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Gospel: Matthew 8: 23-27
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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This is the only moment in the Gospels where Jesus is found asleep.
Surely, he slept most nights. His days were long and often tiring. So, why would Matthew insist on telling us that Jesus fell asleep that night, as opposed to any other night?
Because he fell asleep in the middle of a storm – a storm so strong that it terrified the disciples, who were also professional fishermen.
Imagine them staggering like drunkards, struggling to find their balance… meanwhile, Jesus is fast asleep on a cushion.
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Did Jesus fall asleep knowing the storm was coming? Was this all a test of the disciples’ faith?
What if they were right where God wanted them to be – staggering uncomfortably on a boat, learning how to trust?
Even if asleep, Jesus was right next to them.
Perhaps God was inviting the disciples to remember the words of the Psalmist: “The floods of water may reach high, but you they shall not overcome. You are my shelter, O LORD; you guard me from distress.” (Psalm 32)
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We’ve all had that sinking feeling in our stomach like we’re going to drown – not necessarily in water, but in debt, in fear, in temptation, in grief, in doubt, or in loneliness.
While our prayers can – and often do – awaken a “sleeping Jesus,” perhaps the deeper invitation in today’s Gospel is to imagine the disciples drifting uncomfortably in the storm, doing their best to trust that all will be well, even if they don’t see the end in sight.
Jesus is with them. They will not drown. They did not drown. Nor will we.
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“The floods of water may reach high, but you they shall not overcome.”
Awake or asleep, Jesus is with us.
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Image credits: (1) Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt (2) Ibid. (3) Unsplash