Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Who is this, that even raging, life-threatening circumstances do not disturb his sleep?


In our Gospel reading
Mark 4:35-41 
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?"

The real question to ask of this story is NOT:
Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

For us, the real question is:
Who is this, that even raging, life-threatening circumstances do not disturb his sleep?

The real miracle of this story is NOT Jesus calming the storm. The real miracle is Jesus' calm while the storm is raging. His calm is not simply the suppression of fear. His calm arises from his faith within; from his trust in God's caring - no matter what the actual circumstances.

Thus, the moral of this story is NOT: run to Jesus when you are in a crisis and he will make the storm go away. Rather the moral is: run to Jesus when you are in crisis and learn from him the source of his calm. (Holy Textures, David Ewart)


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