What is faith for?

Mark 4: 34 - 51

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.​ 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

When and how are we called to use faith? Or what is faith for? On 15 April 1912, the Wallace Hartley Band was led by Wallace Hartley, a 33 year-old English violinist who, along with seven other musicians: Roger Bricoux, John Wesley Woodward, Fred Clarke, Percy Taylor, George Krins, Theodore Brailey and John Jock Hume, made up the 'Colne Band' and was hired to play at the Titanic ship's dinners and parties. The band had gained some recognition in England, where most of the participants were from. In Geoff Tibballs' book, titled 'The Titanic: The Extraordinary Story of the Shipwreck Proof Ship', the author says that about an hour after the group started playing amid the tragedy at around two in the morning, Wallace told his musicians that they could leave and try to save themselves, but none of them moved from their place. Apparently, some people who were located close to the musicians asked them to perform religious songs, among the options is the melody of 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' or 'Our God, our Help in Ages', but the survivors do not clearly remember what the last thing was they heard. The truth is that a little before the ship reached an inclination that did not allow anyone to stand, the music stopped playing.

The first thing that we need to check in the text is the genre of the pericopes 4,35-41 (from the Greek word meaning "cut around"). In chapters 8 and 9, Matthew compiles eleven parables on healing while adding a few more verses. Though they are in different forms, Mark and Luke include most of the passages. Matthew gathered the healings in one place, but Mark and Luke distributed them in different ways. Since the authors of the Gospels modified the material to suit their needs, it makes sense to infer that early Christian teachers also told Jesus stories in a didactic way. 

Pericopes 4,35-41 about "the calm storm" is part of a set of stories immediately after the parable stories; The pericope in question is the link between the first two sections that, with a third address the topic: Who is Jesus? The miracles of the calm storm, (4,35-41); the demonpossessed man of Gerasa (5:1-20); the resurrection of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the hemorrhagic woman (5:21-43), while presented as confirmation of the power of Jesus already expressed by word, in the previous section on the parables, also links to the following section that precisely begins with the rejection of Jesus in Nazareth. 

Jesus presents himself as a prophet, and that is precisely what people ask themselves (6:14-15), then Peter affirms "You are the Christ" (8:29); This progressive pedagogy of Mark presents followers, even the disciples of Jesus themselves, questioning the messianism of Jesus, and reaching this conclusion in the Transfiguration; In the last part of the Gospel the culmination is the confirmation of "Jesus Son of God", with his passion and resurrection. Precisely in this context, pericope 4,35,41 wants to present Jesus as Lord of nature; However, Marcos does not use the word Kyrios at any time, but he demonstrates it. Along with the demonstration of his power, confirming the parabolic discourse, the questions about Jesus.

It's interesting to check the condition of both parties represented in the passage; the rich boy had a lot of things to lose, as the bible says. On the other hand, there appeared the disciples who were poor people, fishers, sick, some of them were people in a wealthy position, but the majority were crowds of people in disadvantage. Even that, the question coming from Peter reminds us of human nature because all the time the reaction is to think about all the material things that we accumulate, and we can lose with a simple decision, as follows, Jesus. The truth is that God's Kingdom is a dimension that transcends human comprehension, transcends the human limitations about holding all the wealth and giving to the poor a possibility as deliverance from selfishness and ego. Also, God's limitation transcends the human limitation about life because it is beyond human time but eternity. In the context of the passage, the reference to the Roman Cesar who accumulated a lot of power and a lot of wealth, but also appears the image of Jesus, the Son of God, who was the real owner of everything. Meanwhile, Jesus was talking about leaving house and lands, and the disciples did it; they sold their lands and opened their homes to others. No one, only God, is capable of controlling this dimension of reality because nobody is bigger than God, and no one can be more powerful than God.

The historical and biblical evidence shows that the commitment of the disciples to follow this ethical program coming from Jesus, starting with renunciation but following with the solidarity as appears in the passage as Acts 4:36, was the seed of a new humanity. The early church was the seed for a new programmatic human project. Talking about mission, we can share the story of Jim (1927-1956) and Elisabeth (1926-2015) Elliot; Jim and Elisabeth met in college, but they didn't get married until they separately went to Ecuador to minister to the Quichua. They married in Quito and moved to a more remote area to try to contact the Huaorani tribe (called the Aucas by the Quichua). Jim and four other missionaries were later killed by the tribe they were trying to reach. After her husband's death, Elisabeth returned and spent two years ministering to the tribe that killed him. Elisabeth Elliot is one of the most well-known and loved women missionaries of the last few generations. Through her extensive speaking and many beautiful books, her legacy and inspiration will live on in the hearts of all who read them. 

The reward is contained in the cost of discipleship. The sense of discipleship includes renunciation, but has as a consequence not something to seek, but as part of God's promise. Nowadays, some Christian, as Julian the apostate, teach wrongly the material wealth is the only evidence of Christianism, especially the prosperity theologians try to teach that God only bless His people trough material signs, this prosperity thinkers follows the path ofthe Pharisees, who saw in riches a sign of their own justice, a reward from God to the righteous, and a means of increasing it by giving alms. They still believe that this way of earning heaven with alms allows, and even justifies, preserving and increasing wealth. They continue acting according to the Jewish doctrine in use, he who gives alms in heaven acquires a treasure in heaven and on earth also. The reality is God is the same in our poverty or in our abundance. The influence of Jesus was not so much due to the novelty of his teaching as to the mysterious power of attraction that radiated from his whole person. Many upright and religious men suddenly discovered on meeting him what it means to be perfect. If we have been disciples of Jesus, it doesn't matter our material or physical condition. God has kept a promise for us; we can live a life full of sense, meaning, and purpose, and share this legacy with the new generations, and God has kept a place for us in eternity to share His love forever.