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.  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!"  My study Bible says that Christ's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  Commands to the wind and to the sea could only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 66:5-6; 107:29).  But Jesus was asleep because, as a human being, He needed rest.  In Christ's Incarnation, my study Bible explains, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, including sleep.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used to illustrate the Church.  Commentary notes that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Here, my study Bible notes, permitting the windstorm to arise while He is sleeping is in order to perfect the disciples' faith and to rebuke their weaknesses, so they will eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  Christ's statement to the disciples, "How is it that you have no faith?" might more accurately read, "How do you still not have faith?"  They showed faith when they came to Him, but unbelief when they claimed we are perishing.  Additionally, Christ's rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

All of us know that life is full of ups and downs, difficulties and struggles.  But here Jesus seems to affirm for us that this is par for the course for the life of faith.  In fact, in the literal sense of the Greek, Jesus seems to be somewhat surprised:  "How do you still not have faith?"  It will not be the last time He will marvel at the disciples' lack of faith or understanding, either (see Mark 8:13-21).  Apparently, we are to infer from this passage that the life of faith is one in which we will continually face challenges.  Certainly this was true for the disciples and for the early Church, and, as history progresses, we can see that new questions and new discernment seem constantly necessary.  The history of the Church is a long history of conflicts and struggles for answers.  But the challenge of our individual lives of faith is similar.  We will always have new issues before us, new questions to answer in light of our faith.  But the one thing that is asked of us seems to be not to have all the answers, but rather to be persistent and to endure in faith.  That is, we need to take confidence that our struggle is known and that our answers are to be found in persistence and courage.  It's wise to consider that the word faith, in Greek, is rooted in the word "to trust."  To put one's faith in something is to trust in it, and we trust to Christ through all things.  We are mindful of the story of Israel in the Old Testament, wandering for forty years as guided by Moses to the Promised Land.  We can look more deeply at the story of Moses, and how Moses never entered that land himself, and this, too, tells us about the importance of the journey, of the persistence of faith, of our continual prayer resting in God to help us find the way we're asked to go, to remain in that faith and follow.  We trust in Christ that there is a way He wants us to meet our challenges, and that every new struggle is simply a challenge for deepening faith, for growth, for the pursuit of the goal He has in mind for us.  That is, to shape the person He desires us to become in fulfillment of the promise of discipleship.  Through our struggles and the twists and turns of our lives, we are shaped in faith.  We are meant to grow into something, to fulfill something through time and through experience, and this is the purpose of God for us.  Let us continue through our own windstorms and waves, frightening perspectives in which life may seem to pose dangers and perils we didn't count on, but understand that through them all our courage is about persistence in faith, finding the way of Christ for us.  The story gives us an image of Christ asleep in the stern of the boat, and this may serve to teach us that there will be times when God will seem to us to be sleeping and not hear our prayer, nor know of our peril.  But that is just a time for testing, for finding new ground of faith, for deepening our confidence in facing the future and knowing what we are to be about.

 

 

Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?

Christ Commanding the Sea, 16th century fresco; Dionysiou Monastery, Mt. Athos

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 int he 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 int he 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!"   On this passage my study Bible has several different observations.  The first is regarding the Lord's mastery over creation:  it's another sign of Christ's divinity and His identity as Messiah.  Commands to the wind and the sea could only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  On the other hand, Jesus was asleep because, as human being, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used as an illustration of the Church.  My study Bible adds that God both permits storms and also delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm also serves as illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

