Jesus is with us in the same boat. And where he is, there are storms and calm. It is up to us to have faith so that we may not sink. 

After he has taught a very large crowd all day from a boat, Jesus tells his disciples as evening comes, “Let us cross to the other side.” And they take him with them just as he is. That is to say, right away and with no one getting off the boat first. Other boats go with him, too. All this goes to show that the sea of Galilee seems calm to them.

But a strong gust of wind comes up. Hence, the boat and the lives of those in it are at risk. Jesus, meanwhile, is in the stern and sleeps with his head on a pillow. So then, yes, there is storm, on the one hand, and calm, on the other.

The disciples, then, full of fear, wake up the Teacher. And they seem to accuse him of lack of concern. Right away and without returning the accusation, he gets up and rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” And the wind dies down and there is great calm. He, then, says to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

What he says to the sea sounds very much like what he told an evil spirit. For storms and rough waters serve as metaphors for evil power (see Ps 69).

And there is a common belief that such evil power will be stronger and more violent when the last days come. Jesus, the one who goes about doing good, brings these days in. And to do good means to court conflicts, troubles, dangers (SV.EN I:75). Hence, where Jesus is, there are storms.

Still and all, Jesus stays calm. 

For his trust is in God, whom he takes as the one who sustains and protects him. That is why he lies down in peace and sleep comes at once, since God keeps him safe.

Needless to say, the Teacher wants his disciples to have similar trust, faith. But it is not that they do not believe in him at all. In fact, they wake him up and that is why they do not sink. So, though their faith is small and weak due to fear, they stay safe and sound. What other wonders, then, will they see when they get to have strong faith?

No doubt, they will know who Jesus is. Speaking out of the storm, he shows that he conquers evil power, so that great calm may reign. And his love to the end, to giving up his body and shedding his blood, will spur them on to think as he. That is to say, not in the old selfish way, but in the new way of love. Utopia will thus be reality for them. Then the world will be more just, human, pleasing in the eyes of God, and there will be fellowship. And all those in their boat and in the other boats will make up but one family of Christ.

Lord Jesus, all power is yours and you conquer the world: make sure we stay calm when evil seems to triumph; do not let us forget that you are with us to the end of time. And give us a faith that will free us from so much fear, will commit us to follow in your footsteps and will make us cross to the other side that is strange and not friendly.

23 June 2024
12th Sunday in O.T. (B)
Job 38, 1. 8-11; 2 Cor 5, 14-17; Mk 4, 35-41