In addition to home worship resources for each Sunday I am also hoping to post a weekly devotion relating to what is going on with the Corvid-19 Coronavirus and anything else significant that is happening in the world.
Scripture
Mark 4: 35-41 (NIV)
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Reflection
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
Of course, these words though full of wisdom, do not come from Jesus. They were spoken by the Jedi Master Yoda in one of the Start Wars films.
Fear is a very natural human reaction and one we are all prone to. The most primal fear is the loss of life, of our own or that of a loved one. It is this primal fear that Jesus’ disciples faced in that fragile wooden boat on the Sea of Galilee; fear that they would drown and lose their lives.
That seems odd to us. Jesus was in the boat with them. Jesus was relaxed and asleep. Surely, they should have known they had nothing to fear. Yet they were afraid, which was why Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Fear is a very real reaction at the moment, not only in our country but in our world, fear of the coronavirus and of all its potential consequences. Some of us are fearful because we are in the vulnerable category because of our age or underlying medical conditions, others of us are perhaps fearful for loved ones or worried about their business or job over the next few months. People are stripping supermarket shelves because they are afraid of running out of things. We might even fear the effect the Coronavirus will have on the future of our Church now we have been required to suspend services and other activities. Will people come back?
Fear, uncontrolled irrational fear can, as history has shown many times, lead to anger, hatred and suffering.
“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Jesus’ words to his original disciples and Jesus’ words to us, his disciples today. Of course, it is natural that we feel some fear and it is natural that we exercise due caution in our lives; but we should not be fearful because Jesus is with us, just as he was with those disciples on the Sea of Galilee around 2000 years ago.
So, as we make our decisions in our lives in the coming weeks and months let us not be motivated by fear, but by faith: faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
Prayer
Gracious and Loving Lord,
Only when we are weak, are we strong:
as we pass through the vale of suffering
grant us the gift of your safety and peace,
the gentleness of your spirit
and a sense of your mercy and love.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Jeremy Taylor (1613-67)
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