Breaking the Word

He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?" (Mt 8:23-27)

Jesus was asleep in the boat which was swamped by waves. It is interesting to read. He needed to be woken up. The disciples were saying “we are perishing”. The boat was sinking and the people and things in it were sinking and Jesus was asleep. From the reply of Jesus we come to know that a man of faith would not be disturbed. For a man of faith who knows that god will lead everything for good. Nothing would disturb him.

The disciples were men of little faith. They had faith but their faith was not sufficient to see the hand of God in the vents of life so they appeal to God or Godly persons for assistance. The disciples were disturbed and worried about the wind and the water. Even the natural elements were  frightening them. The surrounding s and the situations were directing them.

Man of faith will not be disturbed by the natural elements and he will not be worried about the wind and the water. Much more than this, that for a man of faith the elements of nature obey him. He is in control of everything thing. He behaves almost like God. Wind and water obey him. A man of faith is like god himself.

When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side. A scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Another of (his) disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." (Mt 8:18-22)

Jesus had many followers. His followers came from any section of the society. There were not merely from the poorer section of the society alone. Here we find a scribe wanting to follow Jesus. Scribes were one of the groups that questioned Jesus on many issues and they were considered to be opposed to him. Here we see one of them wanting to be his follower. Jesus had followers from among the scribes, Pharisees, tax collectors and so on. Followers could be anyone. It is open to all.

There are followers and followers are there for any leader. What is important is whom they follow and what they expect from the leader. Jesus clearly tells his would be followers what they should expect in turn. Scribe was ready to go wherever Jesus wanted him to go to. Jesus says that that he had no where to go to. Destiny is not a place. Following does not presuppose a place or a destiny or let us say a future. Following here would mean following the person Jesus.

Following of Jesus also does not think of the past. One does not need to look into the past and he should not even be worried about his father (his human origin). He should not think of the past and the future. Following requires ones commitment to the person of Jesus and the present.