He may have faltered later, but at least, unlike the others, he stepped out of the boat. I bet Peter felt a few butterflies as he stepped out of the boat to walk on the water. He stood his ground as darkness approached. He did not flee over the top of the Mount of Olives and disappear in the wilderness of Judea. From the biblical accounts of the agony of the Garden, the Lord trembled with fear and dread at the ordeal that was soon to begin. And the fear that Jesus rebukes is not a feeling. Why can Jesus be so emphatic about faith and fear? Is it really our fault if we feel shaky inside before the Goliaths in our lives? And his most repeated command in the Gospels is “do not be afraid” which is better translated “stop fearing!” Trust vs. Jesus’ sharpest rebukes, throughout Scripture, are in response to unbelief. His answer appears even a bit harsh: “If your faith was even the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree ‘be rooted up and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Believing is hard!”īut that’s not how he handled it. You think the Lord would comfort the disciples when they made this request. ![]() So how about us? We identify more with the apostles’ request in Luke’s gospel. But from that moment on, the Sultan gave Francis and his friars safe passage passes to travel anywhere in Muslim territories unhindered, so much was he moved by Francis’ faith. Whoever emerges from the flames unhurt, his God is the true God.” “Light a bonfire,” Francis reportedly said to the Sultan, “and have your imam enter the fire along with me. ![]() Francis challenged the imams to a duel to prove which was the true religion. When, during the Crusades, he was captured by the Saracens, St. Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory. We all admire the heroes of faith like St. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan shows us how to leave behind fear and grow in faith. He also constantly addresses his disciples with this command: Be not afraid! The story of St. Jesus calls us to have faith at least the size of a mustard seed. ![]() This post is also available in: Spanish, Italian
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