Prepared for the Storm

Prayer, formation, and the weight of following Jesus.

I heard a challenging sermon on Sunday. One of my pastors preached out of the Sermon on the Mount, early on after the beatitudes when Jesus reminds his disciples that he has not come to abolish the law. My pastor juxtaposed this with MLK, Jr. Day, focusing on his Letter from Birmingham Jail. He particularly focused on MLK’s observation that he and the other nonviolent protestors put significant thought into their work, asking hard questions in advance about whether they were truly prepared to commit to nonviolent action. Pastor David’s main point was to ask us if we were prepared - if we were doing the spiritual work of preparation for whatever would come today, tomorrow, or in the distant future.

Yesterday, we saw that Jesus had tried to take some time alone with his disciples after hearing about John the Baptist’s unseemly death. But the crowd didn’t allow for it. Today, we’ll see Jesus finally get that alone time.

I don’t know if you read Jesus Daily every day. Perhaps you have other devotionals, patterns, or prayers. I pray that whatever you do, it is indeed preparation for whatever comes in life. Following Jesus is no foxhole matter. Grace can work instantaneously. But God’s best work is done in relationship. And it feels likely that if we wait to allow God’s work to be done in us until things get tough in life, it just won’t be the right work. We won’t be able to hear his voice as well in that moment if we haven’t been seeking it all along.

So Jesus gets that time alone on the mountain to pray (as we see he regularly does throughout the gospels, even if the crowd interrupts sometimes). And the very next story has him rescuing the disciples from another storm.

James cautions that leadership carries weight, and Mark shows us that Jesus does not step into that weight unprepared, but grounded through prayer and alignment with the Father.

The disciples’ trust wasn’t quite up to par yet, as they at first simply screamed at Jesus as if he were a ghost. But Jesus’ vision was aligned enough with the loving Father that he didn’t scream back, either in frustration or anger. He called out in encouragement.

It’s not that Jesus never gets emotional. We see him in grief. We see him in anger. We see him in frustration, or at least annoyance. We see him weeping both at death and over a city that just can’t get it right. We see him in significant anguish, uncertain if he can bear what is to come. We see him in utter pain. And yet, we see him always responding righteously.

I think, in great part, it’s because he’s constantly and regularly sought to be aligned with God the Father. Sure, he was born of the Father. But did he continue to seek him daily in prayer because he was born of the Father or because he wanted to remain as of the Father?

Does it matter?

Either way, he prepares himself each and every day for whatever may come.

May we seek the same.

Mark 6:45-56

Right then, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake, toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying good-bye to them, Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray. Evening came and the boat was in the middle of the lake, but he was alone on the land. He saw his disciples struggling. They were trying to row forward, but the wind was blowing against them. Very early in the morning, he came to them, walking on the lake. He intended to pass by them. When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost and they screamed. Seeing him was terrifying to all of them. Just then he spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” He got into the boat, and the wind settled down. His disciples were so baffled they were beside themselves. That’s because they hadn’t understood about the loaves. Their minds had been closed so that they resisted God’s ways.

When Jesus and his disciples had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret, anchored the boat, and came ashore. People immediately recognized Jesus and ran around that whole region bringing sick people on their mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went—villages, cities, or farming communities—they would place the sick in the marketplaces and beg him to allow them to touch even the hem of his clothing. Everyone who touched him was healed.

James 3:1

My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers, because we know that we teachers will be judged more strictly.

Prayer

God,

I’m not sure I’ve ever really thought I knew just how the future would go. But if I ever thought that by age 45 I’d have enough experience to predict just how things will go in the future, I was utterly wrong. I don’t actually remember thinking that, but I do often feel these days like I know less about the future than ever before.

Even so, at the same time, I feel like I know how I want to approach the future - whatever comes - more than ever before. I just want to be like Jesus. And I’m more comfortable knowing that this may well mean that I may be hurt by it. It seems rather easy to confess this to you as I sit here in the dark of the early morning, safe in my LL Bean slippers while my wife and kids sleep soundly around this warm home.

So help me, God: Give me a keen sense of sobriety of spirit. Give me a sobriety that is aware, ready, and compassionate. Keep me attentive, but not anxious. Give me wisdom. Always move me in compassion.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.