21st June 2015 – Pentecost 4

Passage for the week: Mark 4:35-41

‘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?’

I think in this passage the bit that hits me is this question, addressed to Jesus – ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’. It always strikes me as a little unfair. After all, they could have woken Jesus at any point before the point of danger – when the wind first started to rise, or when the water started to come in the boat initially. Or they could have been chatting to him and he wouldn’t have been asleep. But they leave it to the last possible minute – and then blame him for not being awake sooner.

It’s always easier to blame someone else when bad things happen, or when relationships go wrong. Sometimes it is all down to the other person. Sometimes things just go wrong. That’s life. But often it’s a two way things. We need to learn to take responsibility for our own actions, not blame others. And we need to put time and effort into maintaining relationships. Yes, God does come when you call him. But he doesn’t come where he’s not invited. It is good to speak to him, to build a relationship with him in ordinary times, before we hit times of crisis. That way he is with you in the storm, rather than helicoptered in at the last minute.