Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 30, 2016 - Saturday in the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Sam 12:1-7a, 10-17 and Mark 4:35-41]A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" [Mark]
The faith (or lack of it) of the disciples is a major theme in the Gospel of Mark. The scene in today's gospel scripture invites the imagination to consider being in a boat about to be overwhelmed by waves and somebody is actually asleep in the stern on a cushion! Maybe that should have been a sign to the frantic disciples who may have been bailing with whatever could hold water! As it is, Jesus gets up and tells the wind and sea to "shut up!" and they do! This leaves the disciples sitting there dripping with water and sweat and utterly bewildered! Then they get a lecture from Jesus: "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" This is one emotional roller-coaster: to go from fear of one's life to maybe a mixture of fear and wonder at the man who can control the weather! "Who then is this whom even the wind and sea obey?" At least they are asking the right question.
How many times have we gone from asking God, "Do you not care that we are perishing?" to "Who are you that you got us out of this mess?" Perhaps that is the progression of faith for a great many of us. We go from worrying if God even cares to wondering how God really was able to care. Both steps are necessary before we get to the point that we know God will take care of us. But if things get really rough, I'm sure Jesus won't mind if we wake him up! AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
97 ms
4
