Morning Message: June 8

This week the readings focus on Jesus’ miracles.  Miracles were unexpected actions that gave people what they needed, like calming fear in today’s reading.  Miracles showed that Jesus had special powers and they were always a response to human needs.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.  A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”  And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.  They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Think about this silently in your heart.  It felt miraculous when Jesus calmed the disciples’ fear.  Could you comfort someone who is afraid?

We can all become discouraged by our doubts and by our difficulty in believing in Jesus, in his message, in his power.  But it should encourage us to know that even the closest disciples of Jesus were not much different at times.

“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  Like with so many other prayers we find in the Gospel, we can find that today this simple prayer resonates in our hearts as we look at our families, our community, our country, our world.  Stay with these words, pleading for Jesus' help.

“And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’”  Acknowledge our weak faith, our fear that Jesus is asleep while the gale threatens to overwhelm us.  Ask for simple trust, and share in the Apostles' wonder at the power present in the person of Jesus.

This scene is often pictured and is a favorite for times of stress and of darkness - in the storms of life. We may feel Jesus is asleep, not near us.  He woke at the moment he was really needed, and calmed the waters.  In prayer he calms us too, maybe not immediately but when we really need him he is there, a hand outstretched to save us from anxiety, darkness and despair.  The Lord of wind and sea, the one in whom all was created is the one who creates calm and confidence in everything of life.

Holy and gracious God, your power is so great.   Through you, people’s fears are calmed; the sick are healed; the blind see.  We thank you for your goodness.  We pray in Christ’s name.  Amen.