Please indulge me in a digression. I remember studying the mathematical concept of fractals in school. At its most rigorous level, the study of fractals involves complex equations, of which I do not remember anything. But I do remember one basic concept. As with many seemingly abstract Math concepts, fractals do a surprisingly good job of modelling the physical world. Some structures, when viewed at any scale, look similar. The folds and indents on one inch of the beach look the same as the beach seen from 5,000 feet up, and both look similar to the shoreline viewed from space. As the Physicist, Paul Dirac, said: “God is a Mathematician of a very high order, and He used very advanced Mathematics in constructing the universe.”
The Barque of Peter
The same enfolding of the small within the larger obtains in today’s Gospel reading of Jesus’ stilling of the storm. This passage is often explained in terms of the Catholic Church as a ship steered by Peter and then by all successive Popes. That’s certainly true. We see the Church beset by external forces as well as internal controversies and heresies. Throughout the ages, Popes and the prayers of the saints have navigated the Church through these storms.
The Primacy of Prayer
The Gospels are so marvellously layered that the story of our own salvation is also captured in the stilling of the storm. All of us have experienced times of sinking in our lives when, like the disciples, we cry out in desperation: “I am perishing!”
While the storm rages, Jesus is asleep. In times of despair, we may feel forgotten or believe God is indifferent to our fate. No, we are never abandoned! Jesus models the radical peace we can experience when we place ourselves in God’s hands. This faith does not prevent bad things from happening (the storm blew up, after all), but it prompts us (and the Church) to the proper first response – prayer. The De Profundis prayer from Psalm 130: “Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication” is as appropriate to our troubles as it was to the disciples. Prayer is not our last resort; it is our first!
Prayer at the small scale of an Our Father or at the larger scale of an entire Christian life looks similar. It is a confession of our limited capabilities, a plea for God’s help, and an expression of our acceptance of His sovereignty over our lives. It also expresses our faith in Jesus’ resurrection and our hope for the eternal peace it promises.
[Readings: Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12 ; Psalm 5:4b-6a, 6b-7, 8 ; Matthew 8:23-27]
