A Great Calm

And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:25-26

It is stormy today, dark and rainy, barely warm enough to truly call itself May. Safe inside strong walls, it is easy to want to curl up and go back to sleep, avoiding the rain and the wind. Having to go out and face the storm is a whole other matter. Braced for wind and rain, there really is no way to avoid getting wet. And not a time to be caught out on a boat. As a child, several times, I was caught out in a squall with my Dad on our rickety small boat. It is truly a frightening thing, when the sight of safe harbor is gone in the deluge, and the boat is rocking violently and taking on water fiercely. My Dad always managed to guide us home, but not without great effort, prayer and brute human force.

The disciples are caught in a storm and Jesus is sleeping. How often are we caught in a storm and wonder if God is sleeping? Or just ignoring our pleas for help? Did God roll over in bed after looking outside and seeing the dark and windy storms of life? The good news of the Gospel reading this day is that God is right there with us in the midst of the storm, and acting to overtake everything that is blowing hard against us, counteracting those forces that would take us down.

Today, as the storms arise, I want to trust that God is in the midst of them with me, calming and diverting the worst of what life can bring. God is acting to bring calm and peace in the midst of the worst challenges. May we all remember that even the strongest winds and the highest seas obey, and we can trust God in the most turbulent of times to be with us, bringing us peace.