Tagged: storm
Now it’s your turn
Mark doesn’t record for us how the disciples reacted when Jesus says to them: Right – that’s enough from me. Now it’s your turn to go off and do some preaching and healing!
We hear right at the beginning of our gospel reading today how, when they get back they gather around Jesus to tell him what they’ve been up to. But what went through their minds when he first told them he was sending them out two by two, with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing and a staff?
I’m not a betting man, but if I were I think I’d be on to a sure thing in betting that their immediate reaction wasn’t: That’s a great idea Jesus, when can we start?
Jesus, as we know, spent a great deal of time talking to and teaching his disciples. But there’s no substitute for actually doing the job. And no matter how much Jesus taught his disciples he knew that the best way for them to learn about the practical aspects of spreading the gospel was to send them out on their own to preach and to heal. And so off they went.
And I bet that when they first went off there was – to put it mildly – a certain degree of reluctance:
Hang on a minute, Jesus, we’re not quite sure about this – don’t we need a lot more teaching from you, first?
Not sure we know what we’re talking about really – aren’t you coming with us? We could do with a bit of support.
What if that healing thing doesn’t work? We’ve never done it before. We’ll look silly if nothing happens!
Continue readingWhat I said last Sunday – Let Jesus deal with your fears
Last Sunday’s gospel reading was Matthew’s account of the calming of the storm by Jesus. Here’s what I said.
Many of us, at some point in our lives, find ourselves gripped by fear or panic. Sometimes that fear may be well-founded. But at others it may seem totally irrational – either to ourselves or to others. Fear is a very powerful and controlling emotion, and not understanding why we feel afraid or fearful can be awful. And there’s no shortage of good advice around from experts and self-help gurus on how to deal with those things that cause us unbearable fear or stress.
Advice such as this: Named must your fear be before banish it you can.
Anyone know who said that? It was, of course, Continue reading
View from the Valley 