Gospel (Mt 8:23-27)

When Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Commentary

We too, like the disciples, often have to live in the midst of storms.

And the storms in our life – our wretchedness and falls, our defeats and failures, illness and suffering –bring to light our vulnerability. And at the same time they reveal where we find our security.

The disciples had allowed themselves to be frightened by that storm; they were afraid. But when they wake him Jesus says: “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?"

Faced with life’s storms, Christians should foster an attitude that expects the continuous and far-reaching intervention of God. That is, they should have an attitude of faith.

Our Lord asks us for interior maturity: to go from the child who complains and gets angry because it seems his father isn’t paying attention to him, to the child who trustingly abandons himself in his father’s arms.

The same thing happens in the life of a Christian as when a child is learning to walk. One step, then another, falling and getting up. Always under the watchful eye of his father, who encourages him and lifts him when he falls. But he doesn’t carry his child in his arms everywhere to prevent him from ever suffering.

In the midst of our own storms, we have to go to our Lord and take refuge in Him, because He is always by our side. Not expecting Him to always stop the storm from afflicting us, but asking him to help us grow, to mature, in the midst of the storm.

And perhaps in that storm we can help those around us to walk securely, and to get to know the God who never forgets us.