“And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
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? — Jesus asleep in a life-threatening storm is one of the most theologically resonant images in Mark. The sleeping communicates trust: the one who knows the Father's providence can rest in the storm that terrifies others. The cushion is a specific, concrete detail characteristic of eyewitness testimony — Mark's Gospel is full of such particular details. The disciples' waking him communicates their expectation that Jesus can do something, even if they have not yet grasped what. Don't you care if we drown is simultaneously an accusation and a prayer.
Church Fathers on Mark 4:38
After His teaching, they come from that place to the sea, and are tossed by the waves.
Therefore He allowed them to fall into the fear of danger, that they might experience His power in themselves, who saw others benefitted by Him. But He was sleeping upon the pillow of the ship, that is, on a wooden one.
Or else the ship into which He embarked, is taken to mean the tree of His passion, by which the faithful attain to the security of the safe shore. The other ships which are said to have been with the Lord signify those who are imbued with faith in the cross of Christ, and are not beaten about by the whirlwind of tribulation; or who, after the storms of temptation, are enjoying the serenity of peace.
Read all 6 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!