“Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him: ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet, be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them: ‘Why are you terrified?’”
Jesus suggested that they cross the sea. While asleep, the climate changed, the wind, waves and rough sea confronted them. Even the fishermen were afraid. Their question, ‘Do you not care that we are perishing?’, would find a clear answer in the three words. He cared, calm ensued, and normality returned. They responded to His peaceful presence.
Crises cause us to panic. How rarely we turn to the Lord and ask, ‘Teacher do you not care?’ The answer is ‘yes’ and we wish to find His guiding hand to assure us of His constant care in great things and in small. He is not asleep, we are. In times of tumult and distress we seek His calming hand. He is with us now.