal with it as it comes.
Just as Jesus escaped the crowds who could crush him to wind up in a storm, we too make choices that could lead us from one storm to another, but with faith, we can deal with it.
And in the end, it will all work out. That's what we believe.
More to come...