Why would God leave us to go through difficulties, fears, and tribulations?  Why, indeed, would Jesus deliberately lead the disciples through this frightening storm as they crossed over the Sea of Galilee?  My study Bible says that Christ deliberately permits this windstorm to arise while He sleeps in order to perfect the disciples' faith and rebuke their weaknesses -- so that they would eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  My study Bible further points out that in today's reading the disciples' faith is still mixed with unbelief:  they showed faith when they came to Jesus, but unbelief when they said, "Do You not care that we are perishing?"   Many of us might be tempted to ask God the same question when we go through difficulties in life, especially when we can't discern God's response for us to any of our troubles and the pain we are experiencing.   There are all kinds of fears and tribulations that life can bring to us.   The Scriptures do not shy away from illustrating the human experience of fear or despair:  In Psalm 39 we read this plea:  "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not Your peace at my tears! For I am Your passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers. Spare me, that I may find the place of refreshment before I depart and am no more!"   In Psalm 44, we read what might be the words of the disciples, "Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise, and do not cast us off forever!"  It seems that we are not spared from all of these experiences of what it is to be a human being; even on our faith journey, we will experience the reality of terror and fear and dread.  This is part of our inheritance of an imperfect world.  And so, we have to ask ourselves why this is so.  Why would Christ coming into our world not simply set it aright, banish death and sins, bring us back to life in the Garden?  I would venture to guess that we are called to a higher purpose than that, that human beings, in our capacity for "God-likeness" are meant to thoroughly experience the reality of our world and its problems, and in so doing call upon faith to transcend and transform, to become a part of that force for change that is our call back to God in the gospel of the Kingdom.  It's not about fixing the world or setting it aright or making it perfect; rather, we are invited in to the beauty of faith, the goodness of the Kingdom, the truth of Christ who is with us even though He may seem to be sleeping.  For despite our fears and despair and dread, God is with us in the form of love.  And although our prayers may seem delayed in their answer, oftentimes our response is subtle, may go without noticing, but is reassurance nonetheless that God listens, hears, and offers not perfection in some worldly sense, but rather a different answer, a peace, a capacity for faith that shores up assurance and confidence, lets fall away the things that will fall, but also teaches us what will endure.  For life is about finding what's real and releasing the false hopes of what isn't.  In today's story, the disciples travel across the Sea of Galilee, where they will find a strange scene of demonic influence, something entirely alien to what they know.  But they will also discover a mission and the power of Christ to set aright and heal and redeem with new purpose.  They will find their calling and the new life to which He leads them.  So may it also be with us.

Peace, be still!

 

 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, we read that Jesus said (as He began to speak in parables to the crowds), "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 the 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!"  There are several things to observe in today's reading.  What we should start with is this notable command that Christ gives, to cross over to the other side.  This means the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  In some sense, it is like preparation for the apostolic missions to come.  My study Bible has several insights for us to consider.  Following with the idea that this is a preparation of sorts, it says that Christ deliberately permits this windstorm to arise while He is sleeping in order to perfect the disciples' faith, and to rebuke their weaknesses -- in this way they will eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  In today's reading, their faith is still mixed with unbelief.  They showed faith when they awoke Him, but unbelief when they said that "we are perishing."   There is also another powerful and important element to this story, and that is that Christ shows mastery over creation, another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  My study Bible says that commands to the wind and sea can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 66:5-6, 107:29).  In this way, Christ reveals more to the disciples about the confidence they can take in Him.  My study Bible comments that He was asleep because as a man, he needed rest.  In His Incarnation, He assumed all natural actions of the flesh, one of which is sleep.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used to illustrate the Church.  Finally, my study Bible adds that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  In Christ's rebuke of the storm we also see an illustration that He calms the tempests in the human soul.

