Is there anybody out there?

‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’

‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’

These two phrases are key to what the passage of the stilling of the storm is really about, and what we can take from it for our own lives.

The storm of course represents any form of grief that we may be going through.

Depression, illness, unemployment, anxiety, lack of money, lonliness, tension, conflict.....

The list could go on and on.

Within the context of the story, the storm arrives very quickly. A few moments ago, Jesus was teaching. Of the go, to the other side, then the clouds gather. If it was looking too dodgy, I doubt they would have decided to cross. Also, the fact the Jesus has had time to have a little kip gives us an idea of the length of the voyage.

The point is that these storms can come up on us quickly. An extra bill in the mail can change a whole month, can change all sorts of plans. Can change hope into despair. A fall may brake a bone. A cold can turn into a flu, from a sniffle to a week in bed. Who's going to cook dinner? A discussion can quickly turn into a disagreement, into a feud. A friend can move away to another city, or country. A friend may pass away. All of a sudden we may realise that we are in fact quite alone.

It is at these moments we can be like the disciples in the boat with Jesus:

‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’

"Why am I going through this?"

"What have I done to deserve this"

"How come this is happening now?"

"Lord, help me through this"

We feel we have been deserted by God, we are alone in the storm. It seems as though God does not care.

In the reading, Jesus sorts the storm out. Then He says

‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’

Indeed.

Why do we assume that things going wrong, the storm, means God does not care?