Gospel in Art - Even the wind and the sea obey him

The Promised Land, by Joel Rea, © Joel Rea, all rights reserved

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 29th Jan 2022 - Mark 4:35-41

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, 'Let us cross over to the other side.' And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, 'Master, do you not care? We are going down!' And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Quiet now! Be calm!' And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, 'Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?' They were filled with awe and said to one another, 'Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.'

Reflection on the Painting

What is the worst storm you have experienced? For some of us it might be hard to answer, as we all have our fair share of storms that at the time threatened to destroy our stability and security. Some storms are indeed bigger than others, but they all have shaped us. Our Gospel reading today tells us that storms don't worry Jesus. The disciples were very worried, but Jesus wasn't.

Amidst our personal storms this Gospel reading can at first even suggest that Jesus is so calm and asleep that He doesn't care or doesn't get up and do something when we are in trouble. Does Jesus even realise the storm I am in? What our reading today tells us is that Jesus is as much in control when he is asleep as when He is awake. Whether he is awake, asleep, close, at a distance, He is in control at all times and we are safe with Him. The storms may go on around us, and it may seem that Jesus is asleep, but yet He is there for us, and always in control.

This sense of relaxing into our faith and into the knowledge that Jesus is always there with us amongst any storms is beautifully conveyed in our painting by Australian artist Joel Rea. A man (a self portrait of the artist) is quietly drawing onto a notepad, in front of huge, threatening waves. There is also danger in the foreground with two sharks swimming close by. We don't know if the tigers are a threatening presence or actually have befriended the man. This hyper-realist work is exquisitely painted. The man in our painting is at peace, even though threats are surrounding him… It is that same peace to which Jesus is inviting us today, knowing that we are loved by Him and that He always remains close to us… we just have to be willing to step into that boat with Him and His disciples.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1068
Christian Art - www.christian.art