“Why are you fearful? Have you still no faith?” Two words stand out in Jesus’ rebuke: fear and faith. These are not the antonyms of the other. However, in our faith journey, faith is the antonym for fear. That is how Jesus places it for us.

Fear is a something we all experience. We get threatened by inimical forces. In today’s world we must be aware of the fear that is planted. Fear is a powerful weapon. Political powers plant fear in the people by creating an unknown demon or a monster to control descension.

George W Bush used ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq for his power. It is fake. The Americans did not find any such weapons in Iraq. When the story was planted, there was more silence than challenging the news. In politics, silence is counted as consent. This is how fear itself is used.

Our First Testament reading describes a similar situation. Goliath the Philistine warrior whose height was six cubits, and a span was the demon the Philistines placed before the Israelites. Six cubits and a span equal to 3.46 meters. Goliath spoke for forty days the same words morning and evening: “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of Goliath, they were greatly afraid.

Fear made them powerless. Even though they claimed Yahweh was on their side, they were not able to fight Goliath. Their morale was down. Young David came forward to challenge Goliath not with his might but with the help of God. It was a choice between whether to fight with faith in God or get away from the battle without faith in God. David opted for the former.

David told Goliath: “You come to me with sword and spear; but I come to you in the name of the LORD, whom you have defied. David faced the fear of Goliath with Faith in God.

Look at the gospel today. We read about the fear of the disciples when they saw the storm in the lake. Most of them were fishermen. Lake Galilee was not a strange place for them as they were earning their livelihood by fishing in the lake. They knew the times and the seasons by their experience.

Yet, they were afraid when the lake became rough, and the wind began to blow strongly. They were terrified, as it was a sudden and violent storm. They called Jesus. He was fast asleep amidst the storm. Jesus was exhausted after a day of strenuous ministry.

The terrified disciples probably screamed to wake Jesus up. “Do You not care that we are perishing?” Jesus rebuked the wind and calmed the sea. And then Jesus rebuked their lack of faith. “Why are you fearful? Have you still no faith?”

The fear of the disciples shifts from the storm to the one who calmed the storm. They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” They were more terrified trying to understand Jesus. It is a new form of fear that strengthened their loyalty to Jesus.

Both readings teach us how fear impacts human lives. We may have experienced many instances of fear. Some may be real; some others may be imaginations or illusions. Some are created fear.

Human life is full of fear caused by various forces. There is no scientific invention to create calm. Sedation may be a treatment, but it is temporary. However, there are some resources for the calm in the scriptures.

The Psalmist says, “In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:4) The scriptures show us the ways to have faith. What overtakes us is fear that makes us to think, either “Jesus, do you not care that we are perishing?” or “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

That is because we too fit into the disciples of Jesus. We have so little faith because we rank the seen above the unseen, the temporary above the permanent, the partial above the whole. We are good at opting for smooth sail without Jesus rather than a rough sail with Jesus.

As we voyage through the sea of life, terrifying gales may threaten to overwhelm us. Illness, loss, financial crisis, violence, natural disasters and danger may pummel us.

In our anxiety we may cry out to our seemingly indifferent Lord, “Don’t You care about our problems?” And Christ, completely in control of every circumstance, gently and lovingly rebukes us for failing to exercise faith. The call is to trust His almighty and all-wise sovereignty. When we are with God, we are safe for time and eternity.

We must have faith above fear. Instead of a smooth sail without God, we must try to go through the storm with God.