Be Still
The Christian Church has continuously used the imagery of water in its promulgation of Christ’s teachings from the earliest days. Water tends to be the perfect image to use in order to convey the point that a life well-lived is one of moderation; too much of anything can be dangerous, and too little can be just as destructive. Water is essential to life; without it, we could hardly live a single day. However, water is also destructive if it behaves chaotically or if there is too much of it. The Church could have spread the Gospel and our theological teachings by explaining things plainly, in such a way as you might see in ecclesiastical documents or in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. However, we learned that teaching the faith well ought to be done in the way Christ did it - through parables and symbolism. In this way, the image of the Church being a boat amidst chaotic waters is perhaps our oldest symbol for this community of all believers.
Consider this image of a boat. For the earliest Christian communities, they preferred the use of the very explicit image of Noah’s Ark. This Ark was meant to protect its occupants from the destructive nature of the flood outside, just as the Church was a haven for Christians from the persecution of the Roman Empire. But from the very beginning of our community, Christians could only enter the Church through one way - being baptized with the same water so often used as an allusion to the greatest threats to Christianity. In this case, we should not merely look at one of Christ’s many parables, those stories he shared to teach a message; rather, we should look at an event in the life of Christ. Christ’s life and behavior was parabolic in nature. His miracles were not just signs and wonders, but conveyed hidden messages within his actions. His conversations and his teachings were not just using stories as a tool, but used the very same people whom he taught as pieces of his own story in history. Christ’s life was a living parable. In today’s Gospel, we hear the very famous story of the calming of the sea. All Christ needs to do is say to the chaotic waters of the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”, and the wind and sea obey. But we all know by heart another detail to this story because of how pertinent it is to our own lives: while the disciples feared for their lives, Christ was asleep. How often do we undergo the tumult of life and cry out to God, wondering where He is or why He isn’t acting to save us? Christ was asleep because he wasn’t afraid. We should remind ourselves that the disciples were not alone nor abandoned on their ship; Christ was with them. Him being asleep was symbolic of the fact that he himself was not afraid. Would the Son of Man allow his ministry to abruptly end by his very own creation? Even in his sleep, Christ was trying to teach the message that we should not be afraid; he is with us during the storms of life.
Most importantly, we should read this Gospel and remember our own baptisms. Whether we were infants with no worldly experience or adults entering into a life in the Church for the first time, our souls were marked for God through an encounter with water. In this sacramental act, we are warned that this same water that saves us will be present in our most tumultuous moments moving forward as Christians. It’s almost as if God is trying to tell us that the chaos of a fallen world is still a part of our lives. But if Christ is present with us in those storms (as he is for all baptized), what need do we have for fear? The world and everything within it is a work of His hands. Our faith does not calm the waters or the storm; our faith allows us to persevere in the storm, and though we may not realize it, Christ is with us every step of the way.
Today's Readings: