Twelfth Sunday of B [Mk 4:35-41]
23.06.2024
The Stilling of the Storm and the Movement from Fear to Faith
1. Theme in brief:
Moving from fear and anxiety to
faith and trust
2. Focus Statement:
Whenever we face trials, Jesus invites us to move
from anxiety and fear to a deeper faith and trust in his power over the evil
forces and storms of life.
3. Explanation of the text
Today’s gospel text in which the disciples address Jesus as Teacher when they are about to perish in the turbulent and surging sea (4:38), is meant to teach them a lesson on the necessity of a deeper faith in him. It teaches them that they need to constantly struggle against some great ‘windstorms’ that blow against their faith in God or in him, such as trials, fears and the negative influence of evil forces in the world (4:37, 39). These are the tempests or waves of storms that beat into the ‘boat’ of life during the faith-journey of disciples and threaten to sink it (4:37).
It seems that the
The roaring sea and the frightening windstorms symbolize the evil or satanic powers at work as per Jewish worldview at the time of Jesus. This is clear from the fact that Jesus ‘rebukes’ the wind and the waves exactly in the same words (in the original language, Greek) as he rebuked the demons (unclean spirits) earlier (Mk 1:25): “Be quiet” or “be still” (4:39). People in those days believed that storm in the sea or natural calamities were the works of demons. Here we see Jesus struggling against the satanic/evil forces and winning a victory over them by stilling the storm (4:39), foreshadowing his final victory over them at his resurrection.
When the disciples almost ‘rebuke’ Jesus for his lack of concern, Jesus rebukes them for their baseless fears (since he is with them) and for their lack of strong faith (4:40). They are shown as persons who underestimate Jesus’ power over the forces of nature. They are chided for the smallness of their faith weakened by fear, worry and anxiety. They fail to believe in the predominance of Jesus’ almighty power over the storm’s mighty power.
The disciples learn some important lessons from this event: (1) Their faith always remains vulnerable to storms of life. (2) So far they know that Jesus has the authority to forgive sins, to cast out demons, and to heal diseases. Now they learn a new lesson that he has authority over the forces of nature also. Even the wind and the sea obey him (4:41). This fills them with awe and makes them wonder: Ultimately, who is he then (4:41)? His power over the satanic forces that create chaos and turmoil in the sea (as per Jewish understanding in those days) is a sure sign of his divine character.
According
to the Synoptic gospels all the miracles of Jesus are signs of the
4. Application to life
First of all we know it from experience
that our faith in Jesus, however strong it may be, does not guarantee that we
shall always sail in calm waters. Secondly, it is not true that storms come in
the life of only those who disobey God. According to today’s gospel text, the
disciples were caught up in the terrible storm precisely because they obeyed the Lord. It was he who had proposed
to them to cross over to the other side of the lake (4:35). Faith is not a
readymade thing. It has its own ups and downs; it grows and wanes. It is constantly threatened by ‘storms’ of life. In our personal
life we may meet with storms such as trials, fears, doubts, impulses and
temptations towards evil or sin (especially to fall back on our personal
weakness/ defects of character), diseases (sometimes incurable), accidents,
sudden death of dear ones, unsolvable problems, tensions, worries, anxiety and
uncertainty; in our family and social life we may meet with marital infidelity,
betrayals, financial crisis, loss of job, unemployment, injustice,
discrimination; in our surroundings we may meet with natural calamities
(cyclone, tsunami, earthquake, drought, flood), wars, riots, unbearable effects
of climate change and global warming. These and many other factors are like storms
that blow against our faith and threaten to sink our faith-life’s boat. During these trials we feel
God seems to be simply absent and not caring for us.
Our fears increase day by day as the world advances: fear of being robbed; of being attacked by an enemy; of remaining unemployed; of losing a job; of being killed in a bomb blast or accident; of a sudden transfer to a remote place; of dreadful sicknesses like cancer and heart attack; of being left alone in old age; of breakage of love-relationships; of what others may think of us or say to us when we try to behave differently from others; of our children getting into deviant or criminal behaviour; of natural or man-made calamities (like accidents, floods, earthquakes, cyclones); of the unknown future; of untimely or unprepared death…. The list goes on ……… Lack of deep faith is often the cause of fear when we face trials, as was the case of Christ’s disciples. It was fear that made them lose trust in Jesus and question whether he really cared. They could not believe this: As the Lord is in control of every situation, why should we fear?
