Where is your 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 yesterday's reading, Jesus continued to speak regarding parables of the kingdom of God. He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "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."  And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed, on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."  And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

 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!"  Of today's reading, my study bible has various notes.  It's important to examine that in Mark's Gospel, this is the time that Jesus' power becomes manifest over nature, over creation.  We see something essential in this:  that as a divine person, He has mastery over the cosmos, creation.  In the readings surrounding the events of Jesus' nativity, which we blogged here through the Christmas season, all of the cosmos participated in the event of His birth, including the star by which the wise men came to Jesus.  There's a unification of all things in Him here; it's another sign that He is Messiah and divine.  My study bible says that commands to the sea and waves can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 65:5-6, 106:9).  It adds that Jesus was asleep because, as a man, he needed rest.  In His Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, and that includes sleep.  This image of Jesus and the disciples in a boat traditionally refers to the Church as a whole, it's an image or illustration of the Church.  My study bible says, "God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see His protection more clearly.  Christ's rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul."

While the commentary from my study bible points out this parallel to the Church as a whole, we can also observe the working of the Kingdom, and of faith, through this episode in the story of Jesus' ministry.  One other thing is new here also, besides the revelation of Jesus' power over nature, over creation.  They are now crossing over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  He and His disciples are venturing out together into new territory; up until now the ministry has focused on Galilee and, in a sense, "home ground."  This is new direction, outside the familiar for these men, even though we know several are experienced fishermen on this particular sea (really, a very large lake).  When we start off in new directions, even as blessed or "sent out" by God, there are bound to be things that come to us that give us frights.  We confront our own fears in the new, we're breaking barriers (psychologically or otherwise) we haven't thought about or had experience of in the past.  And let's remember this is a journey on which they're sent by God; it's not a selfish move toward a long-cherished possession or feather in one's cap.  This is truly a mission into the unknown, for the purposes of God "whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts."  It's in that kind of territory that we really experience our own "boundaries," our fears, and barriers God asks us to cross and expand into (like the new wine that needs new wineskins that will stretch with the process of change in the wine).   Tumultuous waves, fierce winds, and stormy seas have long been symbolic of great emotion, with good reason, and we can also see in this reading a kind of allegory to all of our lives in faith -- when the going gets rough.  Jesus has just given teachings in parables to the great crowds, notably the parable of the sower, in which tribulation for the sake of the word, or the cares of the world, may choke out the growth of the seeds of the word in a person's heart.  Here, traveling to strange places in Gentile territory for the sake of the word is met with a kind of tribulation, a fear of perishing, natural danger.  But Jesus' word these fishermen is, "Where is your faith?"  Holding fast to the sense of mission and our close relationship to Christ becomes the one thing we can cling to sometimes when such matters overwhelm us in our own limitations and understanding.  I can't say that every idea we get into our heads is a great or perfect one, or one sent by God.  But the best thing to bolster faith, to understand where Christ wants to lead us, is constant prayer, a dialogue with God.  We must keep our faith strong by setting ourselves in the place where we can center in the depths of God's love, of Christ's nurturing and constant care.  It's there where we come to terms with what we can do, what we need to do, and what we don't need in life.   Let's remember His question, "Where is your faith?" and remember the one place in which it is always called to be rooted:  in relationship with Him, He who is the Word.