Calming the Storms 1

There are two accounts of Jesus calming storms in the gospels. Jesus starts out with the apostles to sea in the first occurrence (Mk 4:35-41). It is then that a great storm arose; strong winds, high waves, and the boat is filling with water… and the Lord is asleep. You know he must have been dog tired from preaching all day (Mk 4:1-33) to sleep through all that let alone the commotion twelve grown, frightened men must have been making trying to keep the boat upright.

Now I can totally picture this: one apostle finally can’t take it anymore and wakes him – not with a simple “Uhm, excuse me, Teacher, but we’re having a bit of trouble with the boat.” but rather “DON’T YOU CARE WE’RE GOING TO DIE!” (Mk 4:38) So, the Lord arises, quiets the storm with a simple command, and then chastises the apostles for being cowards and their lack of faith. And without skipping a beat, I can imagine Jesus laying down on his cushion and going back to sleep leaving the twelve staring at each other dumbfounded wondering “Who is this guy?” (Mk 4:41).

It’s pretty safe to say that the apostles have not seen our Lord perform a miracle of this magnitude given their reaction, yet you have to love his casual reaction as if to say “Oh yeah, not only can I heal the sick, but I can control nature too!”

Lord, may I learn to place my trust in you during fearful situations instead of freaking out. Amen.