Today is Tuesday 2 July, in the 13th week of Ordinary Time. Salt of the Sound sings, ‘It Is Well With My Soul’. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well with my soul My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious thought My sin, not in part but the whole Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul It is well with my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 8:23-27 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’ Jesus’s reaction in this story is hard to understand. He doesn’t seem that bothered about the storm raging on the sea. But he’s really surprised by the terror and panic of his friends. How come they don’t see that they are totally safe with him around? We could see the sea as a symbol of the chaos out of which God creates the world, the disorder the world often reverts to. How do you react to the little chaoses that come into your life? Do you tend to panic like the disciples? Put up defences? Resign yourself to the inevitable? Or do you put all your trust in the Lord? Gently reflect on this with grace… Look back over the past few weeks to a time and a place where the storm was raging about you. Recall that moment, your reactions, your feelings…. Now imagine yourself in that situation which threatened you, as you listen to the reading again. Jesus is there with you this time. Tell him, “Lord, save me, I am going down.” Listen to what he says, see what he does. Do you feel drawn to the Lord in this prayer? Do you feel attracted to a life of gentle faith in a God who will not let you be lost? You might want to speak to Him, hand over some of your worries and insecurities. And give Jesus thanks for all he is to you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.