1 July 2014 - seaworthy

1 July 2014 - seaworthy

I brought upon you such upheaval
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah:
you were like a brand plucked from the fire;
Yet you returned not to me,
says the LORD.

One reason the LORD allows us to experience upheaval is so that we return to him.  When these desolations come we realize how completely we depend on him.  Or at least, that is his desire.  He wants us to return to him.  Insulated by prosperity we start to act in a self-directed, independent way, without reference to God.

So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel!
and since I will deal thus with you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel.

So let us prepare to meet him now before it is too late.  Let us enter his house because of his abundant mercy and come back into his presence.  Let us worship at his holy temple, in fear of him.  Let us continue until he is first in our hearts, until all our decisions reference him, until he is the LORD of our hearts, and then evermore.
But even when the LORD is in our boat the storms still come.

Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.

How can he sleep, that is, not act, when circumstances make us cry, "We are perishing!"

But even amidst the circumstances, he says to us “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”  Apparently, having Jesus in our boats, even when he seems to be sleeping, should be more important to us than whatever violent storms we see around us.  Even when our boat seems as though it is being swamped by waves, even when we seem to be sinking, when we seem to be doomed, it should mean more to us that Jesus is with us, even asleep, than anything else we see.

The thing is, if our eyes are on Jesus, we don't even need the boat.  The boat represents everything we think we need to stay afloat.  But we see that Peter is able to step out from the boat and walk above the waves as long as he keeps his gaze on Christ (cf. Mat. 14:29).  When he looks at the strong wind of circumstance he sinks.

And so when we doubt the viability of our craft to face the winds and waves of circumstance let us not fear.  Jesus is with us.  It is enough to keep our eyes on him, even if he seems asleep.  If we do, we will not sink.  When we let him sleep, when we consciously embrace his apparent inaction, we grow in relationship with him.  We can now recognize his presence even when he isn't giving us presents.  Imagine if we thought our parents were only near us on Christmas and our birthdays.  Yet we treat God this way.  When Jesus sleeps we should imitate Therese and let him sleep:

I suffered complete spiritual dryness, almost as if I were quite forsaken. As usual, Jesus slept in my little boat. I know that other souls rarely let him sleep peacefully, and he is so wearied by the advances he is always making that he hastens to take advantage of the rest I offer him.

In some ways Jesus seems far from her, but just listen to the intimacy of that relationship.
To just to have Jesus near her is now the source of great joy.  In due time he will arise, for some people and some circumstances it will not be until what Therese calls "the great final retreat of eternity."  But when he does, he will show that these circumstances which seem so dire never truly hold sway.  He is always in control.

Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.

We can begin to share in the great calm now if we realize that which makes his disciples exclaim, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
He is the same one of whom the psalmist says:

You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples (cf. Psa. 65:8).

and

You rule the raging sea;
you still its swelling waves (cf. Psa 89:10).

and

He hushed the storm to silence,
the waves of the sea were stilled (cf. Psa. 107:29)

He is God, and asleep or not, he is always in control and always good.