30 January 2016
Catholics have a long history of learning. We’re usually pretty good students of Jesus:
learning about morality and social justice, what’s right and what’s wrong,
keeping track of the Ten Commandments and just generally trying to figure out
how to live a good Christian life. And,
in that respect, we’re very much like the disciples in the boat with Jesus.
The boat starts to rock on the sea, while Jesus is sleeping
there. And they say, “Teacher!” Teacher!
And our lives start to rock a little bit, and Jesus seems far away. And we say the same thing: “Teacher!” After all, we want to know how to overcome the storms in our life. We try to wrestle life with knowledge. And, certainly, that’s an important tool.
But Jesus is trying to teach his disciples (and that includes
us) that most basic tool of the Christian life—and that is . . . faith. Not faith in the head, not even faith in the
heart. But living faith in the here and now; no matter what’s happening. And that’s a hard lesson to learn, because we’re
always trying to be “awake” in the boat; we’re always trying to be alert to the
ups and downs of life.
Instead, Jesus asks us to see him not only as our Teacher,
but as our Divine Cushion. And he says: Don’t
worry . . . just come and rest with me. Have
faith in me . . . come, and rest.
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