Sermons on the Gospel Readings
If it was not Jesus who was asking the question, our reaction to the speaker would probably be something like, "What? Are you nuts? There's a storm out here!" Of course the disciples were afraid. They are in an open boat on a stormy lake without a global positioning beacon, life rafts, or the Coast Guard nearby. The lake is big enough that they would have little chance of being able to swim to shore in a dead calm and here the waves are high and breaking over them while they are still in the boat. It is only prudent for them to be afraid.