Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friends,

Today’s Gospel passage reminds me of this quote:

We often vacillate between a trust in the sure guidance of Love that is God's will within us, and the feverish pursuit of God's will as though it were something outside us that we are left on our own to discover.
-Sr. Rose Mary Dougherty quoted in Backpacking with the Saints, Belden Lane, p. 155

As I sit with the text for the day: Jesus quieting the storm for frustrated and scared new Disciples, and the quote: a rather revealing assessment of one of the pendulums of spiritual seeking, I’m drawn in by Jesus’ response. He doesn’t say “figure it out yourselves” or “just trust and it will get better” but he actually changes the weather. He shows his power (in classic St Mark style, right away). 

God’s will is of course…complicated and tends to be one of those places in theology where we have some deep assumptions that don’t always complete the picture or answer all of our questions. When it comes to God’s will being done, whether its seas quieted for a few small boats, or long-term loving and liberating work in the world, I have a friend who often asks “Well is that really too big for God? Is there really a problem that is bigger than God-size?”  I’m always refreshed by her broader look and wondering questions.

We are in good company when we find ourself on either end of the spectrum that Sr Rose Mary describes, full of assurance or wildly seeking. We’re likely in the same boat with the Disciples who experienced God among them who could at once seem so far and so near. May the power of God in Christ be perceived in our day, too!

In Christ,

Mtr Taylor