And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm suddenly arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” ~ Matthew 8:23-27
It wasn't always easy for the disciples.
If you read the gospels, there are a lot of times you might shake your head at them and wonder just why it is they don't get it.
Why can't they see the power Jesus has?
And when they do see the power - as here, calming the storm - they are surprised.
Would we really be much different?
The thing is that eventually that love from Jesus - the kind of love that saved them from drowning; the kind of love that came from dying and rising again - moved them from a place of fear.
It moved them to a place of love themselves. Each one of those disciples (except of course, Judas), would go on to boldly love as Jesus did. They would go and build congregations that would love.
Jesus continues to save and transform us too. He moves us from a place of fear into a place of faith and strength and hope.
He moves us from fear to love.
- What strikes you most about this passage?
- How does Jesus strengthen you when you are afraid?
Holy One, lead me, push me, pull me, prompt me along this journey of faith. Keep my footsteps sure and my eyes fixed on the places you would send me. Amen