In today’s Gospel, Mark 6: 7-13, Jesus sends his disciples
out in twos to spread the Good News, to heal the sick and cast out demons. Sometimes they succeeded. At other times they
did not. On the Lake of Geneserath, when
they encountered a storm, they doubted
that Jesus cared that they could have drowned, as He was soundly asleep in the
stern of the boat. Awakened by their frightened call, Jesus quieted the raging
waters and confronted them on their lack of faith.
The apostle’s faith and trust in the Lord would continue to
be tested. One of them denied Jesus;
another betrayed Him. All of the
apostles doubted the resurrection and, except for John, ran away in the heat of
the battle. No one but John stood beneath the cross on Calvary. In the Garden
of Gethsemane, the three apostles that Jesus took with Him fell asleep during
His agony.
Sound familiar? We,
too, walk that same journey of faith. At times, we do not succeed. Our efforts
leave no results that we can see. We fall asleep, inattentive to that which
calls out for our love, our caring, our encouragement! Doubts assail us. Our faith is shattered from
time and time as we encounter setbacks, failures, and challenges that baffle
us. When I fail in these ways, I wonder what I would ever do if I faced
persecution, martyrdom, torture for the sake of Christ. Some of our fellow
Christians do and are being tortured, persecuted, martyred as I write this.
Lord, I know, you stand at their side. You also stand at my side through the
daily experiences of every day. When I am weak, You are strong. I believe that even when my faith seems
buried beneath the “rubble” of life. I believe that, Lord, even when, like the
apostle in that terrifying storm, I cry out to You: “Don’t you see I am about to die in some way,
that I am desperately in need of your intervention”. Even when I say: “You have
abandoned me, Lord,” I still, deep down somewhere in my being, I believe.
