Jesus in the Storm - July 23

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:49-72; PM Psalm 49, [53]; 1 Samuel 25:23-44; Acts 14:19-28; Mark 4:35-41

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

I’ve been reflecting a lot recently on my voice, what it means to be a clergy person in 2025 and how to speak to the vast changes in our world, the deep sense of loss and insecurity for those who are most vulnerable. Scripture offers a window when we hear concern in the voice of the disciples in the boat as they rouse Jesus with the powerful question, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

It’s one of the most honest cries in all of Scripture. Spoken in panic, shouted above the roar of a storm, it captures the desperation we sometimes feel when life becomes overwhelming. The disciples, who we are told are seasoned fishermen, are terrified, not because they lack skill, but because the waves are simply too much. And Jesus is asleep.

Maybe you are wondering the same thing these days. We wonder, “Does God see? Does God care?”

But Jesus does wake. He speaks, and the storm is calmed. Stillness returns. And then he turns to the disciples—not to scold, but to invite them deeper in to the moment.  Jesus asks to challenging questions that are worthy of our consideration too. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Faith, it seems, isn’t about avoiding the storm. It’s about learning to trust that God is the one who is in the boat with us. It’s easy to believe when skies are clear. It’s harder, and more transformative, to believe when everything feels uncertain.

Storms are always a part of our story, since the beginning of time.  Sometimes they are moments in our individual lives and sometimes they are moments in the history of communities, places, and even nations.  Storms will always come. But faith anchors us. Not in certainty or control, but in our willingness to be in the boat, or maybe to be in relationship with each other through the storm. Because God is always near, and the story of our faith is to trust in God’s abiding love through it.

John

Questions for Self-Reflection: “Where in my life do I feel like I’m perishing, and how might I become more aware of God’s presence in the midst of it?”