Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

 

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "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."

 

 Then another if His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."  

 

  And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "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."   My study Bible says here that since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both His humanity and His divinity.  Here, it is a reference to Christ's human condition; but in Matthew 25:31-33 it describes His divine authority. 

 

Then another if His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."   My study Bible says that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but is teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are in effect spiritually dead.   

 

 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"  My study Bible explains that the Lord'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 given by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  Additionally, we should consider that Jesus was asleep because, as fully human, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, my study Bible points out, Jesus assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  The image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is a traditional one used to illustrate the Church itself.  My study Bible tells us that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Christ's rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

I personally have had occasion to consider recently various incidents in which I have struggled with difficulty, and especially in feeling alone or abandoned.  These experiences echo aspects of my childhood, and revisit old emotions that can be troubling.  But in today's reading, we see an illustration of Christ's experience of human life, and that is together with the disciples, and also those who would seek Him out to find discipleship.  In the first verses of today's reading, Jesus first sets up the later experience of the storm by giving the command to cross the Sea of Galilee.  He is approached by one who declares he will follow Christ anywhere.  But Christ points out that even the animals have homes and dens, but He, as Son of Man, has nowhere to lay His head.  It is a kind of declarative warning, that discipleship will involve hardships and possibly even a sense of abandonment, and the struggle for faith takes place amidst a world beset with such experiences.  He goes through such experiences as Lord, in His Incarnation, to offer us healing.  But we also will struggle, but together with Him through our faith.  In the second incident, another disciple says he needs to go home first and bury his father.  So we begin with an experience of abandonment, a kind of state of exile, and then we are confronted with death - even the death of a loved one.  But in the midst of that incident, Christ sets the priorities straight.  It is the kingdom of heaven He offers that we need, He is the One who sees us through -- and even family, without Him, cannot sustain us for what we need.  This is setting in order, giving priority; for there are others who will bury the dead, even as discipleship calls us forward.  Finally there is the scene in which wind and sea seek to conspire to frighten these seasoned fishermen on the sea which is part of their homeland.  But Jesus sleeps.  Again, we have a sense of abandonment intentionally given by Christ's command to follow the sea into this storm.  They fear death ("Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"), but Jesus asks, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Here we need to remember this word faith, and that in the Greek its root means to trust.  So He's asking them to trust Him.  This is another aspect -- possibly the fullest aspect -- of discipleship.  It is the whole root of faith.  In whom do we trust?  Where do we put our trust in life?  Whose light will guide us?  When we go through difficult, frightening experiences, and we feel alone or abandoned, let us consider His words. For it is then that He -- the One who will go through the same, and endure even the Cross abandoned and seemingly alone -- will ask us for our trust, to help us to heal even as we dwell in a world beset with storms and fears.

 

 

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 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 our recent readings, two great "landmarks" of Christ's public ministry have occurred.  On Monday, we read that Jesus went up on a mountain, called twelve of His disciples to Himself, and designated them to become apostles.  On Wednesday, Jesus began to preach in parables to the great multitudes that now gather to Him.   In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught more parables to the crowds:  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 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 explains that this story makes clear Christ's divinity as commands to the sea and waves can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).   At the same time, He was asleep, showing us His humanity, and that as a human being, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, my study Bible says, Christ assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  So we have elements that teach us that Christ is divine and is the Messiah, and at the same time that He is fully human with human needs.  

My study Bible reminds us that this image of Christ in a boat with His disciples is one traditionally understood as an image of the Church.  It notes that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Furthermore, Christ's rebuke of the storm teaches us also about our own depth of need for Him, to calm the tempests that arise within us.  As faithful, we all follow the footsteps of the disciples in this sense.  Moreover, there's an important lesson here, as we keep in mind that Christ has only recently called the Twelve to become His particular disciples who will be the first apostles, sent out with Christ's power shared with them to heal and to preach and to cast out demons.  In this sense, this journey prepares them for the journeys that will be now ahead of them, including the time when He is no longer in the world as the human Jesus.  My study Bible says that here specifically, He deliberately permits this great windstorm to arise while He's asleep as a part of the process of perfecting the disciples faith, and to rebuke their weaknesses, so that eventually they will be unshaken by the temptations of life -- such as great fear.  Here their faith, we can see, is still mixed with unbelief.  They showed faith in coming to Him, but unbelief when they declared "we are perishing."  We can see how Christ is shaping them for their future as the apostles they will become, sent out to all the world and in all kinds of unforeseen and indeed, dangerous, circumstances.  Many of them will lose their lives or be forced to live in exile and through persecutions of the Church.  But we may also model our own lives following this image of the disciples with Christ in the boat on the sea that is subject to occasional windstorms.  Let us not forget, several of these men have spent their lives as fishermen on this very sea, and yet the windstorm is such that it is terrifying and they fear for their lives.  So, when we encounter these images in today's reading, we should really consider viewing our own lives within this same framework.  For Christ is preparing them through such challenging events for the things in their future, and for their lives as disciples and apostles.  Indeed, discipleship means "learning" (the Greek for disciple means "learner").  As with athletes, discipline comes through testing and struggle, meeting new challenges to become more proficient at what we do.  So it is with what are traditionally called "spiritual athletes."  Every discipline of the Church is meant to help us to grow in our faith, and to become stronger in it, more masterful in this sense.  The historical practice of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving during Lent are aspects of such discipline, and all are meant as a kind of training for faith.  We might abstain from some food we like, but at the same time we develop the discipline to abstain from, for example, overindulging in fear or other passions, from letting them get the better of us and causing us to  forget our faith.  If we can see our challenges in life as ways to test our faith, to meet a struggle and find where our weaknesses are so that we might come to terms with them and strengthen ourselves, then we are on the right track to meet life where Christ takes His disciples.  In this perspective, there is only the journey to consider and the immediate things at hand with which Christ meets us so that we may learn how to develop a deeper faith and reliance upon God.  Let us consider that we are always being prepared for the spiritual journey ahead, no matter where it takes us or where God wants us to go.  In this context, it's not the world's goals we need to meet, but the Lord who guides us and seeks what's best for that journey.