Jesus Stills the Sea
“ Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
There is an African proverb that says, “Fair seas do not make skillful sailors.” To this I give witness. In September of 1989 my ship was returning home from South Korea. We were trying to avoid two typhoons that were raging in the north Pacific. Then the big earthquake hit San Francisco and the Admiral in charge of our fleet decided that we had to get back to California as quickly as we could. That course sent us straight through one of the typhoons. For the next two weeks my ship, small by Navy standards, was tossed about by thirty foot plus waves and gale force winds. We did nothing less than forty degree rolls each side of center. We would ride up on one wave only to dive below the next. We could not eat, sleep, or shower. All we could do is hang on for nature’s roller coaster ride. I know the fear the Disciples had first hand. Fair seas do not make skillful sailors. They make sailors who know and respect the power of water.
We live in very interesting times. The Church through the centuries has seen its share of persecution, hardship, and scandal. If the Church is a boat and the world the ocean how can we not come to expect the storms? Indeed, if turbulent seas truly make skillful sailors, how can we not desire the storms? Trials for both the Church and our personal lives is the soil in which our faith can grow strong and bear great fruit. That is, only if we do not abandon ship.
We need to remember that Jesus is on the ship, his bride, the Church. Even when he is peacefully sleeping he would never let his ship capsize and sink. If we are on that ship we can rest assured that the ship will never fail us. The opposite is unfortunately not as true. Turbulent seas wash sailors overboard all of the time. If the watches are on the top of their game these sailors can be recovered from the ocean and saved. If a sailor goes overboard in the dead of the night they are almost always lost forever. If a sailor cannot swim and goes overboard they almost always drown. You would be amazed at the number of sailors that cannot swim.
There are others who have forgotten that Jesus is on the boat, sleeping below deck. They see the boat as lost and sinking and have decided that their lives are in their own hands. They have abandon the ship and set off in life rafts. They have been joined by many who have found dislike in something on the boat, be that the food, their bunks, the sailor at the helm, or even the course and direction the ship is sailing. The life rafts look more promising, each offering something different. When one life raft does not provide what is desired they can swim to the next.
What we must remember is that Christ is on the boat. He is the Captain. The boat goes where he desires it to on the course he commands. If that is straight through the typhoon it is because he wishes us to become the most skillful sailors we are capable of being. He always has the power to rebuke the wind and the surging waves. When he did so for the Disciples he asked them where their faith was. This is the same question he asks each one of us. When we are amid turbulent seas do we fear for our lives or do we trust in Jesus? Do we set out in life rafts or hold dear to the rails on the ship?
Prayer and fasting are the tools old salts use to weather any sea. Mass is the life preserver that keeps us afloat for it is where Jesus makes himself physically visible to us on the boat. We not only see our Savior but we can commune with him in the most intimate fashion possible. Just as the boat had no fear of sinking in the storm so too do we have no real fear when the One who has the power to control the seas is dwelling within us.
As for me and many of my shipmates, we have never had a better night’s sleep than we did during those weeks we spent being thrown about by the typhoon. When you do not fear be lost at sea the ride can become quite fun if you let it.