Lord our God, whom even the wind and the waves obey – may we hear your voice and believe in you and so live out our faith in your power…
Jesus is exhausted. He’s been all over Galilee, meeting people, healing them, preaching all across Judea, gathering about him a band of 12 unlikely men, and an ever growing following of women, men and children of all ages who want to hear more of what he says and to see what amazing things he will do next.
And he teaches them such challenging and yet wonderful ideas – being blessed when we are poor, hungry, weeping, hated – and that we must love our enemies, bless those who curse us, give even more to those who have stolen from us – and refrain from judging anyone.
My goodness – how hard all this is and surely impossible! Why does he say such things – and no wonder he’s exhausted – rushing around preaching such a ridiculous message – its like pushing a boulder up a hill!
He should just settle down and be like the other Rabbis – who does he think he is?
And yet it seems, this is precisely why the people keep coming – because he is so different to the usual Rabbis and religious leaders – and he speaks with such authority and seems to have such power –
Just who is he?
Right now he is a man who is exhausted.
He and the disciples are in a boat heading away from the crowds across the lake – and immediately he falls asleep.
A little time of peace, as the boat moves through the gently lapping water, a chance to rest and recover.
But, as can happen so easily on the lake, a gale arises and a storm sweeps across the water,
and suddenly they are in very real danger.
The disciples are terrified, and panicking, they wake Jesus.
Do they do this to alert him to their peril before the boat actually sinks?
Or to have an extra pair of hands to help bale out the water?
Or because they somehow already know he is the only one who can help them?
What they didn’t expect was that he would rebuke the wind and the waves as if they were an unruly child.
Or that the winds and the waters would obey him!
Who is this man?
Not simply a man, of course – as his friends are beginning to realise!
But let us leave Jesus in the boat there for a moment – the moment in which the raging storm is stilled, the waves subside and calm returns.
And let’s turn to a calm and peaceful garden – the Garden of Eden – where, as we heard in today’s OT reading – God and humankind – Adam and Eve – are living together in a joyous relationship and friendship. God has made everything good and Adam and Eve can enjoy it all – and they enjoy God and God enjoys them. They are not of course equal to God, but there is such a beautiful closeness and intimacy – until, as we know, it all goes horribly wrong.
In the vision of Heaven in the New Testament reading there is also a closeness between humankind and God – but in a very different way – here God in all his majesty and glory is seated on the throne and is worshipped day and night. It is both a glorious but also rather terrifying image – very like the vision of Isaiah – the intimacy has gone and love for God is not now like playing in the peace of the Garden of Eden, but is expressed in awe and reverence. Through our worship we regain that closeness with God – our God who has created all things.
These two images – the peaceful garden and the glory of heaven – find their connection and meaning in the man who now stands in that boat – demonstrating his power over the created elements of water and air.
Jesus. The one for whom and through whom all things in heaven and earth were created – as St Paul will later put it. And, at this moment – as the storm is stilled and the waves subside, rebuked into calm by their creator – the disciples begin to see Jesus as he really is.
Where is your faith? He asks them.
When we declare our faith shortly in the words of the Creed – we will say
‘We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, true God from true God – of one being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven..and was made man.’
He comes down from heaven and he is here, with us, standing in the boat in the midst of the storm and he says to us:
Where is your faith?
In the midst of the storms we are facing – the storms of our own lives and those sweeping across the world, the very real danger we are all in – we are terrified, and panicking – the whole ship could very well go down – but do we have faith in Jesus, do we really believe in his power?
Jesus rebukes both the wind and the waves, but also his disciples –
Where is your faith?
Faith that our God really is with us – in the midst of the storms.
Faith that the powers of the world might have their day, but that the ultimate victory is already won, the final outcome assured.
What difference would it make if we truly believe this?
How would it change the way we live?
What things might we be able to do, what things might we say? How might we live together, forgive each other, love each other?
What risks might we take if we truly believed that the power of love will triumph – has triumphed? What words of hope could we speak into the fear?
Why, we might then be able to live as Jesus himself – loving our enemies, blessing those who curse us, give even more to those who have stolen from us – refraining from judging anyone – and bringing the peace of the Garden into the chaos of the storm.
Service: Reverend Michelle Dalliston 23rd February 2025. (St John The Baptist Church Peterborough UK)
Readings: Genesis 2.4b-9, 15-end; Psalm 65; Revelation 4; Luke 8.22-25