Jesus calms the storm June 21

We began by thinking about storms in our own lives -national and global first eg the credit crunch, climate change, war and the threat of terrorism, as well as being aware of personal crises affecting our own lives

We considered this short dramatic story in Mark's gospel; we explored the imagery of the sea especially in the Old Testament - storms and sea monsters symbolising the forces of chaos threatening God's creation. Yet God is always described as controlling the sea - and God alone.

So what does this tell us about Jesus who stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee? The question of the disciples - Who is this? also implies Jesus is Lord of all, and it's a challenge to us too; it's at the heart of this story. If we really believe Jesus is Lord of all creation that should affect how we live our lives; focussing on him could help begin to find solutions to the global problems afecting us all and help with some of our own problems.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by a problem and hard then to be aware of Jesus' presence, but this account reminds us he is always there in the storm even if we can't see him clearly- did the disciples on that dark, tempestuous sea? This story challenges us to answer the question who is Jesus? Hopefully our answer will help to us to live transformed lives trusting more in him to help us through the storms of life.