Why Are You So Afraid? (Lent 34-2018)

Alone and afraid. Alone, yes, but you still have your thoughts—your fears and regrets—to keep you company. Alone and facing the predator within. The predator whose constant presence threatens to steal your joy and your peace. Pi knew what it meant to be afraid, alone out on the ocean with a Bengal tiger to remind him of many dangers on the raft or in the boat amid turbulent waves.

We’re nearing our final week of Pi and Chi, Asking and Answering Questions Why which was inspired from thinking through scenes from the Life of Pi. True, it’s not a Christian film, but one that can prompt us to think theologically about life and accept that we have many questions…and many fewer answers. The questions we have are grounded in an earthly existence in which there are gods of our own making soliciting on every corner. Ah, but the answers we have are found in Christ…alone.

Mark 4: 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!”

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Jesus is not just some Teacher.

“Who is this?” the disciples ask, a question whose answer ought to instill a holy fear far greater than that of any earthly fear of a storm.

Jesus connects the question “Why Are You So Afraid?” with a lack of faith. By doing so, He addresses the disciples’ fear and refocuses the lesser terror of a storm. As the wind and sea are immediately and completely calmed, they begin to see a good reason they should really be afraid: they don’t know who is in their boat.

Food for thought:

In Matthew 10:18-42, Jesus teaches us who and what we are to fear, saying in verse 28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Are you ever afraid to share the Gospel with someone, worried perhaps that you will offend them?
Do you truly know Who is this whom even the wind and waves obey?
How well do you let Him rule your earthly every-day?

Join me again on Monday for Passion Week which we begin by asking Why Were They Celebrating?

For Lent 2018, we’ll explore the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We’ll ask and answer the question “Why?” as we discover the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Join me for the 40 days of Lent which began February 14, 2018 by liking Seminary Gal on Facebook or having these devotionals sent to your email box which you can do via the sign-up on my Home page. Thank you for blessing me with this opportunity to study together the Word of God.

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Acknowledging that former years’ devotional series remain popular:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.