How many times have you heard people complain “I only want a peaceful life?” We enjoy prolonged moments, when our needs are met, day after day. The disciples were silenced with awe, asking in their hearts, 'What manner of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?' Jesus rebuked the storm saying 'Peace, be still' and immediately it stilled. Was he aware, did he not care? They woke him, as it would seem the storm didn't. The Captain of the disciples was asleep at the stern or back of the boat. He looked happy and this was of immense comfort to me. I was on the verge of this myself only that I could see the captain driving the vessel. Every few second we hit another wave and got a splashing. I had to hold the bench on which I sat, otherwise I could have been thrown overboard. Some of our group lay on the floor of the boat holding on to the beams. We had only left the shore by about 500m when we started to feel the effects of the wind and the waves. On the second day, still no ferry! It was suggested that we might risk going across on the mail boat, which rarely gets cancelled. We did not go on the 1.5 mile crossing on the intended day because the ferry was cancelled due to the choppy sea. I remember vividly in 2004 when a small church group booked to go to Caldey Island to visit the monks. To be in the position of the disciples, some of whom were hardened fishermen, all of this typically came about with minimal warning. On a typically warm day, the sun bears down on this low level lake, the warm air rises and cooler air from the hills can rush in suddenly causing an almighty storm on this lake. To the East are hills notably the South East an elevation which looks quite mountainous from the lake. Tiberius has the lowest altitude for a lake, other than the Dead Sea, being over 200m below sea level. This is a little larger than Loch Lomond in Scotland but smaller than the freshwater lake of Loch Neigh in Northern Ireland. It is also referred to as the lake of Gennesaret or Sea of Galilee. The passage directs us to the Lake of Tiberius, which is about 22 miles long and has a maximum width of 8 miles. I know that when the winds start to rise, the water often becomes quite choppy. I do not know if any of you have spent a holiday on or near the Norfolk broads. When we think of lakes in Britain, we may imagine some of our local stretches of water which are only a few metres long and wide. Jesus had asked the disciples to take him across on a boat to the other side of the lake. “Master, do you not care that we are perishing?”
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