When we become victims of trials, fears (whether real or imaginary), anxiety, worry and evil forces in our world, our faith is severely tested. When we permit these things to take control of us and rule over our minds, they begin to enslave us. Instead of the Lord directing our lives, these ‘storms’ become an independent force driving us where we, heart of hearts, do not like to go. Here comes the ‘evening’ of our life when forces of darkness descend on us threatening to sink our life’s boat. These ‘storms’ or forces become our worst masters and control or drive us to wrong directions such as depression, disappointment, meaninglessness, emptiness, etc. At that time, just as the disciples of Jesus felt, we too feel that God is sleeping over the matter and does not care. He seems to be unconcerned about our troubles and least bothered about our prayers. Feelings of God’s indifference, his absence, his non-intervention to rescue us, or don’t-care-attitude put our faith to severe test. Sometimes God seems to be not only asleep but dead. In our over-anxiety we forget the Scripture which says he is a God who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps 121:4).
Faith involves a constant struggle against all these forces. Through today’s gospel-message, Jesus invites us to purify, strengthen, deepen and renew our faith. Jesus chides us as he did to his disciples: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith” (4:30)? It is only by passing through or crossing over from trials of life we can reach the other side of the lake. This is exactly what is meant by paschal mystery – a mystery of life in which we pass over from fear and anxiety to total trust in the Lord till we meet him on the other side of the ‘lake’ (= at the end of our life). We can triumph over the storms of life only if we strongly rely on the power of Jesus over evil forces. Since Jesus himself has crossed over trials, suffering and death and reached ‘the other side’ (= has won a victory over them) through his resurrection, we too are invited by him to ‘go across to the other side’ (4:35) through trials.
When we strongly believe and become conscious that Jesus is present in our trials we can experience peace and calmness even in the midst of wildest storms of life. If we do not tackle the storms of life with the strength of faith, they can become detrimental to our spiritual, mental and physical health and can rob our peace of mind. Instead of allowing ourselves to sink in over-anxiety and worry, Jesus invites us to put our faith in his care and power. We can win the test of faith in all adverse situations only by putting our trust in Jesus and believing that no matter what happens to us, he is present there. Sometime we do not know which way to go and what decision to take. When the storms of anxiety and fear toss our life’s boat up and down, we need to cry to him in humble submission: “Lord, show me the way; I am perishing” and hear his voice: “Peace; be still.”
Faith is a total surrender of our life into the hands of the Lord, trusting in his power. Our faith has to grow from doubting the presence of the Lord in trials to a total surrender to him. Jesus invites us to grow from our little and doubtful state of faith to one of trustful surrender. We lose trust in the power and goodness of the Lord when we face the darkness. The Lord invites us to abandon ourselves into his arms just like a child by accepting him as the only Lord and Master of life, and allowing him to take us where he wants and do with us what he wants. This is the faith that leads to surrendering of our entire life – all that we are and all that we have – into his hands.
There is a tendency in many of us to go through all the religious practices and rituals without allowing our faith to influence our life – our attitudes, behaviour and action. Only when we offer our entire lives to God, put him in charge of our lives and permit him to do what he wants with us, we get the power to bear unbearable situations, to do what humanly speaking seems to be impossible, to accept persons and situations as they are. We have to move from mere ‘religiosity’ (that is, taking our faith only as practice of certain rituals and knowledge of religious tenets) to a personal spirituality that motivates us to say: “Do what you want with me Lord; I’m yours.” When we face severe trials, we have two options: either to go on worrying that God is not concerned and does not care, or to totally trust in his care. A person of faith thinks thus: if even the wind and the mighty sea obey him, does he not have the power to calm down my restlessness and anxiety caused due to lack of trust in him, and often due to imaginary fears?
Just like the disciples, each one of us should ask and personally answer this question: “After all, who is Jesus for me?” Keeping quiet and not answering this question is equal to allowing our tempests to ruin our faith. Though Jesus has control over nature, he has no control over human hearts. The human heart must open itself to him. That is faith. Jesus cannot force faith on us. Faith is a free response of those who recognize in his words and deeds the power of God.
5. Response to God's Word
What are the trials, fears and evil forces that blow against our faith and threaten to sink it? Do we allow these forces to take control of us and rule over our minds or enslave us? When we do not understand God’s ways and do not find solution to our problems, do we surrender our life into the hands of the Lord, trusting in his power? Do we make efforts to deepen our faith by going beyond ritual practices to an act of total surrender? Do we really believe that faith is such a great force that it can ‘move mountains’ and ‘uproot trees’ – that is, motivate us to face mountainous problems and to uproot deeply rooted evil habits? What is your response to Jesus’ rebuke: “Have you still no faith?”
6. A Prayer
In full response to your love O Lord, I offer to you whatever I have and I am. Whatever I have is your gift to me, and whatever I am is my gift to you. Therefore, I lovingly and willingly return to you whatever you have given me, without any reserve. Take me where you want to take; give me what you want to give; lead me in your paths. Here am I Lord to do your will. Assure me Lord that I am in your loving care. Amen.
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