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

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "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.  Once again, we're given the continuation of a day in Christ's ministry.  By day He has preached to great crowds on the seashore, giving parables for His teaching (see the readings of yesterday and the day before).  Now, as evening had come, Jesus taught the disciples they must cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.   They set out from home territory and are venturing out into places which are strange to them. 

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?"  My study bible notes that Jesus was asleep, revealing the fullness of His humanity and His human need.  It says that He deliberately permits the windstorm to arise while He slept in order to perfect the faith of the disciples and to rebuke their weaknesses, preparing them for the time they will need to be unshaken by the temptations they will encounter as apostles.  Their faith here is evidently mixed with unbelief:  they showed faith when they awoke Him, and unbelief when they declared that they 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!"   My study bible notes that Christ's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  It says that commands to the sea and waves can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  The image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is a traditional one used to illustrate the Church.  My study bible comments that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see His protection more clearly.  It adds that His rebuke of the storm also illustrates His calming the tempests in our human soul.

I find this vivid illustration of adventure in today's reading quite interesting.  It's particularly noteworthy that at least four of the disciples with Christ -- which includes those who are closest to Him and form His inner circle of Peter and James and John Zebedee -- are seasoned fishermen whose home territory is the Sea of Galilee.  But they set off presumably from Capernaum, home territory, the place where we know Peter and Andrew's family home is located.  Now that the crowds have expanded who listen to Christ, to include Jews from everywhere around Israel and even from Gentile territories, and Jesus has begun to preach in parables in order to weed out those who really want His word from the merely curious, Jesus gives them a new command.  At the end of the day, when it is already evening, He tells them to set off for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  This is strange territory for the disciples, and what they will find when they arrive across the sea will be strange indeed.  The Sea of Galilee is really a very large lake, about twelve miles long and eight miles wide.  So not only are the disciples and Christ (plus the little boats that follow) rowing across this sea at night, but a furious windstorm arises that sets them alight with fear that they are perishing.  All of this drama happens while Jesus is asleep.  And isn't that a perfect illustration of what can happen so often in our own lives?  Even when we feel secure at times in our faith, all of a sudden we might find ourselves in the midst of a storm of one sort or another in our lives, and Christ -- or our faith -- seems to be "stowed away" somewhere else, hidden and asleep.  We might ask ourselves the same question that Jesus asks the disciples, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"   It can seem so often that every new challenge, every new step into uncharted territory (no doubt watched over by Christ and the angels who accompany us through life), is "greeted" with this distinctly human fear of the unknown, of the worst things that may happen to us because we are outside of what is familiar to us.  But we really should take confidence in Christ, particularly if we ourselves are seeking to live a prayerful life, seeking the guidance of our Lord for our choices.  Through the fear, and despite its presence, we can take confidence that there will be a way for us that is proper to us.   There will be a way that faith provides to move forward into whatever direction Christ leads.  The image of Christ and the disciples in the boat, as my study bible points out, is an image of the Church.  He leads, and the Church goes with Him through uncharted waters.  We should keep in mind my stud bible's comment that the image of Christ commanding the storm also applies to our own interior state.  Challenges come at every level in life -- and one thing seems clear from the Gospels, that we are meant for newer and bigger and deeper challenges.  When we think we have it all together, Christ will give us a new step forward, something new to face and to deal with, another challenge to meet.  This reveals the confidence that God places in us, that we are not made for sitting around and doing nothing, nor resting on past achievements.  We are meant for growth, and the life of constant repentance that Christ preaches is not simply about repentance of past wrongs or sins.  It is meant also as a challenge for us to come to terms with growth, to face new tests and temptations, to uncover yet more about ourselves that can be transformed and changed so that we grow in the light and faith of Christ.  All of this is teaching us that we are always meant for greater things.  It really doesn't matter where we start; as human beings we are meant to expand beyond what we think is just good enough.  We are capable of courage we don't know, of overcoming our own limitations, of growing in the faith God asks of us -- but in His Way, not our own limited idea of what some sort of "superpower" or achievement will look like.   Moreover, we should also consider that we don't necessarily need to go hunt for new challenges or adventures, that Christ will come to us to draw us further into the possibilities He has in mind for us.  Sometimes just sitting still with what we have, and learning patience and endurance, is our greatest challenge.  Our great achievement may be unknown to anyone but ourselves and God, and unrecognized by even those closest to us.  Even so, it will be the challenge that is necessary and possibly the most difficult.  Let us consider that we are always made for more.   Our idea of having it altogether may be the furthest thing from the place our Lord will take us, to give us something more and better than we can conceive.  We are all in that boat, with Him, and let us be grateful that it might be so.