30 January 2027 · Latin Rite
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“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Hebrews 11 is the great chapter of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Abraham “set out, not knowing where he was going.” He lived in tents in the promised land, “for he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Sarah, past the age, “considered him faithful who had promised.” And when tested, Abraham offered Isaac, reasoning “that God is able even to raise someone from the dead”. Faith is not certainty about the road; it is trust in the One who calls.
In the Gospel the disciples cross the lake at evening. A great windstorm arises; the boat is filling with water; and Jesus is asleep on the cushion in the stern. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He rises, rebukes the wind, says to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”, and there is a dead calm. Then he asks: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” They are filled with awe: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Jesus asleep in the storm is not indifferent; he is the Lord of creation, and his presence in the boat is enough. With Mary, who believed without seeing, we learn to trust.
Theme: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Faith that sets out, and faith in the storm.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” Proverbs 3:5
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Apply: Make an act of faith each morning.
“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8
Apply: Take one step of trust God asks of you.
“He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” Psalm 107:29
“He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.” Mark 4:39
Apply: Hand your storm to Jesus in prayer tonight.
Faith trusts the One who calls, not the map of the road.
The Lord is in our boat.
Take-home resolution: Pray “Jesus, I trust in you” whenever you are afraid.
Dear friends, Hebrews gives us the definition of faith: now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
Abraham set out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). He looked forward to the city whose architect and builder is God. Faith is not knowing the whole road; it is trusting the One who calls.
In the Gospel a great storm arises and Jesus is asleep. The disciples cry: teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He rises and says: Peace! Be still! Then he asks: why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? (Mark 4:38–40).
Jesus asleep in the boat is not indifferent; he is the Lord of wind and sea. With Mary, who believed without seeing, let us trust him in our storms. Amen.
Children, when a big storm came, Jesus said: Peace! Be still! and the storm stopped. When you are scared, say: Jesus, I trust in you!
Lord Jesus, you calmed the wind and the sea with a word. In the storms of our lives, give us the faith of Abraham, who set out not knowing where he was going, and the trust of Mary, who believed your word. Peace! Be still! Amen.
Today's question is what faith looks like when one cannot see the way. Abraham sets out “not knowing where he was going”. The disciples, in a boat full of water, wake the sleeping Jesus and ask whether he cares. Between the two readings the Church sings the canticle of Zechariah, which recalls “the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham”. The key words are assurance, stranger and faith. The question Jesus asks in the boat is the question Hebrews answers.
Setting.
Chapter 11 is the great roll-call of the faith of Israel's ancestors. It answers the last line of chapter 10: “we are… among those who have faith”. Abel, Enoch and Noah (vv. 3–7) are left out today, and the reading goes straight to Abraham and Sarah, to whom Hebrews gives more space than to anyone else. The story behind it is told in Genesis 12–22.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (11:1)
The Catechism says that Abraham fulfils this definition of faith (CCC 146). It is less a definition for the classroom than a description of how the ancestors lived.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.” (11:8)
He obeys first and understands later. The Greek word for “obeyed” is built on the word for hearing.
“By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old” (11:11)
A note on the text. The Greek of this verse is difficult. The NRSV makes Abraham the subject and treats Sarah's barrenness as a side remark. Other translations, and the Malayalam POC, make Sarah the subject. Either way, both are past hope, and God keeps his word.
“They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,” (11:13)
They lived in the promised land as guests. The Letter to Diognetus (5) says the same of Christians: every foreign land is their homeland, and every homeland is foreign to them (in substance).
“He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead” (11:19)
Hebrews reads Genesis 22 in the light of Easter. Abraham's faith reaches further than he could yet see.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism calls Abraham the model of the obedience of faith (CCC 144–146) and speaks of the offering of Isaac as the last purifying of his faith: the father of believers is conformed to the Father who did not spare his own Son (CCC 2572). Origen and many Fathers read Isaac carrying the wood as a figure of Christ carrying the Cross (in substance). At Mass the Roman Canon names “the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith”.
Setting.
The day of parables ends as evening falls. Jesus, who has been teaching from the boat, now says, “Let us go across to the other side.” The other side is the country of the Gerasenes (5:1), Gentile land. The Sea of Galilee lies some two hundred metres below sea level, surrounded by hills, and sudden storms are well known there. From here on Mark moves from Jesus' words to his deeds.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”” (4:38)
Only Mark mentions the cushion and has this blunt complaint. Matthew has “Lord, save us!” (8:25). Jesus' sleep is a sign of his trust in the Father (compare Psalm 4:8). The same complaint is found in many prayers.
“He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.” (4:39)
In the Old Testament it is God who rules the sea (Psalm 89:9; Job 38:8–11). Psalm 107:29 says of him, “he made the storm be still”. Jesus does what belongs to God.
“And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”” (4:41)
This is the question of the whole Gospel of Mark. It waits for its answer until the centurion at the Cross (15:39).
How the Church reads it.
Tertullian saw in the boat a figure of the Church, tossed on the sea of this world (On Baptism 12, in substance). St Augustine, preaching on the storm, said that when temptation shakes us it is because Christ is asleep in us, that is, our faith has fallen asleep; so wake him (Sermon 63, in substance). On 27 March 2020, in an empty St Peter's Square during the pandemic, Pope Francis preached on this passage and repeated Jesus' question, “Why are you afraid?”
Why does Jesus reproach the disciples? Is it wrong to cry out to him?
He does not reproach them for praying. The Psalms cry out in just this way. His question is about fear that has forgotten who is in the boat. He first calms the sea, and only then asks the question.