A Little Faith in the Storm
Gospel Reflection for Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 - Matthew 8:23-27
How many times have I felt like I was perishing in life and called out to the Lord? How many times has my faith been so thin and weary that I doubted Jesus’s love for me? I’ve honestly lost count.
It’s not hard to see ourselves in this moment, filled with chaos and uncertainty, we cry out “Lord, save us!” The hard part is when we don’t receive an immediate response. When the storm doesn’t stop right away. When it feels like He is still sleeping.
In today’s Gospel we see the disciples in a position many of us have found ourselves in - stuck in a storm that life has thrown our way. Only theirs was real, physical and immediate. And even though Jesus was right there with them, they were terrified.
Upon being woken, we see that Jesus replies to their cries “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" and then rebukes the storm to the amazement of the men around Him.
I used to gloss over this passage. It’s a nice story but now I find it to be a balm to my weary soul in our chaotic world. Because even though our storms don’t always end right away, and even when Jesus feels silent, His presence is still real.
The disciples were human, like us, filled with worry and uncertainty. They had the Lord in the boat and they still panicked. But Jesus doesn’t shame the disciples, He speaks to their fear with a gentle challenge - faith.
And not only does He respond, He acts.
This is the quiet hope that is tucked inside the storm: Jesus is present. He hears. He moves. Even when we feel like we are sinking, He’s in the boat with us.
His peace, His presence, is stronger than the wind, the waves and our fear.
As we see today, we don’t need to have perfect faith. We don’t need to be fearless. All we need is a little faith, and the courage to cry out to the Lord. He will meet us there, right in the middle of the storm.
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
"Lord, save us! We are perishing!"
He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?"
Thank you for this and all the other insightful and inspiring reflections you offer.