Lord over Chaos
Readings for this week April 22 - 27
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Day 1 – Lord of All Silence
Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 16:13-20
The question that Jesus asks of his disciples – “Who do you say that I am?” – is one that all of us are asked every day. It wasn’t just a question for those first disciples, Jesus forcing them to wrestle with the truth of his identity before revealing to them the next step in their journey with him. And it wasn’t a question they were only confronted with once. Each time Jesus said or did something new, something surprising, they would no doubt be asking themselves and each other: who is this guy? It’s a question for us too, and it isn’t a ‘one off’ question either. The importance of who Jesus is resonates through us and through every day of our lives. It isn’t a question dealt with only once when we first make the choice to follow him. It’s one that comes up again and again.
Jesus is not just a miracle-working prophet, or a wiser teacher, or an exemplar of what it means to be truly human the way God always wanted us to be – though all of this is important. He is the Messiah. He is Israel’s Lord and He is intended to be the world’s Lord too, ruler of all creation, commander of the wind and waves, seeds and plants, loaves and fishes, the true human where all other humans have missed the mark. He is Lord of all, including Lord of the chaos that swirls within us and, as we will see this week, around us too. He shows us what God’s true sovereignty of all things looks like, as well as revealing the authority that was always meant to reside in, and be exercised by, true humanity.
Question to Consider
What is your understanding of the relationship between Jesus’ divinity and humanity?
Prayer
Loving Lord, there is always so much more of you to discover, so much more to experience and know; thank you for the depths of your being you share with us and the depths of love we have yet to encounter. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – When Trouble Comes Silence
Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 8:23-24
In today’s reading the disciples come up against a situation that some of them had no doubt encountered before, but that for some reason affects them very differently this time around. Many of the disciples were seasoned fishermen who had spent their working lives (and perhaps longer) sailing and fishing in these waters. They would have experienced their fair share of choppy seas, stormy weather and boats battered by the conditions. It’s not like they were in an unfamiliar environment, doing something they had never done before, and had no experience of bad weather at sea. But even experienced men like them found themselves panicking during this particular storm. Something seemingly familiar and previously untroublesome suddenly took on a new and frightening dimension. The outside world suddenly became a chaotic, scary threat.
Though the disciples are experiencing a real physical storm, we all also experience the storms of life. Even in the familiar situations and events of our lives, in the midst of things we have done many times before, crises can occur and what once seems simple, and commonplace can suddenly become unfamiliar and frightening. These times happen to us all at various times, to various degrees, in times and places both familiar and unfamiliar. What is our reaction when seemingly ‘safe’ situations turn into something unsettling or frightening? Who or what do we turn to? What do we seek or ask for in these times?
Question to Consider
What is your response when trouble comes? How has this changed over time as your relationship with God has grown and deepened?
Prayer
Father, keep me not from trouble, but from losing sight of you when trouble strikes. You are my refuge and hiding place when trouble comes. Thank you for your presence with me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – Water, Water Everywhere Silence,
Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 8:25
For a “desert people”, there is plenty of water imagery in the story of the Israelites, in their history and in their scriptures. Much of this imagery hovers in the background of this episode on the sea of Galilee. There is of course God’s control and separation of the waters at the point of creation; the escape through the parted waters of the Red Sea; the deep oceans as home to the chaotic elemental forces represented by Leviathan; and even the fateful sea journey of the reluctant prophet Jonah.
God’s power is being unleashed; His kingdom is near. God is sovereign over all of nature and is now moving to bring His rebellious creation back into a restored relationship with Him. The rebellious forces of evil that are prevalent in the world, defying God, leading people astray, seeking to destroy God’s good creation are on notice that they will not wreak havoc for much longer. The one destined to destroy them and to undo the effects of their existence is now here – and so confident is Jesus in his mastery over these forces that during a powerful storm he can sleep peacefully at the bottom of a rocking, swaying boat. The same power that created the universe is on hand to restore it. Creation will be restored; the people will be led out of slavery to freedom; the chaos of life will be stilled; and Jesus is no reluctant Jonah being thrown overboard, but the very one called to still the storm and restore things to the way they should be.
Question to Consider
Why do you think the disciples reacted the way they did? What do you think of Jesus’ rebuke of them?
Prayer
Almighty God, you are Lord of all things, great and small, near and far, quiescent and rebellious. Help me see the ways in which you enact your will in this world, as I seek to join with you in your miraculous kingdom work, in all I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – The Power of the Kingdom Silence,
Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 8:26
What do we think Jesus calming the storm would look like? These days Hollywood special effects can create huge action-packed sequences of mighty waves and ferocious winds being subdued by the powerful, thunderous, almost magical power of comic book superheroes. Would it look the same as Jesus battles the storm and beats it into submission? Maybe. But then maybe not. Jesus calms the chaos in a very lowkey way. He gets up and tells the wind and the sea to be quiet and still. And they do. That’s it. That’s all the one through whom all things were created needed to do to banish the storm. The calm, quiet Lord of the Chaos.
The power that calms the storm is the power of the very kingdom Jesus taught people about. From out of the chaos of the storm comes the awesome commanding power of the kingdom. God’s sovereign power is being revealed, God’s kingdom is at hand. It isn’t turning up in the ways that people expected, but it is very real none the less. The power of God – the power that created the heavens and the earth and that sustains the life of the universe – is now living in Jesus and acting through him. The disciples don’t just have Jesus’ theoretical explanation and promise of God’s power; they have the real experience of seeing it in action and find themselves having to integrate this reality into their lives. And the question he asks his disciples in the face of this power is a good question for us too: “Where is your faith? Do you not believe yet?”
Question to Consider
How would you answer the question Jesus asks at the end of this passage? When have you been forced to ask yourself the same question?
Prayer
Almighty God, yet again I find myself praying “I believe! Help my unbelief!” Give me faith to believe in your awesome, subtle, transforming power, in my life and the lives of all those around me. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – Who is this Guy?
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 8:27
Prior to this in the gospel, the disciples have travelled and lived with Jesus for quite a while. They’ve heard him preach to people, debate with the religious leaders, they’ve seen him heal people (including a man with leprosy, a paralyzed man, and even Peter’s mother-in-law) and spend time with people usually considered beyond the pale. They would certainly have formed a few opinions about who Jesus was and what he was aiming to do. But even after everything they have seen and heard, they still didn’t quite understand what Jesus was doing. He still had the power to shake them up and startle them out of their old ways of thinking. They still had a long way to go in their understanding of who he was and how what he was doing was changing people’s lives (including theirs).
And we are the same. However long we have been following Jesus we certainly don’t know everything, and we certainly can’t see everything that lies ahead of us. It can be very easy to develop a complacent view of Jesus and our relationship with him, thinking we know exactly what he will say to us or ask us to do, and exactly how the power of his spirit will manifest in our lives. But, as the disciples learnt, Jesus, even more so than the chaotic world around us, is full of surprises. He is in control, bringing peace out of tumult. We need to keep an open mind, prepared for anything and open to the promptings of the spirit of Jesus.
Question to Consider
How do we guard against complacency in our relationships with others? Does any of this apply to our relationship with God as well? How does Jesus keep surprising you and keep stretching your relationship with him?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me guard against complacency. Your kingdom requires more from me than just going through the motions. Give me the courage to live deliberately for your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)