Faith Happens

By Steve Leininger

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012823.cfm
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Mark 4:35-41 

We join today’s gospel already in progress:

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!"
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?"
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
"Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?" 
[Mark 4:37-41]

Besides Jesus asleep in the back of the boat, we can assume that some number of “they” (the disciples and boat crew) were well-seasoned sailors and/or fisherman. They wouldn’t be easily scared by a mere “really heavy storm.” This storm would have been reported in tomorrow’s news as “the storm of the century” and the boat might still be missing.

I doubt that the exact words used to awaken the sleeping Jesus were quite as calm and polite sounding as recorded in Mark’s gospel. There was probably panicked screaming and language (likely in Arameic) not appropriate for inclusion in the incident report. The next part, though, tracks closely with the accounts of this same event given by fellow gospel authors Matthew and Luke: 

He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!"
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
[Mark 4:39]

The “great calm” probably seemed to last forever before Jesus spoke again, allowing sufficient time for assessing personal damage and to perhaps ponder “what just happened?” Their expressions must have given them away. Jesus asks “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

What is faith?

When Jesus asked “Do you not yet have faith?” was he concerned, amazed, annoyed, or what at his disciples? Were his expectations high on whether they had faith or not? And what exactly is this “faith” he is asking about.

Jesus had already performed several healings and other miracles. Many times he would proclaim that someone’s faith had healed them or someone close to them. Their underlying faith was that Jesus could heal them of whatever ailment they had. 

The definition of faith as used in Christianity is usually considered to be from Hebrews 11:1, which is the beginning of our first reading today:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. 
[Hebrews 11:1]

The rest of our first reading gives several examples from the time of Abraham:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
—and Sarah herself was sterile—
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
[Hebrews 11:8-12]

What Abraham had was real faith. He trusted God and believed His message. Moreover, Abraham committed his whole self to obeying God’s commands. It is that combination of belief, trust, and commitment that is embodied in faith.

Many people today believe a certain set of facts about God, and in some cases their facts may be completely orthodox. However, if they have never committed themselves to God, if they have not trusted Him, then they do not have faith or biblical belief in Him. Biblical faith (biblical belief) is never simply giving assent to a certain set of facts. Biblical faith is trust and commitment that result in a change of behavior. James 2:19 puts it this way: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” The demons believe that God exists, and they may even know more about God than people do, but they do not have faith in Him. Unfortunately, many people have the same kind of belief that the demons have, but that it is not sufficient for their salvation.

Faith involves trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove. Faith is inseparable from trust; it’s the confidence that God can and will do what He says in His Word. Faith includes both intellectual assent to something and trust in it. So we believe something to be true, and we also place our trust in it—we rely on it. 

Faith without trust is not faith. Belief without reliance is empty. Many people believe certain facts about Jesus but knowing those facts to be true is not what the Bible means by “faith.” The biblical definition of faith requires trust in—a commitment to—the facts.

Back to the boat—when Jesus asked “Do you not yet have faith?” he may have been disappointed that his followers may have believed what they had seen him do and may have a partial understanding of his teachings, but may not yet have the absolute trust in—a commitment to—the unseen power of God. Faith instruction by example must have been a very confusing and perhaps scary. It’s no wonder that his disciples were filled with awe. There will be many faith miracles and parables ahead. 

Catholic belief is succinctly expressed in the profession of faith called the Nicene Creed:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

This is what we believe. Through trust and commitment to understand and live these beliefs we grow in faith. It is why we can recognize "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"