Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” Matthew 8: 23-27

“It was late October 1991. The crew of the fishing boat Andrea Fail, out of Massachusetts, had taken the vessel five hundred miles out into the Atlantic. A cold front moving along the Canadian border sent a strong disturbance through New England. At the same time a large high-pressure system was building over the maritime provinces of southeastern Canada. This intensified the incoming low-pressure system, producing what locals called the “Halloween Nor’easter”. A dying hurricane Grace delivered immeasurable tropical energy to create the perfect storm. Ferocious winds and huge waves reduced the Andrea Gail to matchwood. Only light debris was ever found.

Those of us who study and write about Jesus find ourselves at the mercy of our own perfect storm. The very mention of Jesus raises all kinds of winds and cyclones today.” (“The Perfect Storm”, Simply Jesus,  N. T. Wright, p. 13)

When we first begin to take Jesus seriously in our lives, we may feel as if we are in the “perfect storm”. I remember feeling this way when I first enrolled in Seminary. Every week, just before lunch on Wednesday, all of the activities on campus stopped for a service of Word and Sacrament. I remember sitting there the first few weeks thinking to myself “It is Wednesday and I am sitting in a church service.” – as if I had never been to church before. What was happening, as I determine looking back upon it today, is Jesus was disturbing my norm. The winds of the Holy Spirit were blowing in and through my normalcy, creating waves and low-pressure systems that put me in uncomfortable places. But why? I had always gone to church. I was involved in ways many others were not. What I was soon to discover is the storm that threatens all of us when Jesus disturbs our normalcy – the storm of complacency. Jesus is not just a Sunday experience. We are to be wrestling and swimming among his words, teachings, and commands every day. But for many who think of themselves as Christians, Jesus is a Sunday storm – the rest of the week is for the rest of living life. But when we take Jesus seriously, then the real battle begins – for we soon realize that each and every day, life is plowing forward like a boat in a storm, and we are just hanging on a lifeline hoping to stay afloat and not drown. For many people, like me, that is why I need to take Jesus seriously in my life – for Jesus is my lifeline.

Pastor Dave