Years ago we were travelling back from France on a cross channel ferry. There was a Force 9 gale blowing, and all the passengers were suffering. I vividly remember a woman sat on the floor of a corridor with a look on her face that was a mixture of serenity and resignation. It was as though she had given up and had surrendered her fate to the gods. At the same time, I am sure there were many who were praying. 

Each year as the church fete day approaches someone cheerfully reminds me that I am in charge of the weather. The idea that God is willing to intervene in the laws of nature and change weather patterns to suit the faithful is a very very old belief. The roots of many an ancient religion were in the hope that a nature god could be won over in return for gifts and incantations. Not so long ago, when we were experiencing a severe drought, we were all asked to pray. 

The vast majority of believers would claim that God is able to do as he pleases, and that he is in control of everything. When prayers are not answered as we had hoped, we console ourselves with the thought that God knows better. Into these popular, ancient and urgent beliefs steps Jesus. 

In this week’s Gospel reading from Mark 4 Jesus is with his disciples in a boat on a lake in a storm. The scene is set for a classic age old prayer for God to intervene in the weather. The prayer takes the form of the disciples saying to Jesus “Don’t you care if we drown?”. We might be tempted to say that Jesus’ part in the event is typical of many people’s experience of God – he is present, but asleep. The Gospel story becomes memorable because Jesus commands the wind and the waves, and they obey him. If only he hadn’t! Without his intervention life would be more straightforward. We wouldn’t be praying for the ending of droughts or for good weather for the church fete. And, after all, we do note that according to Jesus his intervention wasn’t necessary. But because of such incidents we continue to pray for God to intervene in nature. When our prayers are answered, we praise God. When they are not, we console ourselves with the well-worn wisdom that ‘God knows better’. In this way we show that nothing has changed since the dawn of time. 

I have left myself very little space to say something different. But, how about this prayer: Lord, when the next storm hits my boat, I ask for a miracle. May I see your mighty power at work in the way I see my faith rise to the occasion, calm my fears, and help me survive. In this way, Lord, may the miracle be seen in your authority not so much over the weather, but over me. 

Amen.