Wind, Waves and Wonder

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It’s such a familiar passage that I skimmed over it in my daily reading, but something made me stop and read it again – the story of the disciples being pounded by wind and waves in the boat. They were panicking when they shook Jesus awake. They were dumbstruck when they watched Jesus command the wind and the waves to cease.  “Peace be still,” he said.  No one had ever done that before. They are awed by this man, Jesus.

They had no idea who was in their boat.  So caught up with the process of sailing across the lake, of managing the storm that had blown up they were unaware that the Lord of all Creation was in their boat. This is the incredible irony of this story.  The disciples are terrified in the storm and yet Jesus the prince of peace is with them. They have no idea.

I cannot blame the disciples for I too so often fail to recognise, acknowledge or understand that Jesus is in my boat.  The same Jesus who said he would never leave us or forsake us.  The same Jesus who overcame the grave, the devil, evil and who sets people free. The exact things Jesus did once the boat landed.  This same Jesus is Christ in me. Yet I am overwhelmed and stressed as the wind and waves of circumstances create chaos to intimidate and threaten me.  Like the disciples my best recourse is to cry out and wonder how Jesus can be so relaxed as to be asleep!

As wind and waves buffeted my ‘little boat’ in the days after reading this passage, I have returned again and again to this story, seeking to find Jesus in the midst of the storm.  First, I recognised that no matter what was happening around me, Jesus was still in the boat. This is his sure promise.  Christ in me. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  He is who he says he is. Secondly I could, follow his example and command peace.  Peace to the wind and waves, peace to my racing, stressed filled thoughts, peace to those around me.  When I spoke peace, what was I saying?

I returned to the footnote in the Passion Translation on peace:

“Shalom – wholeness, wellness, well-being, safe, happy, friendly, favour, completeness, secure, to prosper, to be victorious, to be content, tranquil, quiet, restful.”  Apparently, the pictographic symbols or the word in Hebrew read “destroy the authority that binds chaos”.  

How appropriate to this passage.  Jesus commanded peace.  He broke the chains of chaos that drove the wind and waves.  Recognising that Jesus is in my boat means that as I pray and command peace, I too break the chains of chaos in me, over people, over circumstances and release tranquility, wellness, wholeness, security and rest.  Jesus is after all the Prince of Peace.  The royal title denotes authority.

The second command Jesus gave was “be still”.  It echoes Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”  Words written in the middle of a psalm that is all about things being out of control, nations raging, tumult and chaos.   In the stillness, ceasing our own efforts, we can enter the calm in the centre of the storm, where Jesus, the Prince of Peace is. We discover and know who Jesus really is.  Our eyes are opened. Like the disciples, who discovered an aspect of Jesus they had not seen before, we bow with them and worship. Wonder fills our hearts and we “see” God.

Just maybe, the wind, waves and chaos they bring are the means to us discovering more the Jesus who says “Peace, be still”.

 

Image by Free Photos by Pixabay


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