What to do when Jesus is sleeping.

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Gospel: Mark 4: 35-41

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet!  Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s a riddle I’m sure we all heard as children:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to the other side.

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Similarly, why does Jesus tell his disciples to get into the boat?

To get to the other side.

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It seems so simple, yet it’s difficult to maintain that focus while listening to today’s Gospel passage. 

I’m sure most of us were imagining the storm: Peter and the others staggering like drunkards, trying to right the ship, terrified they’re knocking on death’s door.

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Peter cries out to awaken a sleeping Jesus.

After rebuking the wind and the waves, the Lord looks at him and says, “Do you not yet have faith?” … As if Peter has nothing to fear.

Stunned, he and the others wonder, “Who then is this whom even the wind and the sea obey?” 

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This Gospel story leaves us much to ponder about our own relationship with God.

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It begins with Christ’s invitation to step into the boat.

Although the Sea of Galilee is familiar territory – some of the disciples were fishermen – the fact that Jesus tells them to get into the boat means that something new is happening; this isn’t any ordinary trip.

As the sun sets over the hills, the disciples enter into the slow crawl of darkness, into the night – and figuratively, into the unknown.

When the violent squall comes rushing in, they’re tossed about, and, eventually, Peter cries out in fear, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Peter’s use of the title teacher – “rabbi” – is one of respect, but not of belief. If Peter were addressing Jesus in faith, then he would’ve used a title he uses later, Lord.

In questioning Jesus, Peter is placing the blame on him for leading them into the storm, saying essentially, “You told us to get into the boat…now we are about to drown! Why would you do this to us?”

Making matters worse, Jesus was sleeping comfortably on a cushion while the disciples fought for their lives.

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Have you ever had a moment like Peter’s? Have you had that sinking feeling in your stomach like you’re going to drown – not necessarily in water, but in debt, fear, anxiety, grief, or depression?

And when those powerful waves of emotion arise, how many of us feel like we’ve bumped into a sleeping Jesus, leaving us wondering, “Lord, do you not care?” 

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While our prayers can – and often do – awaken the Lord, perhaps the deeper invitation is to remain calm while drifting in the night. As the Psalmist says, “the floods of water may reach high, but you they shall not overcome.”

Look at Peter. While he’s staggering in fear, he fails to accept that Jesus is enduring the storm with him; Jesus is also being tossed about by the wind and waves; he, too, must be soaked in water.

If their boat sinks, then everyone is in trouble! 

And yet, the Lord remains calm, even to the point of being able to sleep, because he has absolute trust in his Father. 

This is the same type of faith that Jesus is trying to elicit from his disciples – and us. “Why are you terrified?” he questions. “Do you not yet have faith?”

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Part of having faith in the Lord involves remembering why he invited the disciples into the boat in the first place … to get to the other side.

They’re crossing the Sea of Galilee so that Jesus can preach, heal, and save those in Gentile territory. They, too, need the Gospel message.

The storm is merely a temporary obstacle to overcome; or, better yet, to be endured. The Lord rests in order to conserve his energy for the real challenges ahead. Meanwhile, Peter and the others have exhausted themselves.

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The same can be true in our own lives. God is always guiding our journey, leading us into new chapters or terrain – whether that’s in our career, our marriage, our family, or our spiritual life. 

There may be storms along the way, but that doesn’t mean we’re headed in the wrong direction or that we’ll be overcome.

Rather, curl up next to the Lord, even if he’s asleep on a cushion, and trust in him, whom, “even the wind and the sea obey.”

Then you, too, will make it to the other side.

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Image credits: (1) Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt (2) FreePik (3) While Jesus slept, In-Between