You may have heard this one before: Three Buddhist monks were watching a flag.
The first monk said: "The flag is waving."
The second monk said: "No, it is the wind that is waving the flag."
The third monk said: "You are both wrong. It is your minds that are waving."
It is interesting that in most of the Gospel stories related to the calming of the sea, Jesus actually calms the disciples first! This is made very clear by Matthew.
In Matthew's version of the incident, the boat clearly represents the Church, the waves and wind represent the persecution of the early Christians (the same wind and water try to knock down the house that was built on the rock i.e. Peter). However, by calming the disciples first, Jesus gives us the important message that the real winds and waves are not external, but internal i.e. the storms of fear, doubt, guilt and sorrow within our own heart. If we manage to keep our hearts steady, it is not difficult to calm the storms that attack our lives from outside.
The first monk said: "The flag is waving."
The second monk said: "No, it is the wind that is waving the flag."
The third monk said: "You are both wrong. It is your minds that are waving."
It is interesting that in most of the Gospel stories related to the calming of the sea, Jesus actually calms the disciples first! This is made very clear by Matthew.
In Matthew's version of the incident, the boat clearly represents the Church, the waves and wind represent the persecution of the early Christians (the same wind and water try to knock down the house that was built on the rock i.e. Peter). However, by calming the disciples first, Jesus gives us the important message that the real winds and waves are not external, but internal i.e. the storms of fear, doubt, guilt and sorrow within our own heart. If we manage to keep our hearts steady, it is not difficult to calm the storms that attack our lives from outside.
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