Today,
as we continue to celebrate the Christmas season & Jesus' birth into our
world, we find the disciples out on the sea in a boat in today's Gospel, as
they are battered by the angry winds and the waves. The disciples
look out at the sea, and see someone walking on the water, moving toward
them. We
can imagine the fear that seizes the disciples until they finally realize it is
Jesus. But Jesus
is able to calm the winds and the waves. In
our own lives, we may think that Jesus does not hear our pleas for help or see
us in need, but in fact he does.
If
you have ever been on the ocean, a river, or lake on a boat when bad weather or
an accident strikes, it can be a terrifying situation. As a
missionary, I was traveling in a canoe paddling down a large river with some
teenagers and small children when the canoe suddenly overturned without warning. Since
there was a baby traveling with us, she was my main concern. We
finally got out of the river, pulled to safety by one of the villages who was
performing chores at the shore. We
were drenched and covered with mud. I
remember that I lost a shoe and a sock in the incident. We
made for quite a funny sight for the church members who were awaiting our
arrival at our prayer service. At
the time when we were all trying to make our way to the shore, it was anything
but funny to us.
In
times like that, we can be encouraged by knowing that God is all-powerful. Trusting God can be so difficult in times
of stress, frustration, and adversity, especially when fear, uncertainty, and
existential angst seem to be on the rise in our society. As we
enter a new year, after last year provided so much uncertainly and instability
throughout the world, we should take heart in the faith we have in God, in the
salvation we have in him, in the agape, self-giving love that we receive from
him and and from our redeemer, Jesus Christ. May
we trust in God's faithful presence at all times in our lives.
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