The wildly tossing Sea represented our death struggles. Our Lord calmly sleeping at our side is his assurance that he is in charge. He will bring us through just fine.

 Tuesday, 7/1/14

Whenever we have this story about the storm at sea with Jesus sleeping in the boat I always say the same thing. This is a story telling us that Jesus will see us safely through death’s struggles.

The storm took place on the Sea of Galilee, which was just a wide place in the Jordan River. And from Chapter Three of the Book of Joshua and ever after, the Jordan has remained a symbol of the death we must pass through to reach the Promised Land.

In that old story, the Jordan was in flood when the People arrived to cross to the Promised Land. Then, when the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan, its waters backed up, letting the people follow the Ark into the river’s bottom. At the very bottom, the priest halted with the Ark. They held their stand there as everyone walked past, up into the Promised Land.

For us, the terrible storm the Apostles met that night stands for our death struggles. The reading hints at that by having the Apostles crying out, “We are perishing!”

When the fear and the pains of death’s struggle have you in their grasp, let your hold on the calmly sleeping Jesus be an assurance that you are safe.

With the Israelites it was the Ark of the Covenant making a way for them through death, for us it is Jesus on his cross opening the way for you to pass up to heaven.