Why are you afraid, you of little faith?

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’

- Matthew 8:18-27

Jesus begins to spread his ministry: he gives orders in this passage to "go over to the other side." A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ For me, this verse is very significant. Oftentimes, it seems that we think in terms of what we will receive for having faith. But, it's important to realize Jesus' poverty and humility. Here, he's making it clear that even as Son of Man, he is homeless. Can we do the same? Can we live in faith that sees past material life? This question is implied for both the scribe and for we, all who wish to become his followers. The term "Son of Man" is used to refer to the Messiah in the book of Daniel (Dan. 7:13). According to my study bible, it expresses both Jesus' humanity and divinity. Here it refers to Jesus' human condition; elsewhere it is a reference to his role as Judge (from the apocalyptic context in Daniel).

Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’ This is another deeply powerful teaching about putting the kingdom first. Everything else comes afterward; all our relation to the world, to everything, must flow from putting discipleship to the kingdom first. My study bible notes that this is not a denial of the command to honor parents; it's rather about the urgency of the kingdom. In some sense, we understand the ranking of Jesus' two great commandments - to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. This teaching clearly delineates the priority of the first, which establishes us in right-relatedness to all else.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?' Frequently, I am told, the image of the Jesus and the disciples in the boat was used historically as an illustration of Christ and His Church. We go through storms, we rely on his blessing and leadership. It's also a reminder of faith: as individuals we are influenced by the storms of life, but we rely on this relationship to lead us through them. To command nature, the wind and sea and waves, is a sign of Messianic authority: only God could do this. The poignant image of the very human Jesus asleep, and waking divinity, is a great dramatic contrast and an illustration of spiritual reality. But his words remind us again that these teachings are about faith, about what we will go through in the course of practicing our faith. This is not going to be an easy ride, difficulties will come. And we must be prepared to meet them.

Altogether, these three teachings -- about Jesus' homelessness, about the priority of the kingdom even over important family duties and worldly ties, and facing the storms we encounter in life with faith -- are all teachings about the importance of faith and its secondary needful characteristic of detachment. Life is not going to become simple or easy because of our faith. There is a sense of paradox here: we will still live out our very human lives in the world. But we must be prepared to put faith in the kingdom first, and our participation in its reality first. We rely on that faith and its gifts to see us through in the proper way, through right-relatedness. We must be prepared to face our fears about what we leave behind, and the things that will confront us on our journey. We are reminded that the strength to do so comes through faith, and the reliance on something - someone - who was here to teach, and is still with us.