“Faith gives us the certainty of Jesus’ presence always beside us, of his hand which grasps us to pull us back from danger.” (Pope Francis).
I have been reflecting on the story of Christ asleep in the boat during the storm…
“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care if we perish?’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:35-41).
And I have been reflecting on Christ and the disciples in that story.
You see, Christ was physically asleep but spiritually awake. But the disciples were physically awake but spiritually asleep.
And I have been reflecting on that today because it seems that at so many times in my life, I am simply one of the disciples, physically awake but completely asleep spiritually…
Pope Francis wrote, “This is an effective image of the Church: a boat which must brave the storms and sometimes seems on the point of capsizing. What saves her is not the skill and courage of her crew members, but faith which allows her to walk, even in the dark, amid hardships. Faith gives us the certainty of Jesus’ presence always beside us, of his hand which grasps us to pull us back from danger. We are all on this boat, and we feel secure here despite our limitations and our weaknesses. We are safe especially when we are ready to kneel and worship Jesus, the only Lord of our life.”
And I have been reflecting on that as well. Because it seems that I make so many mistakes in my life. There are so many times where I am standing there – physically awake – and looking around myself and afraid. And I am so asleep spiritually that I may as well be dead. Because though I know that God is with me in the boat, I am afraid that the boat will sink.
And it occurs to me today how dreadful a mistake that truly is, because when I fail to wake up spiritually, I trouble my sleeping Lord in the boat. Saint Therese of Lisieux wrote that she wished to allow Christ to sleep in the boat and did not wish to trouble Him, and so she practiced her faith and remained spiritually awake…
And that is my prayer today – to wake up – spiritually…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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