In the Raging Sea
Translated from a sermon by Fr Bishoy Kamel
My eyes are on you, My children. I, the Lord, am going to do a big transformation for you. Can anyone handle to see their own children thrown into the sea?
I say to my Lord that I want to increase my faith, but then that raises the question, how is God going to help me increase me faith?
When we look at what Christ did with His disciples, we see that He throws them in the water so that their faith may be increased. We, as God’s children, are sitting comfortably, enjoying life, and we ask for our faith to be increased. I pray, God, please help me to stay up and pray, and fast, and to be patient, and to wait on You until You renews my strength. All the while, I rest in my comfort zone.
Who would pray that God throws them into the depth of the ocean so that their faith may increase? Little do we know, this is the path to the faith that we pray for. If God throws us into the ocean then we have no choice but to stand and pray all night long like Jonah in the belly of the whale.
After the feeding of the five thousands, Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray while He sends the disciples away on a boat. From the mountains, He watches them in the midst of the sea.
We cannot doubt for one second that Jesus’ thoughts were not with the disciples when He threw them out in the sea. From the moment He sent them out, His prayers were with them. It wasn’t their idea, but His. When He tells them to go before Him, He is responsible for their safety.
Are not the winds controlled by God? The winds changing were part of His plan. The boat struggling in the ocean was also part of His plan to increase their faith. The story reads;
Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out.
Mark 6:48-49
In the gospel of Mark, it is clear, that in the midst of the storm, Jesus could have simply passed them by. He doesn’t immediately go to help them. It is only when they cry out that He comes to their rescue.
All this proves is that He told them to go without Him into the sea. He sent out the strong wind. He walked by them, showing that He was close by and ready to answer the call. For our Lord is always in the midst of the storms with us. Once He entered the boat, the seas were calmed and their faith in Him enhanced.
But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
Mark 6:50
The disciples had completely lost hope and cried out in desperation. Their hope was completely lost, but at the fourth watch, God delivered them from their fears.
Similarly, St Paul experienced great hardship when he preached in Asia. He says, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.” (2 Cor. 1:9)
Even St Paul lost hope at one point. He got into the boat, it crashed and he was capsized. At his lowest, the power of the Resurrection taught him lessons he would have never learnt if it were smooth sailing.
O’Lord, help me to increase my faith. How can I increase my faith? There are two main things;
- I become physically drained and I lose all hope in myself.
- Then this allows God to enter my life and becomes everything I didn’t even know I needed.
When we say to God that the tribulation is too much, He says not to worry. When we are in midst of the raging seas, God is standing on the mountains, watching over us and praying for us. He is by the shore, ready to walk on the water to rescue us and be our comfort.
If we think that God could leave us in the middle of tribulation, He tells us that He will allow us to have tribulation, so that we may, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).
Jesus did not need to tell the disciples to be of good cheer, it was enough that He was there for them. He says this to comfort them, He is always watching them and present to help when they call. In the midst of any tribulation, His comfort is there for us. When we ask if He is always going to be there, God says that He will go through the storms, but He would never leave us in the storms alone. Every burden He carries with us.
A certain man who lost hope thinks that the devil has overcome him. This can never be the case, because we know that God will always overcome the devil. Satan may be strong, but God is stronger. Be of good cheer, God is more. If Satan tempts you, be of good cheer for our Lord has overcome the world.
The world is corrupted by sin now more than ever before. Did the raging seas have to come for the Lord to say, “be of good cheer?” Of course He did, if He said it immediately after the feeding of the 5000 then the people would have responded, “but we’re already happy, we didn’t need You.”
This was not the time for Jesus to say, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid,” for they had no reason to be afraid. The time comes after the raging seas, after the fourth watch, that was the time when they needed to hear those words of comfort.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Romans 8:35
Jonah prayed from the belly of the whale. Daniel prayed in the den of lions. The three saintly youth prayed in the fiery furnace. What more could we want from God? It is enough for me that I have Christ with me. It is enough for me to have God in my life. We are strong with His presence. We received everything from Him, all that is left is for us to live like Christ.
In the lions’ den, in the fiery furnace, in the midst of the raging sea, we remember our Lord. In the whole world, Christ lives in us so that we can live like Christ. He is my happiness, my joy, my hope.
For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Romans 8:14
We live strong through a living hope that has no end. When the disciples went to the shore, they knew Christ. When I listen to sermons, I listen about God and I hear of His compassion, His gentleness, His kindness. He is a powerful God that has prepared a place for us. Our God has resurrected and ascended. They say so much about Him, but I hope to taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8). When they entered the boat, they had heard of Him, but when they made it back to land, they knew Him.
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
Job 42:5