Why are you so frightened?

Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples went with him. Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. But Jesus was asleep. The disciples went to him and woke him up. “Save us, Lord!” they said. “We are about to die!” “Why are you so frightened?” Jesus answered, “How little faith you have!” Then he got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop, and there was a great calm. Everyone was amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they said. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matt 7:23-27, Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25)

Like all the Gospel stories, it is important to read this in two ways: firstly as a story which is literally true and, secondly, from a spiritual perspective, looking for what it is telling us about our own personal lives.

Accepting that the story is literally true, we can imagine Jesus and his disciples wading away from the hot dusty shore, through the warm still waters of the lake and clambering into the boat. Their plan had been to cross to the other side of the lake. However, their crossing soon became perilous as storm force winds grew, whipping up waves sufficient to overwhelm their small boat. We can imagine the scene of fear and helplessness. What is hard to imagine, though, is Jesus lying fast asleep with – as St Mark puts it – “his head on a pillow”. Whilst his disciples were at the end of their tether and filled with the fear of their impending drowning, Jesus was blissfully asleep, apparently completely unaware of the storm. One of his disciples wakes Jesus and berates him, “Don’t you care that we are about to drown?!” (Mark 4:38)

Jesus, of course, is not only omnipotent (all-powerful) but omniscient – he knows all things. He knows that his friends have not quite yet grasped who he is and that there is no way his Father would allow him and his friends to drown in a storm in a lake – his and their hour has not yet come.

Jesus’ response is not to leap up from his sleep and join in his friends’ wild panic. Indeed, even as the waves are crashing over the boat he is composed enough to challenge them, “Why are you so frightened?” Without waiting for their response, he stands up and, stretching his arm over the wild waves and into the ferocious winds, he commands them to “Be quiet!” …. “Be still!”

And there was great calm ....

Confirmation that the disciples have not yet understood the nature of Jesus comes when they exclaim “Who is this man …. Even the winds and waves obey him!”

Now, just close your eyes and imagine this scene for a moment: smell the damp air …. the wood of the boat … the sweat of the frightened men. Hear the straining and creaking of the stricken boat … the crashing of the waves and the scream of the wind as it rushes through the rigging … the cries and shouts of panic. Feel your wet hands clinging, white-knuckled, onto the rough rope … the wind tearing through your sodden clothes.

Now imagine the reality of the huge towering grey waves suddenly dying down, with the lake becoming flat and calm. Imagine the gale force winds reduced to a gentle whisper in a matter of seconds. Make these images real in your mind and truly wonder at the person of Jesus and what he is able to do. Above all, ask yourself what the meaning of this action is in your own personal life.

You can do this by reading this passage from a spiritual perspective, imagining that the boat is your life……

Like all working boats, your own boat – that is, your life – lives its life at the mercy of the wind and waves. Sometimes the sea is calm and the wind still, our problems feel a million miles away and all is well with us and our loved ones. However, we can all relate to the next part of the story, “Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking.” We are all, at times, hit by a problem or anxiety about something important in our lives, which throws our world into confusion and which threatens to overwhelm and, perhaps, even sink our boat. These times are frightening and exhausting, and we find ourselves regarding the future with a real apprehension.

We may even find ourselves, like the disciples, saying, “Doesn’t he know what is happening … doesn’t he care? … where is he when I most need him?”

The answer to the last question comes right at the start of the story, when we read that Jesus “got into the boat”. This is a reminder that Jesus entered our lives at our baptism and, just as he had no intention of abandoning his terror-struck disciples, he has no intention of abandoning us. Jesus is with us for good; he is present in every aspect of our lives, both the good and the bad.

Perhaps however, over the years, we have allowed Jesus to fall asleep in our lives. Do we lurch from one difficulty and problem to the next, trying to solve them all ourselves? Should we be asking ourselves,

- What is Jesus to me?
- Is he a real presence in my life?
- Could I learn, in times of trouble and distress, to turn to him just as the disciples did in their moment of distress and panic?
- Do I believe that Jesus really can calm the many storms in my life?

In this passage Jesus gives us an absolutely clear and unequivocal picture of what it means to turn to him in our hour of distress: he commanded the stilling of the storm and there was great calm. We would all like to live our lives in a spirit of great calm, able to deal with the many and varied things which challenge us and our sense of well-being.

However, it can be hard to let someone else take control of us and our life, especially when it is someone who remains veiled from us. But this is Jesus’ challenge to us: to allow him to calm our storms is to learn to say ‘yes’ to him. We need to learn to have faith in him as a person and in his way of doing things. “How little faith you have!” was his (rather exasperated) exclamation. The great thing about this part was that, despite their continuing lack of faith (and we can all relate to that too) he calmed the storm anyway.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for being with me and for all that is good in my life. Help me to know that you are with me in a special way when I feel threatened and overwhelmed by fear. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and in faith I will turn to you in the full knowledge that you will calm my every storm.