TUESDAY, May 18

Matthew 8:18-27. Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.

When I was called to be rector of a certain parish, I found a congregation split into factions, and parish life that could best be described as "a stormy sea." Several years later, as I left that parish, a very dear lady gave a stained glass window in thanksgiving for my ministry there. She chose as the theme of that beautiful window, "Christ Stilling the Storm."

How appropriate, for the calm that had come to that parish was Jesus' work, not mine. I had simply diverted their attention from their feuds and fusses and focused it on our Savior who says to all such storms, "Hush, be still!"

Those words can ring in any life which is opened to his voice. Lives that are torn apart with anxiety about tomorrow--rat-race lives worn out before their time, due to a frantic chasing after superficial values--and lives that are looking, terrified, into the face of death. All these can know the miracle of calm.

Just listen...and trust...that voice which says with such authority and such love, "Hush! Be still!" Do not wonder what sort of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him. (1981)

PRAY for the Diocese of Connor (Armagh, Ireland)

Ps 97, 99, [100] * 94, [95]; 1 Samuel 16:1-13a; Ephesians 3:14-21

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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May 18, 2010 at 8:17 am

Written by Steve Doutt,

I am struck by the words, "...the miracle of calm."

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May 18, 2010 at 8:25 am

Written by Mike Patterson,

We face many travails in our life -- and plenty of them are created by ourselves! If we stay focused on Christ, we won't be stirring up the stormy seas.

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May 18, 2010 at 9:57 am

Written by Duane,

I believe we sometimes create the stormy seas while in search of the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to take more time to listen to the power of the Holy Spirit and love those around us.

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May 18, 2010 at 7:22 pm

Written by Andrew,

The passage about Jesus calming the storm has always been one of my favourites and taken in context with the other readings today we are left with a picture of a God who sees and hears everything in all our lives. In the passage from 1Samuel we see how he knows even what we do not about our inner most thoughts and feelings and what we are capable of. The devotion is a fitting example of God being aware of our talents and using them to calm storms, big or small, in the same way Jesus does in Matthew 8. To quote another "dear lady" from my home church "God is good, and He knows what He's doing"

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May 19, 2010 at 12:13 am

Written by Sheri Christi,

When I worked in india I met a man named Sai Baba who could do REAL miracles comparable to those described here. By western stanadard he is an antiChrist, but by eastern standards he is a Hindu avatar (with 10 - 30 million followers in the world today.) What manner of men are they? How do they differ? The most significant difference of teaching concerns free-will, eternal life and the nature of God. Hinduism (in general) teaches no free will, no eternal soul and God with no lasting qualities, but all the miracles of Jesus put us right in touch with the fullness of life and goodness of God. The miracle of calm refreshes us and strengthens us in peace to connect with our souls and build a better world.

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