What is faith?  Today's reading invites us to ask that question, as it becomes the focus of Christ's answer to the fearful disciples.  In the Greek, the root of the word for faith means "trust."  So it's important that we think of our faith not simply as an intellectually reasoned decision to believe something, but rather an active choice to put our trust in something -- or really, in someone.  Here is where Christ, the One who is both God and man, becomes important in the context of what faith is and means.  Today's reading truly displays evidence of what His Incarnation is and means.  He is at once fully human; that is, He sleeps.  And He is also divine; as my study Bible points out, only God can calm the wind and the sea.   Jesus does not simply "calm" these elements of the world, He commands them.  So now the disciples know (as do we) that to follow a command from Christ means putting their trust in one who is both human and also has expressed signs of the divine, and of course this understanding will grow.  Moreover, when they do embark on their first apostolic mission, and their apostolic journeys in the future, they will understand the One in whom they put their trust, and whose commands they follow -- as do we faithful today.  There is a deeper element, also, to comment on in today's reading.  In Genesis, at the creation of the world, we're told, "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2).  In the creation of the world, the Spirit of God hovers over the face of the waters, which are chaos.  They are "without form, and void, and there is darkness on the face of the deep."  This begins to tell us of the power of the Logos, the organizing principle, the One who brings order to the elements that are present.  And so it is with the Lord, the same Logos or Word (the meaning of the Greek word Logos) who commanded the elements of chaos into order and form (see also John 1:1-4).  He commands the chaotic sea and wind in an echo of the creation story, and this is clearly part of the understanding the disciples will eventually realize, as do we the faithful who followed.  We put our faith, our trust, in Christ, to help to organize our own tempests and chaos, our thoughts, our lives.  We pray in that faith for the same "order" to be put into our affairs, to help with the health of those for whom we are concerned, to reorder and reconcile our lives to what is good, to teach us how to live.   We ask for calm to our own "disorder" in any dimension.  Jesus commands, "Peace, be still!" and it is this same peace He gives to us.  In His peace is true order, real righteousness, a peace between ourselves and God, and by extension to the world.  It is this good order that we ask for, for which we place our trust in Him.  We ask for God's blessing so that order and good purpose be served through all things in our lives and our use of them.  Let us consider the power of Logos, in whom we place our trust, our faith, and whose true peace we seek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why is it that you are 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 is it that you are 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 the continuation of Jesus' preaching in parables to the crowds that now come to hear Him.   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 is it that you are 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 comments here that Christ's mastery over creation is one more sign that He is the messiah and is divine.  Commands to natural forces such as the wind and the sea could only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 66:5-6, 107:29).   We note also that Jesus was asleep, giving us a picture of His humanity and human need for rest, and therefore His full Incarnation as human being.  My study bible also tells us that the image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used in order to illustrate the Church.  It says that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see His protection more clearly.  Moreover, His rebuke of the storm remains to us an illustration of His calming of our own inner tempests of the soul.

We all have struggles in life.  Christ's entire ministry seems to be one of struggle, and within many dimensions of challenges both to Himself personally and to His ministry.   His struggles even encompass His relationships with His immediate family, as we read in Tuesday's reading.  When we struggle for our faith, or even because of our faith, we should not be surprised, as Christ's ministry already sets out for us the challenges that may come to us simply because we are believers.  But in our struggle for faith, we should remember that we are all "on a mission."  Each one of us, as faithful, is on a journey of faith.  Here in today's reading, we recall from Wednesday's reading that Jesus was sitting in a small boat in the sea, preaching to the great crowds who now gather to hear Him, as they faced Him on the shore.  In today's reading, He tells the disciples they are all to "cross over to the other side" of the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee is, in effect, a very large lake, approximately 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.  When He gives the command to cross over into Gentile territory, it is already evening (as the reading tells us) and so He knows that these men -- and those in the other little boats with them -- will be crossing over through the night.  Although the noise must have been tremendous, not to mention the effect of the waves sweeping into these small boats, Jesus sleeps through it.  Let us keep in mind that we know that several of these disciples at least are professional fishermen whose lifelong family work was on this Sea of Galilee (1:16-20).  But Jesus knows where He is going; His commands reflect the will of the Father for the direction of this ministry.  In faith, then, He teaches us about the levels of challenges we face in faith.  He attends to His real human needs by sleeping, but the storm is one more thing to face and go through in faith, as all things are in the hands of God -- as well as this challenge to the ministry presented by the wind and sea.  We note that His command translated as Peace! really literally means in the Greek, Silence!  He rebukes the wind, and tells the sea to be still!  These are commands as to unclean spirits, the demonic or evil, as in an exorcism.  It is suggesting to us that Christ, as the divine Son, commands all things that present evil or threat of suffering to human life.  But it also tells us that this is just one more of the challenges to His ministry.  And so, this is how we need to view the challenges that come to us in life as we seek also to live our faith.  We face them with prayer -- and most importantly, with faith itself, knowing that we are also on a mission, a journey with Him and for Him.  Note that He equates a lack of faith with fear.  To have faith is to take confidence in something.  In the Greek, the word for faith is rooted in the word that literally means trust.   When we decide to place our faith in Christ, we put our trust in Him.  We place our trust in the goodness and love of God, and therefore the challenges that come our way -- while they may truly be threatening and frightening -- come in the context of this particular kind of understanding.  We seek to serve with our lives the Lord who is good, and who loves us and knows our lives and what we go through (Luke 12:7), and therefore within the challenges of serving this ministry in the world we know the the struggle is one God calls us to make.  As my study bible says, God both permits storms and delivers us through them.  Therefore each and every challenge, whether it be through relationships with people or other dangers, even the natural forces of the world, is to be seen in this context of spiritual battle and struggle.  Christ comes into the world to displace the "strong man" or the evil one, and all that seems to cause evil in our lives enters us into the context of that struggle.  In this light, we are given to understand, then, how we go through whatever challenges or suffering presented to us, no matter what their form.  Let us consider Christ's call for faith, and where we place our trust to get us through -- and that everything happens with a hidden potential, a way to go through the challenges to strengthen our faith and our souls.

