Postscript: In at the deep end
Comments, prayers, questions and discussion on the week's news.
Reflection
I am writing this week’s PostScript sitting in a yacht in Horta harbour, in the Azores, having just spent 51 days at sea sailing from Mexico. So, this week’s Gospel story from Matthew 14.22-33 has many resonances with our life over the last few weeks. Like Peter, we had to take a leap of faith to sail a small boat across the deep blue ocean, and like him we could not achieve it on our own!
Remember that this incident happens just after Jesus hears the awful news of John the Baptist’s murder (Matthew 14.1-12). We are told that Jesus withdrew by boat to a private and solitary place (Matthew 14.13) – a reaction we may be familiar with when something terrible happens. We just need time alone to get our heads around it. Or perhaps we reach out to others for comfort and reassurance, a shoulder to cry on, someone else to help us make sense of it all. Maybe Jesus was seeking time alone with his Father, to check in with him. Which of these reactions – reaching out, and turning in – do you normally have when life is stormy? Are both important to help us weather the storm?
As the disciples are trying to sail their boat through rough waters, Jesus is again up the mountain, trying to have some quiet time alone – something many of us will have struggled to find in these last few months. How do you make space for reflection and prayer at the moment? Can you protect some quiet ‘me time’ each day?
I really feel for the disciples, who are experiencing the worst kind of sea, with the wind against them and the short, choppy waves this often produces. Sailing like this is noisy and uncomfortable, as the boat bashes against the waves; and it can be scary if the waves are steep or the boat is small. It can make it very hard to reach your destination; at times on our long passage we wondered if we would ever arrive! I drew on my trust in our strong boat and the encouragement of our family and friends to have faith that all will be well – as well as my faith in God. What helps you to hold on to hope when it seems that the wind is too much against you?
Out in the vast deep blue, miles from land, we are faced with the reality that life is beyond our control. How do we find the courage to continue after a world pandemic like Covid, or a man-made disaster like the terrible explosion in Beirut this week? Sometimes all we can do is take a leap of faith. But then maybe, like Peter, we panic when we find ourselves in at the deep end! As sailors, we can call on the RNLI to come to our aid; as Christians we can call on God, and each other. Who do you turn to when you need rescuing? How can you encourage each other to hold on to hope and keep faith, when you find yourselves in at the deep end?
Interactive prayer
- Fill a large bowl with water. Perhaps you have a toy boat to float on it, or can make a paper one.
- Use your hand to stir up the water – pray for those facing terrible times, for everyone tossed in stormy waters. Ask for any courage you need to weather the storms in your own life.
- Blow on the water to make waves – pray for those feeling they are making no headway at the moment. Ask for any help you need to hold on to hope when the wind seems against you.
- Walk your fingers across the water and think of Peter’s leap of faith – pray for anyone jumping in at the deep end at the moment, perhaps facing a challenge, or a change in daily life. Ask for any faith you need to take the plunge when you are called to do so, or reach out for help when you need it.
Jane Chevous is a writer, educator and activist who lives on a sailing yacht and often jumps in at the deep end, trying to stand up and speak out for truth and justice. Share her writing at www.barefoot-tales.uk and activism at www.survivorsvoices.org
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