I remember feeling a bit of “pilgrimage envy” when Father
Martin described standing in one spot from where he could see “all the places
in which Jesus lived and worked.” What
an amazing moment that must have been for him and for anyone who has ever stood
there. This geographical detail also
reminds us of how local the life and ministry of Jesus was. Bethlehem ,
for instance, is just seven miles from Jerusalem . The richness of Jesus: a Pilgrimage consists of these little but
so very significant details, which place the Lord Jesus in a context, a context
which continues to amplify his words and deeds.
As chapter 13 progresses, Father Martin reflects on the
storm at sea, with Jesus asleep in the boat.
Being in the midst of a tempest, worried that Jesus is sleeping on us,
is an experience we can all relate to.
Father Martin writes,
One of the most common struggles in the spiritual life is
a feeling of God’s absence during painful times. Even some of the saints report this. Why is this so common? Perhaps because when we are struggling, we tend
to focus on the area of pain. It’s
natural, but it makes it more difficult to see where God might be at work in
other places, where God is not asleep (p. 231).
I must admit, during those times in my life when I have
experienced “The Silence of God,” I have often failed to consider that while
God may not seem to be acting in the places where I would like him to act,
perhaps that is so because there are other places where he is, in fact,
acting. And I wonder if my frustration
with God, my anxiety and my fear have blinded me to the places in my life where God
is indeed active, and very much awake……
To ponder and discuss:
1. One of the most powerful lines in the story of the storm at sea describes the disciples' reaction. The Greek is ephobethesan phobon megan: "They feared a great fear." God's power can overwhelm and awe. Has it ever frightened you?
2. Why do you think Peter asks Jesus if he can walk on water.
3. Have you ever felt as if God were "asleep" in your life during a stormy time? What, if anything, showed you that God was with you?
Steven Olson
God wake up! After a year and a half of home studies, letters of reference, immigration preparations, etc., the social worker sent our adoption papers to the wrong agency! Do we try to retrieve them and have to wait who knows how long to correct this or just go with this mistake? We go with the mistake, and a beautiful baby girl is born and referred to us at three weeks of age -- she is our beautiful 37 year old daughter! God wake up! How can my husband be losing his job when we are waiting to adopt another child. Have to put everything on hold until another job comes through. Definitely don't want to leave New Jersey which is near our family, but we travel to Connecticut, Ohio, Iowa, California for job interviews, while God is asleep. A job comes through back in New Jersey, restart the adoption process, and our infant son comes into our life. During all that time we were traveling around the country for job interviews, our son had not been born yet -- both times, while I thought God was sleeping, he was preparing these two most precious gifts for me and my husband. Several years ago, there was a movie out called "While You Were Sleeping" -- while, I thought God was sleeping, there was a lot of activity going on, for He never stops working in our lives, even if it takes years to bring us out of the storm. Of course, as my relationship with God has developed, I can see what He was trying to accomplish 30+ years ago during each of those incidents, but at the time of those storms, we were trying to figure out all of the course corrections which were needed -- thank God, we left most of it in His hands!
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