“When [Jesus] got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves;
but he was asleep. And [the disciples] went and woke him up saying,
‘Lord save us! We are perishing!’”
Matthew 8:23-25
There are many stories in the Gospels that depict Jesus as one who calms things down. Whether it is the raging of a crowd of people who want to stone a woman caught in adultery or the tumult of a storm during one of those many boat journeys over to the “other side” of the Sea of Galilee, the four Evangelists point again and again to the way in which Jesus excelled at speaking into and defusing the anger or anxiety of those around him. In fact, one might even say Jesus spent a good portion of his waking hours inviting people to let go of their fear and choose an attitude of calm faithfulness instead.
But that said, for most of us urgent anxiety is our default programing and faithfulness is a learned behavior. What’s more, learning to choose calm faithfulness is something that happens in stages over the course of our lives.
I love Watanabe Sadao’s depiction of Matthew 8. In a way, it gets a chuckle out of what was in the moment a frightful situation for the disciples. It is a depiction of the truth that they only knew after the fact; after they had the experience of Jesus stilling the storm. It captures the absurdity of their fear. At one level it is a picture of a ship of fools. But it is also tender in its critique. For our eyes are drawn not to their anxiety but to the peace-filled, sleeping face of Jesus. We see those eyes that will soon open to behold the source of their fear. We see that liminal space between their anxiety and his calm. We see the truth that bridges the two worlds. He is there and will be there and that truth of his presence is what has the first and last word.
I look at this print and see in it an invitation to choose faithfulness. Choosing faithfulness is not about trying hard to acquire “more” faith. It is not the choice to work harder at believing something. It is not simply thinking hopefully and positively about a tough situation and saying to ourselves: “I know that Jesus will make this all better.” Faithfulness is trusting in the trustworthiness of a relationship. It is about resting in a reality that the storm cannot touch. It’s about knowing that irrespective of the outcome of the storm there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ.
It is never easy to experience a sleeping Jesus. We want him to be always up and active and making sure nothing bad happens. We want him to be “in control” as we define control. But life tells us that this is not his promise to us. Bad stuff happens. The diagnosis catches us unaware. The earthquake hits. The fires rage. The betrayal sneaks up on us and drops us to our knees. The death of our loved one ushers us into deep loneliness. These are the moments when it feels like Jesus is asleep; these are the times when it is not clear to us that he cares whether we are perishing.
Yet the absence of anxiety on his part is not an expression of indifference, or worse, disgust at our weakness. It is rather the peace of knowing what the rising water cannot destroy. The trouble it brings is not the last word. The last word is love. Not even the flood waters can extinguish that flame. He will remain faithful to us and he invites us to respond in kind; to choose faithfulness to him and allow our response to the trouble to be shaped by the truth that there is nothing that can shake us loose from his grip.
David Rohrer
08/24/2021