One day he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So they set sail, 23 and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A squall blew over the lake, and they were taking in water and were in danger. 24 They came and woke him saying, “Master, master, we are perishing!” He awakened, rebuked the wind and the waves, and they subsided and there was a calm. 25 Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” But they were filled with awe and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, who commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him?”
In this miracle story, both men and women disciples got into the boat with Jesus (Lk. 8:1-3). Watery storms symbolized chaos (Gen. 1:2) and God controlled the chaos (Ps. 29:3-4). Sudden bad weather often occurred on the Sea of Galilee and the churning water threatened to capsize the boat. In the early Church a boat represented the community experiencing trials similar to Noah’s family in the ark during the flood (1 Pt. 3:20-21). Jesus asleep was how the early Church viewed the risen Lord not intervening to fix their problems. The appeal to Jesus, “Master, master, we are perishing (v. 24),” was the community’s prayer to the risen Lord for aid. Jesus rebuking the storm called to mind the image of an exorcism (Lk. 4:35). Jesus, like God, showed his power over nature and saved his disciples who thought they were perishing and cried out to him (Ps. 107:23-30). Jesus asked them, as he asks us, “Where is your faith (v. 25)?”
Almighty God, grant us the grace to persevere in faith in our times of chaos and the belief that you will still our storms and bring us safely to shore. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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