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).
