If the Church is the “Barque of Peter,” then it can seem at times that Jesus is not driving, but is asleep in the boat. Perhaps that is by design: maybe Jesus is actually asleep in the boat, as he was in Matthew 6. But if Jesus is in the boat, then no matter how swamped the boat gets, at least we are with Jesus, who will never abandon us! “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Jesus says, when we disturb his sleep! And we look at him, dumbfounded. But he does calm the wind and the waves for us, we of little faith.
We don’t tend to like it when Jesus sleeps, but if we truly do love him, then perhaps we should be consoled that he has the confidence and trust in the Father—and in us—to fall asleep on the boat with us. Thérèse of Lisieux, who took the religious name Thérèse of the Child Jesus, incorporated the sleeping Jesus into her own spirituality. The way in which she desires to bring joy to the child Jesus through her life is as rare among Christians as it is touching. Thérèse writes:
“For some time past, I had offered myself to the Child Jesus to be his little plaything. I told him to treat me, not like a precious toy such as children only look at and dare not touch, but like a little ball of no value that he could throw on the ground, kick, pierce, leave in a corner or press to his heart, just as he pleased. In a word, I wished to amuse the little Jesus and abandon myself to his childish whims. And he has granted my prayer. In Rome, Jesus pierced his little toy… no doubt he wished to see what was inside… and then, satisfied at his discovery, he dropped his little ball and went to sleep… Jesus chooses to sleep, why should I keep him from sleep? I am only too happy that he does not put himself to any trouble about me.”
Perhaps we are not all called to take the same sort of consolation in the sleeping Jesus as Thérèse does. But, at the very least, both today’s gospel and Thérèse’s curious witness can prompt us to ask ourselves how much we love the Lord and whether we can find consolation in his sleep, even if it might leave us chagrined at times.