Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?

On the same day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be; that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

- Mark 4:35-41

In the past two readings, we have been hearing about Jesus' use of parables, to teach to the multitudes. On Wednesday, we read of Jesus' telling of the parable of the Sower, and also His explanation of His use of parables. In yesterday's reading, we were given several more parables about the Kingdom coming into this world: the lamp and the lampstand; the crops that yield and ripen from scattered seed, preparing for harvest; the mustard seed. Jesus also spoke about how to "hear" the parables: "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." Without a parable, He did not speak to the crowds, and taught "as they were able to hear it." When they were alone, we are told, He explained all things to His disciples. See "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

On the same day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." The "other side" is the other side of the Sea of Galilee, into Gentile territory. It's quite interesting that Mark "expands" on Jesus' ministry by first introducing us to the parables with which He taught the large crowds of the public (while in private, explaining to the disciples), so that they are given "as they are able to hear it." Now the ministry continues to expand, into Gentile areas.

Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. Here we get a kind of another sense of Jesus in the midst of a crowd. This time, they are on the Sea. All are sailing along, as well as other little boats who are also with them. For the "crowd" or the "multitude," there is a great windstorm, waves beating against the boats; and in the boat in which Jesus is carried, the waves are filling it with water. But Jesus, seemingly alone in this "multitude," is asleep on a pillow. It's a picture accentuated with this detail of the pillow, Jesus at comfort and peace while others are panicking. He is the calm center of this stormy picture.

And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. My study bible points out that the Greek word for Jesus' command, "be still!" is the same word He uses to command the demon to be quiet in the first encounter reported in Mark with an unclean spirit, as He teaches in the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus commands the elements of both the spiritual world and the natural world. It's a command that comes from the word to "muzzle." Jesus is Logos, who puts order into the disorderly and unruly, sets limits on that which is out of bounds, who can bind the "strong man" of this world.

But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be; that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" Of course the words of the disciples reflect what we notice in the passage, "even the wind and the sea obey Him." He is awe-inspiring. But at the heart of it all is faith, and this is the word that Jesus uses for what they need, and that they lack.

We have the human perspective, and the divine perspective of Jesus. But He rebukes not just unruly nature, but also the disciples. Why are they so fearful? How is it they have no faith? They respond with even more fear, a kind of terrible awe at Jesus' power. But let's look at what Jesus asks. Fear, when it gets out of hand and leads us, can take us off the track. It's the weapon of the "adversary." It's as if He's aligning fear with that unruly state of both the demons and the natural world when it is destructive. A stormy sea, a boat filling with water so that it might sink, is a picture in words -- like a parable -- of a stormy and overburdened emotional state, one that is giving way to its fears, unruly and off-balance, not centered. Jesus, asleep on the pillow in the stern of the boat, is the picture of what we need to keep ourselves "at an even keel." And the antidote to our wild emotions, our worries and fears, as presented here, is faith. "How is it that you have no faith?" I find myself in this predicament so often. My worries and fears may be getting the better of me, exaggerating themselves to my heart or mind with all sorts of dire expectations. But the voice of faith, in that center where I encounter blessed grace, will counsel just the opposite! Sometimes these feelings are so much at odds that it leads me to feel I am deluding myself, to doubt and capitulate to "reality." Inevitably, the better counsel was, in fact, to remain calm and peaceful, to "be still!" I am in that boat with the disciples! When am I going to learn the example of my Lord, and the greater trust in faith? Experience teaches me, but leads me on to new challenges, to stay calm in the center of that storm. Amazing grace is what we need. I pray for calm at the center of your storms, and mine! Of course, Jesus' supreme example will come as He faces the Cross, and asks us also to take up our crosses ourselves, not to give in to fear, but to go forward in faith -- just as they continue across the Sea here, into new territory. That is the challenge we consistently face, and one in which we are led to grow. This is how we produce the fruits of faith of which Jesus taught in the parables before this reading. We remember that God's strength is given to us in grace; His mercy of strength perfected in our weakness. It is not of ourselves alone that we derive courage, but from faith and trust in Him.