Calming The Storms Of Life

In the midst of life’s chaos and the constant hum of worldly voices, there is ONE voice that calls out to us in truth and love. The voice of Jesus Christ who, with His divine Authority, called out to the sea, and the winds obeyed.

We read in the synoptic gospels how Jesus and the disciples went, “across to the other side,” in the boat. Suddenly the winds became gale like, as they often did on those lakes where Jesus and the disciples travelled. We read how frightened the disciples were even though Jesus was right there with them, asleep mind you, but there none the less. The fear of drowning or even death gripped the disciples as they did not yet fully know who this Jesus was. We understand this by reading Mark 4:41, “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?” I wonder if any of the disciples called to mind the Psalms. “For He commanded, and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea…Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress; He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” (Psalm 107:25, 28-29)

When Jesus is roused by the disciples He rebukes the wind and sea saying, “Peace! Be still!” He then turns to the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” Jesus challenges us with the same question, “Why are we afraid?” When fears take hold of us they can paralyze us. What are your fears? What is weighing you down? Are the storms of life getting to you? We all have fears, some small, some large. Fears arise from many sources. Receiving bad news from the doctor, family problems, teen trouble, loss of a loved one and loss of employment are just a few examples of afflictions that strike fear into our hearts. The question we must ask ourselves is, “How do we handle this fear that has such a great hold of our lives?”

St. Paul tells us in the Letter to the Romans, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship,” (Romans 8:15). Through baptism we are adopted into the family of God. This sonship, or adoption allows us to cry out ABBA! Father! Pause for a moment and ponder this. We are sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe whom we can call Daddy. Through this relationship we are blessed with many glorious gifts. One of those gifts is the Spirit which the Father sends us through His Son, Jesus, and the grace that allows us to be courageous against the slavery of fear.

During the storm Jesus was present with the disciples in the boat, yet they were still frightened. Can you imagine the hopelessness they would have felt if they had been alone? We too are like the disciples at times. We know Jesus is with us yet we fear because we lose sight of who He really is. Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us.” When we have Jesus in our lives we may still have fear but by His tender love and grace He helps us to remain calm and have peace within ourselves that is above all understanding, while He walks with us through our ‘storms’.

There are those of us who travel along in the boat of life without Jesus. When the storms of life arise and we must face trials and tribulations there is a belief that we must try to battle our fears by our own strength. Christ told us in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” When we trust only in ourselves we allow the storm to take control of our lives and ultimately destroy it.

There are those of us who travel in the boat of life with Jesus as a passenger. He is on the boat but we never bother to ‘wake Him up’. When the storms of life emerge, we think we can handle it by ourselves and Jesus is on board just in case we need a life preserver. We live the ‘Sunday’ Catholic lifestyle but don’t actually have a personal relationship with the wakened, resurrected Christ.

Then there are those of us who travel in the boat of life with Jesus as the captain. We have awakened Him and asked Him to keep watch with us. We know who He is, and call upon Him in trials and tribulations. He may not always calm the storms of life the way we expect Him to, but we know that He is captain of our boat and that…”in everything God works for good with those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28) Being followers of Christ we not only ‘wake’ Him in hard times. We take the time to have a relationship with him. We, imitating the one cured leper who returned, offer Him praise and thanksgiving. (cf. Luke 17:15)

When Jesus said, “Have you no faith?” He could have also said, “Let this trial strengthen your faith.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states how these storms of life can do that. “Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to Him.” (CCC 1501)

Let us therefore live our lives in the boat where Christ is truly present, fully alive and fully awake so that when the storms of life come we can call upon the sweet name of Jesus and know He will be with us. As He journeys with us through our storms, may we respond with the words of St. Thomas the doubter, “My Lord and my God!”