Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Matthew 8: 23-27

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

As a sailor I once spent two weeks being pummeled by thirty foot waves in a Pacific Ocean typhoon. We did a constant forty degree roll with some tipping as far as fifty degrees. At that degree we were on the verge of capsizing. Much of the crew were sick and in fear for their lives. I enjoyed nature’s roller-coaster ride. The power of the sea in chaos is unimaginable. One cannot possibly understand what the disciples were going through unless they have been through it. Let us not forget that a third of the Twelve were experienced fishermen who has spent their lives on the sea. They knew better than anyone the peril they were truly in.

Then there was Jesus, sleeping calmly below decks. He knew his father’s plan and he knew that it was not yet his time to die. Was Jesus angry when the disciples woke him terrified for their lives or was he using the storm to cement their faith in him?

All of us will go through storms in this life. Some of these storms are small, some are great. Some storms are so bad that they cost us something or someone very dear to us. When you are in a storm do you put your hand firmly on the tiller and try to power your way through it? Do you shake your fist at the heavens determined to beat the chaos? Or, do you do like the disciples and call out to God for help? Where does your faith lie?

If we had perfect faith like Jesus we could sleep through any chaos knowing that God loves us and has a plan for us. We can see this type of faith in some of the saints who despite their great misery lived joy filled lives. We can read stories like the one of Claude Newman who joyfully went to his execution because he knew he was going home to be with God. This is the faith we are called to have.

We live during some very interesting times. Up is down, black is white, the unchangeable has become choice. This is truly the devil’s century. It has many people terrified. Yet, I have read the end of the book. I know that the Lord triumphs. What do I have to fear? I need not fear. I need to trust, I need to have faith. Surely the troubles of my life are nothing to someone who has the power to rebuke the seas and calm the chaos.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.