Read Luke 8:22-25
“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Luke 8:25
So much of Jesus’ ministry happened around the Sea of Galilee, and in this particular passage, Jesus gets into a boat in order to head over to the other side of the lake with his disciples. In the Gospels, the boat serves as a symbol of the Christian community and the Christians life. So what Jesus teaches in and from the boat and what happens to the disciples when they are on the sea, are signs and lessons for our lives too!
During the crossing, Jesus falls asleep and a storm is quickly formed on the lake which frightens the disciples. The poor guys feel overwhelmed and somewhat taken aback at Jesus, seemingly indifferent and comfortably asleep. Due to their lack of trust, the storm inside them is even greater than the one outside. When Jesus is woken, He acts as God does, exercising authority over the wind and the waves and restoring the calm.
In the first part of our pilgrimage, like the disciples we will also be setting sail on a modern 'Jesus Boat'. We don't expect a storm, but this experience of being in a boat on the lake just as our Lord was with His disciples, is a fitting reminder that with Jesus in our boat, whether through calm or stormy waters, we will not go down. This instils in us a profound trust in His love.
Jesus asks: “Where is your faith?” Faith is not about trying to believe that we can somehow convince God to intervene and save us from the storm. Faith is an attitude of active trust that we are the beloved and precious son / daughter of God and this truth is unchangeable regardless of any situation or storm we might be passing through. Maybe we need to pray 'Lord, help me trust you so much, that even in the storm, I would need to have to 'wake you up'.
Lord, I ask You to give me the grace to remember that through the most difficult storms you are always with us on the same boat. I thank and praise you that you are our one true refuge and strength, an ever-present help in every situation and moment of our lives.