Faith vs. Fear!

Tuesday, Jul 2, 2024

Am 3:1-8, 4:11-12; Mt 8:23-27

In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus calming the storm. 

However, Biblical scholars believe that this is not the same tempest as that recorded in Mark 4: 37-41. 

There are differences between the two. 

In Mark, the danger is greater with the storm that Jesus rebukes the storm first, and the disciples after. 

But, in today’s Gospel, seeing that the danger is not so imminent, Jesus rebukes the disciples first, and the storm after. 

Why would Jesus rebuke the disciples first? 

Jesus is obviously disappointed by the fact that his disciples let their hearts drown so that the winds and waves mastered their souls and bodies. 

Forgetting that Jesus is also ‘in the same boat,’ they cry in fear and despair. 

The difference between faith and fear is when fear wonders ‘what if,’ faith proclaims, ‘even if.’

In the face of hardships and trials, faith is a choice to rely on God. 

When God becomes our refuge and when we are not overwhelmed by fear, faith is the opposite of fear. 

Jesus wants us to overwhelm our fears with the courage supplied by faith. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar