Tuesday, 7/4/17 – Trust in Jesus

I always enjoy watching the old Chevy Chase movies in which, as Clark Griswold, he and his family take a vacation in their station wagon. Though the trip starts off rather calmly, it doesn’t take long for chaos to erupt. Then his wife and children begin to blame him for the series of disasters that come their way. Through it all , Clark keeps a naïve smile on his face and assures them that all will work out well even though their station wagon is falling apart.

Today’s gospel story sounds like an episode out of the Griswold family adventures (Matthew 8:23-27).

“As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.”

Jesus had a great idea: “let’s go for a boat ride.” He jumped in first and his family of disciples, with smiles on their faces, followed willingly. They trusted him—at least for a while. Then the “Griswold factor” began. Suddenly there was a violent storm and the boat started to go under. I wish Matthew would have filled us in on some of the conversation in the boat. “What a stupid idea Jesus had! If we had stayed on shore, we wouldn’t be in this mess! He should have realized a storm was in store!” Or maybe they began to turn on each other, especially on the disciple who was supposed to be guiding the boat. Then we watch the camera focus on Jesus—he is in “never, never land,” sleeping on a cushion with a peaceful smile on his face—maybe a Clark Griswold look. Though the waves were soaking him and the disciples, he kept enjoying his nap.

Finally, realizing that they were on the brink of drowning, the disciples panicked and screamed out for help.

“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

Did that make any sense? Jesus was not a boatman, how could he be of any help to them? They were the ones who were supposed to know how to handle a boat. When the situation went beyond their abilities to control, they had no recourse but to turn to the one who got them into this predicament.

“He said to them, ‘Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?’ Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.”

The waves didn’t awaken Jesus, but the panicky cries of the disciples did. He wasn’t upset because they woke him or because he was soaked with water; what upset Jesus was their weak faith. They had no trouble believing in Jesus and following him when the sun was out and the lake was calm. Their poverty of faith, however, was exposed when the storm struck them.

They panicked because they believed Jesus didn’t know what he was doing. They did not trust in him enough to know that he would take care of them even in face of a violent, life-threatening, storm.

There is a moment in our lives when Jesus invites us to be his disciples. He tells us to leave the safety of the shore and hop into the boat with him. It seems exciting, especially if the sun is out and the lake is calm. Inevitably, however, a storm comes our way—our faith is tested. When this happens, we may stay calm and join Jesus for an afternoon nap. Most of us, however, will be like the disciples and start trying to calm the storm with our own powers. At some point, as a last resort, we will scream out to Jesus for help. No longer able to trust in our own skills, we decide to trust in Jesus—the Shepherd who promised to take care of us in all life’s circumstances.

Today we turn to Jesus even though there may be no storm in our lives. We get into the practice of trusting him, calling on his name, and staying close to him now, so that when an unexpected storm takes hold of our boat, we are able to enjoy inner calm even if the boat seems to be falling apart. If we start practicing faith in small ways, today, it will be strong enough to see us through storms tomorrow.

“What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the seas obey?” (Matthew 8:27).

About the Author

Author Bob Garvey lives in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a master’s degree in religious education and has been an active leader in the Catholic charismatic renewal for forty years. After retiring as a high school teacher, he began to write daily commentaries on the Church’s liturgical readings and other topics relevant to Catholic spirituality. He is married to Linda, has three daughters and four grandchildren.

Author Archive Page

11 Comments

  1. Thanks Bob. Yes, when storms and troubles are coming our way, we have to look through them and further away. We have to keep in mind that Jesus knows all about this. Then, when days pass by, we discover that storm coming our way has vanished or passed by with little or no harm at all. Thanks again Bob.

  2. The story is so familiar, it happens in our daily life very often. We all boast our self showing we are faithful to our lord, but a small problem all the faith and prayers go out of window. We humans are week and very few of us have rock hard faith. As always we approach him as the last resort, instead of keeping him in front of our life at the first place.
    Thanks Bob.

  3. Jesus, you are always there for me when I am afraid. Let me always be rooted in my faith so that I can be strong whenever I need to be.

  4. Thanks Bob for your wonderful reflection. It reminds me of how often we Christians forget to pray to God for the problems we are going through and think of how we can solve them ourselves without God or how often we worry ourselves almost to death when things go against us instead of turning to God.This is why I like the song that says What a Friend we have in Jesus as it tells us to take everything to Him in Prayer i.e. whatever we are going through.
    God Bless you Bob and may God continue to fill you for you to provide us

  5. Thanks for the reflection . Each and every day I see myself grow spiritually … trusting in the Lord and having full faith in him at all times …. when the sea is calm and when there is a storm. I have started practicing my faith in small ways. Yesterday while I was reciting the rosary in church after the evening mass, it dawned on me that I have been weak in my faith however the every day prayers I do , evening mass I attend, reciting of the rosary daily, reading of the daily reflection and mass reading , I feel I have been growing in faith …Thank you Lord . and yes we surely have a friend in Jesus and I take to him everything and not only when things are tough on me but also my happiness / joy….

  6. Thank you Bob for reminding me how daily prayer and faith builds the foundation to support us when the storms of life arrive. God bless you

  7. Jesus – I am going through a storm in my life right now so should you arise from your slumber I’ll be out on the water walking and playing in the storm if yah get a chance, do me a solid!! After yah wake up that is. Ok brothers and sisters I am going through a storm in life right now really. I’m just seeing if I can make my older brother Jesus smile some in the middle of it. Like I wish I had that kind of faith heh heh. Happy fourth of July all.

  8. When a problem arises it is so easy for me to quickly pray for help and then go right ahead and do my own thing while thinking I’m working it out with our Lord. But I ‘m not, not really. Then when things get really bad I genuinely invite our Lord to lead me. It is then that I see the signs and the words of our patient God. Bob, I love your ability to move the Gospel stories right into my little world! Great imagery again! Thank you and thank God for you!

  9. Thanks Bob for the reflection. I have loved the analogy of it all. Yes storms are out there in plenty but whenever you call on Jesus He will surely answer you back. But all in all dont wait for the storms. Place everything on Him as soon as you wake up and let Him take charge of your little boat and His will be done.

  10. Thank you so much Bob for encouraging reflections. Indeed Jesus is always with us in every “test of faith”.

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