This week I was challenged to meditate on scripture more and something many people have challenged me on over the years and obviously sometimes I draw pictures when God speaks to me on a scripture but other times I, being a writer imagine myself in the scene. I may try to do a series here on encounters with the messiah.
This is Jesus calming the storm ( Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25 ). In my artistic liscence I have decided that the boat belonged to Peter's Family and the story is told from one of the young hired hands.
One stormy night.
I can't say I ever thought that I of all people would meet the messiah. I had been thrown out of school mostly because of a failure to pay attention not long after my bar mitzvah. The priests were strict and anyway no one from my background had ever gotten too far to be a Rabbi. I began working for my uncle who had two sons Simon and Andrew. They were a few years older than I was. I was there that day when the rabbi came and asked the brothers to follow him. No rabbi asks the fishermen but this one did.
A few months later the vessel I had been working had been commandeered by the masters son for his Rabbi. I had only met the man that once. Simon's father had a lot of boats all across the sea of Galilee. We sailed perhaps half a furlong before he curled up to sleep, he looked so at peace. The rest of us took some time together on the deck He had twelve followers so there were around fifteen of us men the some of the crowd had got into boats too. John and James looked uneasy, as suddenly the sky began to darken and the water stirred. I had sailed long enough to know that there was a storm brewing. We began to make haste on the sails and get the boat ready but then the wave pulled the boat starboard side. Judas one of the disciples was sick over the side as we were pulled towards the stern I had never seen the sea so vicious.
I looked over at the Rabbi as I was pulled backwards towards him asleep in the stern. he still had that complete look of peace over his face. I didn't expect the pitch port ward and I reached for a rope to pull the sails in to stop them from being torn to shreds. a wave crested over the bow of the ship drenching Simon and a couple of the disciples who were holding onto the side of the boat. Once again the ship lurched towards to bow and I wondered if we would survive this one. I didn't know how to swim - it wasn't proper for a Jewish man to neither Simon nor Andrew did either.
The wave that crashed over the starboard side added half an inch of water to the bottom of the boat. The squall was loud and with each wave the boat filled more and more with water. The wind was so high I could barely feel my fingers.
I knew that Rebecca the girl I had promised myself too and my aunt would loose both her sons today. I prayed inside my head that God would show mercy on us.
"what do we do?" Matthew shouted over the waves to the others as the lighting hit the beach and the thunder roared above us. The boat lurched once more causing a wave in the water flooding our feet.before Thomas looked at the Rabbi asleep at the back of the boat.
" Wake him - he always knows what to do." Thomas said quickly. James son of Alpheus agreed and made his way towards the teacher.
I had heard the stories he had turned water into wine, he had healed the sick and cured the lame and his teachings were with such power and authority I wondered whether he was merely a Rabbi or a prophet also. Finally he got to the Rabbi and woke him.
" master, Master we are going to drown!" James son of Alpheus said as Judas was sick again over the side.
The rabbi got up and rebuked the waves and wind and suddenly all was calm again.
"Where is your faith?!" he asked the disciples.
I couldn't believe what I had seen this man had calmed the storm with one word and all I could wonder was who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey him. Which was what Jonah one of the other fishermen asked me afterwards but something in me knew that this was the man we were waiting for our messiah.
No comments:
Post a Comment