Why are we still so afraid?

Jesus Calming the Storm at Sea is one of my favorite Gospel readings. We all know the story: Jesus and the apostles were out in a boat when a storm rolled in and the waters became rough. The apostles were terrified. Jesus was asleep in the stern. So, Peter went to the back of the boat, woke Jesus and asked him the most absurd question: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

As always, Jesus played it cool and didn’t even dignify Peter’s question with a response—at least not right away. Instead, he just calmly got up and quieted the storm. Only after the apostles had collected themselves did Jesus respond to Peter’s initial inquiry; and he did so in classic rabbinical style—i.e., he answered the question with another question: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

Calming the Storm is probably one of Jesus’ more epic miracles. Yet, his performing the miracle is probably the least important part of the reading. More central to the story is the discourse; because the reading is not about Jesus’ control over nature, but about the apostles’ faith in Jesus—our faith in Jesus.

How many times, when being tossed about by life’s troubles, have we accused God of not caring that we are perishing? We can’t see him and he’s offered no obvious answers to our prayers, so we assume that he’s left us adrift. Not so. If we could collect ourselves enough to look away from the wind and the waves, we would see that Jesus is behind us in the back of the boat, sculling over the stern.

When Jesus is in the boat with us, we have nothing to fear. Peter should have known that, which is why Jesus didn’t reassure him by saying “Be not afraid”. Rather, he rebuked Peter by asking him why he was afraid and surmised that perhaps the reason was that he did not yet have faith. I’m sure Jesus’ response was spoken with irony: Jesus knew Peter had faith; Peter knew Peter had faith. He just wasn’t allowing himself to draw strength from it.

We all are so much like Peter. We have faith but we don’t take comfort from that fact. We allow ourselves to be frightened by scandals and politics and threat of financial insolvency; by low mass attendance, parish reorganizations, and fewer men entering the priesthood. This fear has become so pervasive that many of us, even after being fortified by the Eucharist at mass, abruptly turn our attention toward the “evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls” and petition St. Michael to defend us against them. In other words, we send out an S.O.S. even though Jesus has just stepped on board our ship and assured us that our vessel is safe.

It defies logic. We have the Gospel, God’s mercy, and life everlasting. We have the Holy Spirit. These are certain truths that transcend all the troubles of this world.

Why are we still so afraid?