Jesus Never Sleeps

First Martyrs of the See of Rome

Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but He was asleep. Matthew 9:24

Metaphorically speaking, I can say that there have been many storms in my life! Most of them I "got through" without asking for God's help. I can't say I got through them without Him, because I was not aware of His presence then. I have been in fights with family and with friends, and that's not fun. Most of them were about pride. I can really let my pride get in the way of my relationships. "How dare you do that to me?" "How can you think that way? What I think is so much better!"

This past Sunday, Father told us that Jesus is the ultimate image of humility. He ignored snickers and ignorance of His power, and just let it "roll off His back." The key here is to not only let it roll off my back, but to let it go. I can let things roll off my back, but I hang on to them. I'm still trying to practice giving my pride to God and letting Him take care of my storms.

In the Scripture for today, Jesus was asleep in a boat with His apostles while they were battling a storm "by themselves." They were frustrated because He was sleeping, they woke Him up and He proceeded to calm the storm. Mother Angelica comments on this passage in Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures:

It's amazing to me how the Lord took care of the storm first-but it always makes me think: God does answer my prayers, but I sometimes wonder if He is disappointed in me when He answers them. This is a sure case of God answering the apostles' prayers, but He was also rather disappointed in them. Because after He rebuked the wind and said, "QUIET NOW. BE CALM!" and the wind dropped, and all of that, He looked at them and said, "WHY ARE YOU SO FRIGHTENED. HOW IS IT THAT YOU HAVE NO FAITH?" (Mark 4:40). He didn't say, "How is it that you have little faith?" It's "How is it you have NO faith?"

...I think if they would have just kept bucketing and working hard to get the water out, even though it may have been a couple of coffee cans, they would have been fine. Jesus never sleeps, even when you think otherwise.

"Jesus never sleeps...." I hang on to that from Mother. Because there are those storms in our lives where we think, "Come on God! Can't you see I'm suffering here?" He sees. But it's important to remember that He doesn't create that suffering. He uses it to teach us. He uses it to help someone else. It's not our business to know what it is for, just to be able to deal with it with His help, because He never sleeps.

Daily Readings:
Genesis 19:15-29 Psalm 26:2-3, 9-12 Matthew 8:23-27