Jesus Calms the Storm

A guided meditation on Mark 4.35-41

 

Sit comfortably in your chair.

Quiet yourself in this space.

Lean into the silence.

Close your eyes

Or focus your attention on your candle

Or the Christus Rex

Or the altar

Or anything that you choose

That will help you

Experience the presence of God.

Think for a moment

Of the things that might distract you,

Beg for your attention,

Cause you to lose focus -

And then set them aside.

One, by one by one.

Set aside your homework.

Set aside your worry.

Set aside your conflicts.

Set aside your doubts.

Set aside your anxiety.

Set aside your stress.

Set aside your loneliness.

Now,

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Be still.

Quiet yourself in this space.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Lean into the silence.

Now imagine

It is evening.

The sun is beginning to set.

You are standing with Jesus

And your friends

On the edge of a large lake.

The air is cool

Damp.

The smell of fish is in the air     -

The sky dense with clouds

And color.

It has been a full day

Exciting,

Filled with Jesus teaching

And the crowds gathering.

But the crowds, they have pretty much gone now.

You can see the last of them

Turning and walking away.

There are boats on the shore

And it seems like a good idea to make an evening crossing to the other side.

You and your friends get into one of the boats

And Jesus gets into the same boat with you.

Can you see him, there in the boat,

In the stern,

Reclining on a pillow?

Looking at Jesus,

Your thoughts turn

To all that you have already learned from him.

The days that you have followed him

Have been long,

But good.

Others in the boat

Push it off from shore,

And you settle in against a cushion.

Others are rowing

Your eyes focus on the horizon

And what seems like

Endless, rolling waves between you and there.

The rhythm of the waves

Rocks the boat to and fro,

And you feel yourself

Relaxing into the crossing.

What a day!

What a time!

Back and forth

Back and forth

The boat rocks.

The voices begin to quiet

And the only sound is the sound of the oars slicing the water

And the waves carrying the boat forward.

Some of your friends fall asleep.

You notice that Jesus is now asleep.

You wonder about him

As you look at him there on the pillow.

Who is this man?

Can he be trusted?

The boat keeps moving across the lake.

You think about the day.

Jesus’ words about a sower

And a lamp under a basket

And a mustard seed.

What does it all mean?

“Jesus,

Who are you?”

You wonder.

You have been so deep in thought that you hardly notice

When the wind starts blowing.

You feel it on your face before you really realize how strong it is becoming.

You look to your friends, and

You can tell it is becoming harder to row now.

They are straining,

Pulling.

Fear flashes across their faces.

The current is choppy.

The sky is now black –

Both with the descending darkness

And the swirling clouds.

You move to relieve one of your friends at the oars,

And you are almost knocked over by the force of the heaving sea.

Straining now as you row

The sudden storm

Bears down upon your boat.

The waves are white

With fury

And the wind is angry as it howls.

The water begins to crest the edge of the boat

As it rises and pitches

Into the swelling sea.

Nearly everyone is working now,

Against these forces that have arisen from the deep.

Your own heart is beating so loudly in your chest

That it mingles in your mind

With the sound of the storm,

And then through the chaos

You hear a voice yell,

“Someone wake up Jesus.”

How he can still be asleep you do not know, but

You move over so a friend can take your oars,

And staying low in the lurching boat

You move toward him,

Trying desperately not to lose your balance

“Jesus,”

You call.

“Wake up!

The storm is upon us.

The wind

The waves –

Surely we will die.

Wake up, Jesus!

Help us!”

Jesus stirs at the sound of your voice.

As his eyes blink open,

He looks out to the sea and with

Force,

Strength,

And power he says,

“Peace! Be still!”

And just like that,

The wind stops.

The waves quiet.

The rain disappears.

All is calm.

You are stunned speechless.

You look at your friends

You all look at one another

Not sure if you should be relieved

Or terrified.

The wind and the waves

Obey this man.

What just happened?

You wonder.

And then you hear Jesus,

“Why are you afraid,”

He asks.

“Have you still no faith?”

He speaks into the dead calm.

No one says a word,

But the space between heaven and earth

Thins in mystery.

You wonder,

“Who is this Jesus?”

Sit with this wonderment

For just a moment –

Who is this Jesus?

+++

In the post-storm silence

Your friends look from one to another

And then take their places,

And resume the work

Of rowing across the sea.

Tentative,

You move over to where Jesus is resting once again.

Carefully,

You inch closer to him.

And then you ask him,

“Who are you Jesus?”

Listen to his answer to you.

And then you begin to

Tell him about something in your life

That is raging.

You tell him about

A storm in your world,

A situation that needs his words of

Peace

And stillness.

As you tell him of your storms,

You lean into his presence

And his peace wraps around you

Like a holy blanket.

Can you feel it there on your shoulders?

His stillness

Settles the tumult of your heart.

Can you feel it, this settling of your own storm?

Help me, Jesus  -

You say.

Peace!

Be Still!

You hear Jesus say to you.

The shore now approaches.

It is time to

Leave that journey behind.

You have crossed the lake

You step out of the boat

You ask Jesus to lead your way

Now on land.

You look back across the water

One last time –

And you look anew at Jesus

And you carry on -

But you will always carry with you

The way that he stilled the storm.

Amen.