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 continued to teach in parables.  He said, "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!"  My study bible has several observations about today's reading.  First, it says that Christ allows the windstorm deliberately.  This happens while He's sleeping in order to build and perfect the faith of the disciples and to rebuke their weaknesses.  Eventually they must be unshaken by life's temptations in their mission as apostles.  Here their faith is still mixed with unbelief.  In faith, they awake Him, but express unbelief when they declare that they are perishing.  I always note in this story that several of these men are seasoned fishermen, used to fishing on this sea.  Jesus' mastery over creation is another sign that He's the Messiah, and also divine.  But as a man, He sleeps and needs rest.  He has assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, says my study bible, of which sleep is one.  This image of Christ and the disciples in a boat is as traditional one to illustrate 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."

It's interesting to look at some of the Greek words in today's reading.  When Jesus says, "Peace, be still!" the Greek gives us two words that actually mean "silence."  The word translated as peace is a command to be quiet.  It gives us a sense of the roaring sea and storm.  It is clearly a command from someone in authority.  The word translated as be still is from the word for "muzzle."  It is a command for silence, to cease the fuss, the roar, and the noise.  In these words we have an image of God silencing a chaotic, clashing, and frightening world.  In a way, the "hush" conveyed through these words echoes the Spirit of the Lord hovering over the dark waters that covered the world in the beginning of Genesis (Genesis 1:1-2).  When Jesus challenges His disciples, saying, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?", He's asking them, in a sense, where their trust in His leadership and guidance is.  To be fearful, in the context of the Greek word used here, is to doubt the future and the success of the current endeavor.  Faith, as discussed frequently in this blog, is another word for trust.  Trust is the fuller meaning of the word for faith in Greek, its root and heart.  Christ shows His authority as supreme, and also His knowledge in His guidance for the Church.   When He calls all of us to faith through His words to the disciples, He's assuring us that regardless of what we experience, we must trust in Him, trust in God.  As readers, we know what these disciples will experience when He is no longer living as the human Jesus in the world.  They will face persecutions and martyrdom, and make a host of sacrifices in their mission of the Church.  At the root of this trust in Christ we find the deep need for a kind of unity with our Creator.  That is, a depth of loyalty and love that endures through all the difficulties of life, the struggles that face us for that faith and that Church, the kinds of evils that may exist in the world.  That is a call for faith that goes far beyond a nominal acceptance of a way of thinking or viewing life, but into the depths of the most difficult kinds of struggle.  The image of Christ with the disciples in the boat, as noted above, is by tradition given to us as an image of the Church.  It places Christ squarely in the center as leadership, before all else.  Our trust and confidence is in Him, and in His peace, even as we may be guided through a sea of troubles.