“A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:37-41)  What a joy it is to follow the Gospel of Mark in this season after Pentecost.  His economy of words and the vivid pictures are remarkable and the passage before us this week is one of the best (at least in my opinion!).  I am always struck by the contrast here.  On the one hand, we have the great turmoil of the stormy sea and the equally tumultuous reaction by the disciples.  And, on the other hand, we have…we actually have (really!) the Lord of the universe asleep in the back of our boat!  Wait, what?!  On the one hand, we have our anxious cries, “Oh Jesus, don’t you care?  Don’t you care that children are suffering?  Don’t you care about my family and the economy and denominational travails?  Don’t you care… (well, you fill in the blank.)   And yet, on the other hand… there he is, there is Jesus who slowly opens his eyes, stretches, and gets to his feet saying, “Peace! Be still!”  What a contrast!  Here we are with our profound needs and their matching anxieties and there he is with an infinite power only matched by the depths of his love that is far deeper than any turbulent sea.  Where do you need Jesus to speak his peace into your life today?  What raging storm would he silence for you?  And accepting his peace, you and I are both reminded and invited to help others find it.  Whom do you know who is facing a storm today?  Jesus is in our boat (actually we’re in his, but that is another message) and he really does not mind us waking him.  He truly does care!  Have a great week.