Luther Seminary

A daily devotion brought to you by the alumni of Luther Seminary

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)

Read Mark 4:35-41 on biblegateway.com

Verse 35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." Verse 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. Verse 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. Verse 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Verse 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Verse 40He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" Verse 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Devotion

It’s impossible to imagine the contrast in this gospel story between the raging storm and the sudden quieting of wind and sea. Long before I joined Laurel and Jim they were caught in a typhoon in the middle of the Indian Ocean. For a day and a half they stayed below in the boat’s cabin with the sail reefed just enough to keep the boat headed into the wind—and prayed. They survived and were some days later “brought to a safe and desired haven.” It’s not always easy to point to exactly what God has done as is portrayed in Mark’s story: a decisive word and command that wind and water obeyed. Jim and Laurel survived certainly in large part because they had gained great skill and experience of how to sail. This too was part of God’s gift to them. And even in the terror of those hours they trusted that God was present and at work at least in part due to their acquired skills. So the knowledge and the trust were both part of God’s gift of peace.

Prayer

Lord of wind and wave, even in the midst of fear and threat fill us with such trust that we will be at peace. Amen.

Tim Kellgren ’71 M.Div. Retired, Petaluma, California