Complete Trust
Reflections on trust, fear, and approaching the Lord based on today's readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063026
There are times when theological misunderstandings can be innocent and pose no serious threat to the well-being of one’s soul. At other times, however, a misunderstanding about the meaning of Scripture or a truth about God can fundamentally distort the way we practice the faith and harm our spiritual lives. Today’s Gospel, though well known, is often misunderstood in precisely this way.
We see Christ sleeping amidst a storm at sea while the disciples awaken Him in a panic, begging for His help. He does, of course, calm the storm—much to their amazement—but not without first offering a sharp rebuke. It is the meaning behind that rebuke that is often misunderstood and carries such great significance.
Many assume that the disciples are being rebuked simply for waking Jesus, as though He does not wish to be bothered with their petty concerns and only reluctantly comes to their aid. It should be obvious how such a misunderstanding can cause great harm in our spiritual lives.
Are we bothering the Lord when we bring Him our petitions? Even when He answers our prayers, is He doing so begrudgingly, simply to silence us, rather than out of His abundant goodness? The answer to both questions is clearly no. Yet, unless we carefully examine our own hearts, we may subconsciously begin to act as though the answer were yes.
It cannot be emphasized enough that the Lord is not merely a God who saves, but a Savior who delights to save. This is part of what it means to say that He is good. Every loving parent provides for the needs of his or her children, but true goodness is shown when those acts are done with love and delight. The same is true of God, only infinitely so. He is perfectly good, whereas even the best parent possesses goodness only imperfectly.
Yet we can fall into another error by affirming that the Lord wants to help the disciples while overlooking the fact that He truly is rebuking them. Nor is it a minor correction. His words reveal that He is deeply displeased with their lack of trust.
He says, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” He does not say, “Why did you wake Me?” or “Why are you bothering Me?” or “Why did you ask for help?” Rather, He asks, “Why are you terrified?”
Worldly fear often reveals a failure to trust fully in the Lord. The disciples are not rebuked for asking for help, but for failing to trust that He would provide exactly what they truly needed. It is this fearful disposition, rather than confident trust, that Christ identifies as “little faith.”
Unfortunately, many of us approach the Lord in much the same way. Rather than bringing our petitions before Him with confident trust in His goodness, we attempt to bargain with Him, as though He were not already perfectly good and had to be persuaded or pressured into helping us.
As a result, our practice of the faith can become less about worshipping and praising God and more about trying to manage our worldly fears by worldly means while merely giving those efforts a religious appearance. This kind of fear often manifests itself in superstition, which the Church has consistently taught is not merely different from authentic faith but contrary to it.
Moreover, when we practice the faith in this fear-ridden, trust-deficient way, we present an unattractive image of Christianity to those around us. Just as the joyful confidence of the saints has always inspired others to trust more deeply in the Lord, an imitation of faith that is dominated by fear often has the opposite effect.
Yet, if—or when—we find ourselves approaching the Lord not with trust but with fear, today’s Gospel gives us great hope. The Lord still intervenes. He commands the storm to cease, and it obeys. He is sovereign over all things, and He is perfectly good. That is reason for continual rejoicing.
He does not reject us because our faith is imperfect. Rather, He lovingly corrects us so that our trust may grow. The problem is not simply that we have imperfections, but that we often fail to recognize them, acknowledge them, and repent of them.
May we all be reminded today of both the greatness and the goodness of God, and may this encourage us to bring all of our needs before Him with complete trust.