He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. 25 They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. 27 The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
The Sea (Lake) of Galilee is a freshwater lake that is approximately 209 meters below sea level. It is surrounded by hills and mountains that channel wind through the area. The differences in temperature between the cooler hills and mountains and the warmer lake surface contribute to the unpredictable high winds which can produce sudden storms.
Jesus and his disciples were crossing to the other side of the lake to go to the country of the Gadarenes (Mt. 8:28). He was asleep when a sudden storm arose. The frightened disciples woke Jesus, “Lord, save us! We are perishing.” Jesus rebuked them for their ‘little faith’. Jesus then rebuked the wind and the sea, and they became calm. The disciples’ faith in Jesus was not yet strong enough to know that Jesus would not let them perish.
Matthew was concerned about the trials and persecutions of the early Church after the first generation of Christians. He apparently reinterpreted Mark’s story so that it could be used as instruction for the early Christian Church to let them understand that even though Jesus was no longer physically present, his divine power is ever-present to calm and save them and the Church. The story demonstrates Jesus’ power over nature.
Almighty God, hear our cries and save us when we are threatened and speedily come to our aid. Strengthen our faith and calm our fears so we may know in our hearts that you are with us through all our trials. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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