On Stormy Seas

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:35-41 

I spent part of this morning getting my car inspected. While waiting on line, I made a list of all the things I still need to get done. And then, while waitng in the office during the inspection, the TV was showing the Mueller testimony before Congress. Yesterday, tonadoes touched down on Cape Cod and wrecked havoc everywhere it went. We live in stormy times, when truth and generosity are hard to come by. And personally, there is always too much to do and no day is long enough.

Jesus, dead asleep on a rocking boat, wakes up to frantic disciples. They are seasoned watermen, so for them to be terrified, it was a bad storm. Jesus seaks to the storm and it calmed immediately. We are invited to hear that Jesus is with us amidst the storms of our lives and our days. We are personally and communally not alone in what we face. We are invited to seek the solace and calm we need for today. 

Today, I ask God to give me the humility to ask for the help and solace I need for today. May we be prayer warriors, those who are always ready to pray for answers to the simple and complex storms of our lives.