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In the gospel of Mark there is another story of a sea crossing. It is not quite in sequence with the one we began telling that started in the Gospel of John and rounded out in the book of Matthew. Nonetheless, it is worth a look.

Once more we find the disciples and Jesus on a small boat making their way across the Sea of Galilee. And again, a storm arises. The seafaring mates are panicked. Jesus is more than merely docile, he is engaged in a pleasant power nap. The disciples are nonplussed by His lack of concern: Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

It is difficult to remain logical and to maintain faith in the midst of crisis. Whether that involves a storm having its way with a boat, a paycheck that doesn’t stretch far enough, a cascade of health issues, or a determined prodigal child, etc.  A crisis by definition is immediate. It is a moment in time. Each feels like a storm. And we, like the disciples, feel that heaven is snoring away and oblivious to our calamity.

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A choice will lie before us all of our days between two competing interests: fear or faith. The first is easy to succumb to. It takes no effort. It is visceral. It is hard-wired. It is normal and natural. The second requires effort, the effort of the pregnant pause. We must, if we’re to be people of faith, face our fears and tell them where to get off. It plays itself out with a sort of theological/historical checklist. “Is God really unconcerned with my situation? Has God provided timely and abundant deliverance in the past? Is God able to do anything, anytime, anywhere? “ The answers are: No. Yes. And, YES, YES, YES! It is the necessary and ongoing internal pep talk of a child of God.

Faith is sustained, in part, by remembrance of the past. When Jesus says: “Do you still have no faith?”, He is making this very point. “Disciples, after all you’ve witnessed with your own eyes, do you think the Savior of the world is going to be lost at sea? Think back! Remember!”

Recalling God’s faithfulness is the collateral we use to invest in a hope-filled future. We sometimes rightly ogle and envy the miracles of Jesus. Yet, having faith that God is in control in the midst of our trials is itself a fine demonstration of the miraculous. It is no less supernatural than Jesus causing a storm to be stilled.