Wake up Lord, wake up, we need you!
Do not sleep when we call. Wake up … Wake up!
God of heaven, you have made your home on earth.
Through Christ you showed us your face,
By your Spirit you dwell among us and are one with us.
Highest in all creation you live amongst the least.
You journey with the rejected and you welcome the weary
You invite us to drink the water of life,
to be filled with good things, and be warmed by the fire of love
And I invite you to come and dwell within me… in this place
Stretch out your hands again in power and in compassion.
Command the peace that will still my fears and renew my trust in you,
fill my heart once more with wonder and awe.
Put within me a spirit of adventure to move me beyond the immediate.
Inspire me.
Travel with me through storm and stillness,
Doubt and faith… life and death.
Remind me again and again that you are Lord of all. Amen.
Read Mark: 35 – 41
Food for Thought…
We Yorkshire folk have a saying that we use when everyone’s in the same sort of ‘pickle’ as us.
We say “we’re all in’t same boat”. When life seems a bit of a mess and a muddle and the going is tough, it helps to have someone with us who understands what we’re going through – ‘in’t same boat.
Of course, if we think about it, we know that Jesus is our sailing companion – in’t same boat as us. But sometimes he seems to be asleep – his head on a cushion. And like the disciples we shout, as we of little faith are inclined to do, with a rousing cry – “Do you not care that we are perishing?”
And above the roar of the waves, we might just discern the voice of Jesus say “Peace! Be still”.
These are difficult days, and many of us are in a bit of a pickle, though we all experience even the same problems in different ways. Some have more, or better resources at their disposal than others.
Jesus was ‘in exactly’t same boat’ as the disciples. And because Jesus is with us every step of life’s way, he’s ‘in exactly’t same boat as us’ as well – here and now.
Mark tells us that Jesus was asleep with his head on a cushion. Writers didn’t use more words than necessary when Mark’s Gospel was written – parchment was expensive, so words cost money and only words deemed necessary made it into such writings. I wonder then why Mark bothered to tell us that Jesus was asleep on a cushion – did the cushion detail matter somehow?
Thinking Space…
Find a cushion in your home and imagine Jesus resting his head on it, comfortable and asleep.
And imagine Jesus ‘in’t same boat’ as you, waiting for you to call his name, waiting for you to wake him up when you’re in a pickle
- Think of a time when you needed to know that Jesus was with you…….
Perhaps it’s now?
Active Prayer…
Hold the cushion close to you as you pray now
Wake up Lord, wake up, I need you! Do not sleep when I call.
Wake up, wake up! Come and join in with me, here and now.
When life gets tough – and it really is tough sometimes Lord,
help me to remember that you are always with me, in’t same boat, waiting for me to call on you.
Then say your words… Peace! Be still!
Calm my fears, as I remember that you’re in’t same boat as me, in whatever pickle I’m in,
or whatever muddle is happening around me.
Sometimes I feel as though I’m going to drown, overwhelmed by what’s happening.
Remind me then that you are with me.
In the storms of life, Lord God, speak your words…
Peace! Be still! Amen
Hold your chosen cushion whenever you need to call Jesus’ name and ask him to be with you, to calm the storms of your life… the ups and downs… the things that make you feel sad and sick; sinking and scared.
Perhaps when you see an ‘empty’ cushion it will remind you that God is already awake and active.
And let a cushion remind you that God will not sleep when you make your call of faith,
even just a little faith?
Ending…
You, Lord, are in our lives… Your Presence fills us… Your Presence is peace.
May Jesus’ words – Peace! Be still and the whisper of God’s wisdom, be with you today and every day
Rev. Janine Atkinson