Rembrandt: Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee
A violent squall came up and waves were
breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
In writings about Jesus and his disciples the uses and
importance of water take a prominent place……We have heard about a miraculous catch of fish and a washing of the
feet. But today we read not about the
blessings of water but about water whipped up by a storm and putting lives in
danger.
….Jesus chooses to protect his disciples and himself, too,
from the storm that they encounter on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus as the first born of all creation is
also present in every part of creation sustaining, redeeming and bringing it to
fulfillment. But as the storm rages
around them, none of this is apparent to the disciples. As the winds and waves threaten to sink the
boat, they awaken Jesus with shouts: “We
know you are tired but how can you sleep with this deluge breaking over
us?” The disciples want an extra hand to
help bale or help with the rigging.
But Jesus knows better: they don’t need an extra hand. “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” And he stills the wind and the waves with
his words: “Quiet! Be still!” Jesus,
here and even often, accuses the disciples of lack of faith. Nevertheless he keeps coaxing them
along.
In fact the disciples earlier in this very
gospel account distinguished themselves from those who are disbelievers and
perhaps cynical to boot. These hearts are hardened; they want miracles
and have no interest in answering Jesus’ call. But among the disciples there is, to be sure,
some modicum of faith. The faith shows when they recognize that the
stilling of the storm is not simply an accident. The disciples’ belief in the power expressed
in Jesus’ words becomes sheer amazement in the person of Jesus: “Who then is this whom even
wind and sea obey?”
It might have crossed Jesus’ mind simply to drown
with his best friends at his side. (Could this moment be the one in the painting?) This
would be easier than going through what he expects lies ahead. But filled with courage Jesus makes sure that both he and his disciples survive and continue to answer the call. Survival gives the disciples the space and time
they need to grow into a stronger faith.
Without this growth Jesus’ whole enterprise fails……
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