Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 31, 2009 - St. John Bosco
[Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 and Mark 4:35-41]Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen..... (Hebrews) Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith? (Mark)
One wonders what terrified the disciples more: the storm or the fact that Jesus could calm the storm? I am reminded of a plaque I gave a friend once that had this saying on it: Sometimes the Lord calms the storm and sometimes the Lord lets the storm rage and calms his child. Old Testament tradition associated the sea with chaos over which only God had control. The fact that Jesus could turn on his cushion and say to wind and crashing waves: "Quiet! Be still!" and have it happen probably left the rest of the passengers with jaws dropped and uneasy thoughts! And then, to top it off, Jesus asks them why they're terrified! Well, terror can make one forget faith for a moment or two! In any case it is not clear that the disciples woke up Jesus because they thought he could stop the storm. They may have just been irritated that he could sleep through it all! Fear is not the opposite of faith. But faith may be our best antidote. There are any number of my own experiences or those of others that I could cite for situations similar to the one in the boat today. There is that niggling voice that says, "Is God asleep?" But the voice of faith says, "Not at all!" The words from the Letter to the Hebrews today are powerful. Faith is indeed the realization of God's presence and therefore we may have hope, no matter how bad the situation may be. It is this personal experience of faith that we need to share. I have close friends who teach at a high school sponsored by the Salesians of Don Bosco whose feast day is today. They both teach theology to the boys. I would wager, however, that they will teach more from their own experience of faith than from the content of the textbooks. Maybe we should perfect the technique of taking a nap in a storm! AMEN
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