Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?
This line struck me at mass today. Jesus is sleeping in a boat while his disciples are trying to keep it from sinking in a storm. When we suffer and we think God is sleeping. We can ask, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Our first reaction is, of course. He must care. He is God. God is love. But God is not so simple. Remember that dying is the way we gain eternal life. In fact, God wants us to die to self constantly. So does He care that we perish? He cares but he cares more how we live or die rather than whether we live or die.
In some way he does care. The boat with Jesus and His disciples is not going to sink in a freak storm. That would destroy God’s salvation plan in one fell swoop. It isn’t going to happen. Not because Peter is such a good pilot. But because God is God.
Our priest pointed out that Mark was writing to Christians in the middle of persecutions. Many people were being killed. The question, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” must have been asked in many forms. But in that case people had actually died. So God was not guaranteeing safety for these people or their loved ones. What they could be sure of was the church would not be wiped out. The figurative barque of Peter was safe for the same reason the literal one was. God has a salvation plan and He won’t let it fail. The church is the centerpiece of the plan and Roman persecution won’t ultimately stamp it out.
But how comforting is that? To know your side will win the war but you still might not survive the battle? But some hills are worth dying on. Death is very hard but it is unavoidable. Dying for the only thing that really matters in life is not something to fear. Don’t fear him who can kill the body but fear him who can take body and soul. Do we believe that? I noticed Amy was asking something similar except focusing on the second reading. Have we really had our thinking transformed by our faith? Jesus makes clear that the disciples failed the test. He tells them plainly they have no faith. Then they ask the big question. Who is the this Jesus guy anyway? Mark leaves those persecuted Christians with that question. Who is Jesus anyway? If He is who you say He is then why are you afraid?
That is the key question. Not whether or not Jesus will calm the storms in our life. He may or may not do that. The question is whether we need Him to or not. Not, “Do you care if we are perishing?” but rather “Will I believe despite the fact that I am perishing?” Perishing is not optional. It is going to happen. We will suffer loss after loss and ultimately die. The real question is whether those suffering will be united with the suffering of Christ and bring us and many others to God. Mark’s readers did that. They were not spared suffering but they suffered well and the church grew.
