Lent - Day 2: Peace, Be Still

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat,

So that it was nearly swamped.

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

The disciples woke Him and said to Him,

“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Mark 4:37-38

The painting above, Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn.  The Dutch seventeenth-century artist who loved to paint stories from the Bible – over 60 in all were based on biblical themes.  It is said that Rembrandt regarded the Bible as a personal diary, filled with connections to his personal life.

In Rembrandt’s canvas, the seas are wild and the sky is black.  At the front of the boat are several terrified disciples, struggling against the storm, trying to save them all.  At the back of the boat are the rest of the disciples staring at Jesus, willing Him to save them. If you look closely, you will see a young man in the back of the boat (light bluish robe), clutching a rope and staring, not at Jesus, but out at you – the observer.  It is Rembrandt:  he has painted himself into the experience at the point just before Jesus stands up and calms the storm.   

As I write, an ice storm is expected to take over my portion of the world tonight, just days after a severe ice storm shut off my power for 48 hours. I am endeavoring to mentally place myself right next to Jesus and know His comfort and peace as we face the tempest together.    

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will:

Peace, be still.

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey Thy will:

Peace, be still; peace, be still

They all shall sweetly obey Thy will:

Peace, peace, be still.

-Master, the Tempest is Raging