Storm
Advent 2025, Day 19
Luke 8:22-25
It’s Jesus’ idea to get into the boat. The disciples are simply following along. They don’t know why. Jesus simply says, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake,” and so they go, trusting their Teacher has a plan.
By this point, they know Jesus can do miracles. They have seen many. It’s easy to trust Jesus when you are watching him step into others’ fear and pain. When it’s not personal. It’s easy to follow Jesus when the adventure feels safe. Manageable.
Whether or not Jesus knows the storm is coming, he falls asleep. As any man would be, he is exhausted. This should be the first clue to the disciples that they are OK. Jesus clearly isn’t worried. And, wow!—Jesus knows how to take a nap! That windstorm sweeps in, and even the seasoned fishermen panic. They bail like crazy as the waves slosh in and toss them around. Meanwhile, Jesus sleeps.
Pretty soon, they all believe they are about to die. And maybe they would be, except that Jesus is in the boat with them. When they finally wake Jesus, they cry out, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And we know the rest of the story. Jesus wakes up and utters one command, and the storm ceases. The waves calm instantly. He says, “Where is your faith?” And the disciples’ respond with fear and awe.
I’m no theologian, so I’m just feeling my way here. (Feel free to correct my wanderings.) Why does Jesus ask them this question? Surely, he isn’t chiding them for coming to him with their fear? Isn’t that what he wants us to do?
Where is your faith? If he’s asking them the question, their faith must have been misplaced. Consider how long they wait to come to Jesus. They wait until they are about to die. They spend an awful lot of their own strength and energy trying to save themselves before they go to the Savior. And when they do finally wake him, it’s not to say, “Jesus, please save us,” or “Jesus, what should we do?” It’s, “WAKE UP JESUS WE ARE ABOUT TO DIE!!!”
So, first, the disciples react to the storm by looking at the storm, not at Jesus, who is so unworried as to be sound asleep. Then, they try to handle the storm their own way, doing all they can to help themselves. They wake Jesus as a last resort, completely panicked, believing they are all going to die. Jesus included. The fact that they react to Jesus’ miracle with fear shows they haven’t fully understood his power. They may have thought they knew who Jesus was, but this stuns them.
Sure, the disciples should not have panicked. But wouldn’t you? To me, their first misstep is when they don’t run straight to Jesus when they begin to fear. They don’t trust him enough to know they can wake him and say, “What do you want us to do about this? What’s your plan?” Or maybe they don’t think they need to. Their faith is not in Jesus. First, their faith is in their own ability to handle the storm. And when that fails, their faith is in the storm. They believe it is going to take them down.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” or “Why did you wake me at all?” That doesn’t seem to be the point. The point is where they put their faith, what they believe about their situation.
Contrast the disciples’ behavior with the woman from yesterday’s story. She carries her own storm right to Jesus and kneels to worship him. She knows where to find her help. “Your faith has saved you,” Jesus says. “Go in peace.”
Your faith saves you. Not your knowledge of storms. Not your strong efforts. Not your panic. You cannot save yourself. I do not think Jesus rebuked the disciples for waking him. In all the stories of Jesus, he never once rebukes someone who comes to him in faith and asks for help. He rebukes because, even as they wake him, they do not place their faith in him.
It’s easy to say you trust Jesus when the need for a miracle isn’t personal. But when your own storm comes for you, do you fight as long as you can on your own while Jesus is right there? Do you ask him about it? Do you watch to see what Jesus is doing, or do you watch the storm?
Where is your faith?
