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.   Luke 8 : 24

Reading for this week : Luke 8 : 22 - 25

Thought for the week

The Gospel reading this week is the Storm on the Lake. Few of us can have missed the debris from trees, pictures of cars being crushed, roofs damaged, and the constant weather warnings of the past 48 hours.

The storm the disciples experienced must have been a storm like no other. These fishermen were highly experienced. Yet this was something different. I find it intriguing that Jesus sleeps through it, just like Jonah.

Like Jonah’s storm, caused by his running from the Lord, the storm in the Gospel is like no other. It points to something wrong deeply in creation. The storm within humanity. The chaos within ourselves that can only be remedied, set right, healed by the Lord Himself, by our Saviour and Redeemer.

Storm Eunice struck at a time of tension in Ukraine. Of ongoing suffering in Afghanistan. Of food and energy crises, Climate Change, Covid. Poverty and injustice rage across the world. These are times of uncertainty, change, even fear. Post – Pandemic, there are storms raging within ourselves. Yet we are called to look to Jesus. To Trust in Him, obey. The One who alone is able to rule the wind and the waves, outside and in.

Rev Paul

Prayer for this week

God our creator,

by your gift the tree of life was set at the heart of the earthly paradise,

and the bread of life at the heart of your Church:

may we who have been nourished at your table on earth

be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross

and enjoy the delights of eternity;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen