2nd Sunday before Lent – 20th February 2022
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8 22-25)We couldn’t really have a more appropriate Gospel reading this week, could we? Jesus stilling the storm is such a good story and one we’d do well to ponder. “Where is your faith?” he asks – a question which he’s rather good at putting to us today! As we approach the start of Lent, perhaps it’s a good moment to ask where is our faith? How are we doing in terms of knowing our faith and in trusting in the Lord Jesus to guide us through the storms of life to the peace of the Heavenly Father’s loving heart? Do we trust him enough to do that? To say that if we do what he says, and live as he lives that we shall be safe and will not sink?Jesus does invite us to trust him, to trust that his way is the best way. He doesn’t promise that we won’t get storms; of course we will, and at the moment it’s literally one storm after another without even mentioning the storms that each one of us has to face individually by the challenges of everyday living. I hope you don’t think it’s too simple or even a bit corny to say but Jesus is in the boat with us. We may think sometimes that he’s asleep but if you think that, you can always rouse him with a simple prayer. And he always brings his peace into each and every situation. We may be left puzzled and perplexed with questions, and we may be afraid and amazed, but we belong to him and we are precious to him and he will not allow us to sink in the storm! That is our faith and we believe and trust in him.
