How Hard It Is To Be Believers Through Faith

MARK 4:35-41
With the coming of evening that same day, he said to them, 'Let us
cross over to the other side.' And leaving the crowd behind they took
him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him.
Then it began to blow a great gale and the waves were breaking into
the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his
head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, 'Master,
do you not care? We are lost!' And he woke up and rebuked the wind and
said to the sea, 'Quiet now! Be calm!' And the wind dropped, and there
followed a great calm. Then he said to them, 'Why are you so
frightened? Have you still no faith?' They were overcome with awe and
said to one another, 'Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey
him.'


REFLECTION
In this Gospel, one realizes how difficult it is to be a disciple. It
was just an ordinary trip after a long, intense day. Jesus and his
friends leave the crowds and turn to the water. The lake is placid.
The disciples look forward to quietness and peace, maybe even a
sunset. They are with the Lord. Life is good at this point.


Everything changes in a flash. The boat is swamped by a great gale.
For the disciples, the irony is that though Jesus is with them, he is
fast asleep. What do you do when God is sleeping in your boat?


"Why are you so frightened?" a puzzled Jesus asks. "Have you no
faith?" He was right there, no further than an arm's length, more
powerful than the wind and the waves.


Lord, we doubt, we stumble. It is our nature. Teach us a bedrock
trust, an unquestioning faith. We will do everything we can. But You
are greater than our minds can conceive. In the end, faith is your
gift. Open our eyes to see Your true nature. Help us to believe.