Mtr Kelli Joyce

‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’

Dear Friends in Christ,

It continues to amaze me how many passages of scripture that I’ve heard countless times over the years strike me so differently these days. The gospel reading for today is no exception. ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ the disciples say, amid a raging storm. And they’re right! They are in a truly dangerous situation, in over their heads, and the forces of nature are arrayed against them. The ordinary stuff of their day to day lives has become frightening. And they don’t think Jesus cares. They know he’s technically with them, but they don’t know that he is for them.

But he is. There is no danger that Jesus will not see us through. There’s no situation that can catch him off guard. Just because he didn’t prevent the storm doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about our well-being. Christ is for us, and he is always on the side of protecting life.

So we must be too. We may not have power to control the wind and the waves, and we may not be able to miraculously cure illness, but the power that we do have, we are called to use for the protection of life. Staying home and wearing masks and washing our hands - these things aren’t examples of faithlessness, even though some Christians would say so. They aren’t a sign that we don’t trust Christ - they’re signs that we’re imitating him, and his selfless love for others. We must use the power we have to care for others, and to keep people safe amid peril.

In peace,
Mtr Kelli