"We are perishing!"

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”  Luke 8:22-25

The disciples have gotten a bad rap. They are criticized for their lack of faith, “The disciples had the master with them. They had no need to fear. Nor do we have reason to fear, if we truly have faith.”

Really? “The boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.”

I try to imagine what it was like. Water swirls at our feet. Howling wind shrouds the moon and baffles the stars. The only horizon is the next wave galloping wildly toward the boat. According to Matthew and Mark, “The boat was being swamped by the waves.” Who wouldn’t be scared? Every system in the body jerks to attention. The brain is wired for survival. In response to the threat, adrenaline and a flood of other hormones let loose. The heart beats wildly. Muscles tighten. Executive functioning gets shoved to the back wall. In the moment, all we know are fear and panic and the need to survive.

It's what I felt when the out-dated, Russian prop plane with torn seats and loose ceiling panels suddenly and momentarily dropped in altitude. It’s how I felt years ago when I thought my life was falling apart, every experience and hope for my young family crumbling to dust. It’s the fear I knew at the prospect of losing a child to the ravages of disease and the aftermath of trauma.

“We are perishing!”

This story isn't about lack of faith. In my humble opinion, sermons that use this story to challenge us to buck up, believe, and put our trust in God miss the point. This isn’t a rubric against which we evaluate our faith:

• Remains calm in the face of danger. 
• Acts confidently and with conviction when faced with challenges. 
• Verbalizes absolute trust in God.

This is a story about Jesus’ great love and our surprise that, in spite of the physical evidence otherwise, there is hope. There is salvation. There is protection. There is provision. I don’t hear a critical Jesus. I hear a gentle Jesus—the voice of the parent comforting a child wakened by a nightmare. “It’s OK. It’s going to be OK. I am here. I am here. There is no need to be afraid."