Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 29, 2022 - Saturday in the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Sam 12:1-7a, 10-17 and Mark 4:35-41]On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: "Lot us cross to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. 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?" He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" They were filled with awe and said to one another, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"
A friend of mine once gave me a plaque with the following statement on it: "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Other times, the Lord lets the storm rage and calms his child." It would appear that both happen in this account from today's gospel from the Gospel According to Mark. It is helpful to remember that despite all the miracles Jesus had performed (Simon's mother-in-law, man with withered hand, cleansing a leper, curing a paralytic) the disciples don't seem to "get it!" Maybe, like some of us from time to time, they thought the weather would be exempt!
The scene is both serious and comical. Yes, the storm was serious, but Jesus is sleeping right through it! It is understandable to get exasperated with someone who remains calm when one's own world is falling apart! They have to wake up Jesus! He takes care of the storm and chides them for their lack of faith! One might wonder if he went back to his cushion, leaving them to wonder, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?" (Of course, the imagination might be tempted to wonder what they thought about the calm which meant they would have to row to the other side instead of sailing?)
We have the benefit of 2000+ years of reflection on this gospel and know that the disciples would not "get it" until Jesus is crucified and risen from the dead. But do we "get it" when our boat is being swamped? What do we say when Jesus asks us, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" AMEN