Purpose:
To grow in faith by learning the lesson the Apostles were taught, to learn to surrender and trust the Lord more deeply, to know Jesus is in control in stormy times.

Three primary modes of reading scripture are the literal, allegorical, and spiritual. In this session, the setting has a spiritual meaning.

The shore on the first side represents our lives before Jesus and the unchanged ground within a person that He comes to disturb.

The sea is our discipleship and life with Jesus. We are required to trust in God so completely amid the storms of life. It allegorically shows us baptism which brings us from one reality (solid ground) to another.

The other side is our new life with Jesus, the one He invites us to. He will not leave us in the storm, and our trust is made perfect when He brings us to the other side as He always planned.

Jesus rebuked the disciples because they did not trust in Him. He was in the boat the whole time, He would not let His mission end in a sunken boat. But they did not yet trust. They did not yet know who He was.

Scripture:

Jesus Stills the Storm
²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, “Save, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:18-27

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some different ways we can read scripture? 
2. What is the setting of the different scenes in the story? 
3. What could be a metaphorical reading of this structure? 
4. Did Jesus know about the storm’s approach? 
5. Why does He still take the disciples into the boat knowing there’s a brewing storm?
6. Why is uncertainty necessary for faith? 
7. How can Jesus sleep on the boat? 
8. Does God sleep? 
9. Why does Jesus rebuke the disciples first before the storm? 
10. What is the significance of the last question the disciples ask? 
11. Is there a difference between knowing a person and knowing a fact?

Resources:

“While the Son of Man cannot rest in material nests and lairs like birds and foxes, he finds his rest paradoxically on the high seas of divine obedience and adventure.” Way of the Disciple page 67

Prayer:
Begin the Surrender Novena as a group and pray Day 3 together:

"How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need, turns to me, looks at me and says to me, 'You take care of it,' then closes its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to me, instead, you want me to adapt your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: 'Hallowed be thy Name,' that is, be glorified in my need. 'Thy kingdom come,' that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with your kingdom. 'Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,' that is, in our need, decide as you see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to me truly: 'Thy will be done,' which is the same as saying: 'You take care of it,' I will intervene with all my omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations."

Pray on Hallow