RCL Proper 12B - Mark 4:35-41 - The Upper Room Disciplines 2000

Human weakness and God's Power - From Sat, Jun 24th

"We notice Jesus' calm serenity, which strongly contrasts with the disciples' terror. Ont hing we must note in this miracle is Jesus' example of absolute peace and confidence. The miracle points us beyond the storms and stresses of life to the One who controls nature. And like the disciples, we too raise the questions: 'Who is this?'

Jesus, awakened by the hrrofied disciples, 'rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind dies down and it was completely calm...[The disciples] were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!' (NIV). the answer to their question and ours is that this is Christ, the Son of God and the Lord of nature and all of life. We confess that too often in the stresses and storms of life, we panic and begin to question God's ways, which lie beyond our understanding.

Let us not allow the stress and strife of our present situation to overwhelm us. Instead let us seek to understand what we can learn from the situation. We need to remember God's presence with us in the past and affirm God's continued presence with us... Faith that expresses courage in the face of life's great storms looks beyond the things that are and encourages us to dream (envision) the things that can be... Let us trust God who gives us serenity and confidence."

The Upper Room Disciplines 2000; Upper Room Books; Nashville TN; www.upperroom.org.