This passage we are prayerfully pondering this afternoon falls within a context of St. Matthew’s record of Jesus’ powerful deeds of healing and exorcising demons.Jesus’ power attracts would be disciples.People are drawn to the miracle man.
What draws me to Jesus?What about Jesus’ words and deeds make me want to follow him more closely?
Notice the honesty and transparency of Jesus.He is upfront and always clear about the demands of discipleship.Jesus never coerces or manipulates us into following him.He is clear that the choice to follow him demands a willingness to follow him on his path of downward mobility.
What have I had to set aside in order to follow Jesus more closely?What might Jesus be asking me to set aside now?
“Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”With these words, Jesus sets himself above the Torah, the law of God to Israel through Moses, the great prophet.“Honor your father and mother.”A sacred expression of this law is the demand to stand with one’s parents to their death and to bury them religiously.We encounter here one greater than Moses.Faithfulness to Jesus calls us to put our faith in him above even our families.
Does Jesus occupy the first place in my life?Is he more important to me than even my family?
The disciple follows Jesus onto the boat.Here the boat is an image of the Church.Again, we are given a realistic view of life with Christ in the Church.The Church, this bark of Peter, will be tossed about at times by storms, even violent storms.Jesus, though, sleeps as the sea rages, so profound is his confidence in the providential care of his Father.Jesus reveals to his disciples that he has power over the elements of the cosmos, the forces of evil, all that seeks to capsize the little flock, the Church.“Lord, save us!”“…and there was great calm.”
Consider the violent storms that rage against the Church today.Do I have confidence in the power of Christ to bring the Church through the storm?Where is the violent tumult in my personal, my family life?Can I cry out in faith, “Lord, save us!”