Man and Church
‘Do You Not Care That We Perish?’
“And He was in the stern of the boat, asleep on a cushion. And they awakened Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we perish?” (Mark 4:38)
In Scripture, we find the totality of human emotion. Everything is there, from fear and shame, longing, suffering, and sacrifice, to intense love and dedication, faith, and hope.
This becomes instantly obvious in accounts such as the one about the windstorm and the Apostles, when they feared for their lives, despite being in the boat with the Lord, whom they had seen perform many miracles.
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 windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking 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 that we are perishing?” 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. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 35-38).
During such a storm of both physical and emotional proportions, the reaction of the followers was expected. It was expected, however, only in the context of their faith having weakened. For, while one might instinctively yell at their teacher for seemingly abandoning them during a storm, they would not have acted thusly towards the Son of God, the incarnate Creator of the universe. And therein lies the essence. Not only was their faith weak, but they were also not sure who it was they should have kept their faith strong in. They were awed when Jesus commanded the elements: ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:41). Much as some might have, in the time of Christ, wrongly expected the Messiah to be a strong military leader and rule a worldly kingdom, the Apostles might have expected their Master to perhaps use his wisdom and power in some earthly way and steer them out of the storm or find some other way out for them. But what they witnessed, the King of the Universe commanding His created elements, left them confused and awestruck. Who, indeed, was this, their Master?
