“Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”
Gospel Reflection Mark 4:35–41
Evening had come. The day was ending. The disciples were tired. And it is precisely then that Jesus says something unexpected:
“Let us go across to the other side.”
This is often how faith works. Just when we think the day is done, when we want rest and calm, Jesus invites us to move forward again, sometimes into uncertainty, sometimes into waters we did not plan to cross.
As the boat moves into the sea, a violent storm arises. These were not inexperienced men. Many of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, familiar with the Sea of Galilee and its sudden storms. Yet this one overwhelms them. The waves crash in. The boat begins to fill. Control is slipping away.
And where is Jesus?
Asleep.
Not struggling. Not panicking. Sleeping on a cushion.
This detail is deeply human and deeply revealing. It tells us that Jesus fully shares our humanity, He is tired, He rests. But it also exposes the disciples’ fear: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” In moments of crisis, faith is often the first thing tested. We pray, but beneath the prayer is sometimes an accusation: “Lord, don’t you see? Don’t you care?”
Jesus rises, not in anger at the storm, but in authority over it.
He speaks three words that change everything:
“Peace! Be still!”
And immediately, the chaos gives way to calm.
What is striking is that Jesus rebukes the wind before He rebukes the disciples, but He addresses the disciples’ fear more deeply.
“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”
He is not shaming them. He is inviting them to trust, not in the absence of storms, but in His presence within them. The miracle is not only that the sea becomes calm; it is that the disciples begin to realize who is in the boat with them.
Their fear turns into awe.
“Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”
This is the turning point of faith. When Jesus is no longer just a teacher we follow, but the Lord we trust. When we realize that storms do not mean abandonment. When silence does not mean absence. When fear becomes the place where faith is purified.
This Gospel speaks directly to our lives today. Many of us are in storms, family struggles, financial pressure, illness, uncertainty, fear of the future. We pray, yet it feels like Jesus is sleeping. This passage reminds us: even when He seems silent, He is still Lord. The boat will not sink if He is in it.
Faith is not the absence of fear. Faith is choosing to trust while the waves are still crashing.
Let us Pray
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are with us in the boat, even when the winds are strong and the night is dark.
Forgive us for the moments we doubt Your care,
for the times fear speaks louder than faith.
Speak Your word of peace over the storms in our lives.
Calm our anxious hearts.
Strengthen our trust in You, not only when the sea is still,
but especially when the waves rise against us.
Teach us to believe that You are Lord of all things,
that nothing is beyond Your command,
and that no storm is stronger than Your love.
We place our lives in Your hands,
today and always.
Amen.