Calming the Storm

Twelve teenage to adult men and one teacher are on a ship in the middle of a large lake. The teacher has had an especially long day at work, teaching to others who do not know as much as he does. The twelve men follow their teacher through night and day, soaking up his presence and listening to every word he says.

The teacher is very good at telling stories, and so he teaches the ones who listen with stories of life and reality, instead of the fantasies the listeners would think they would hear. The teacher and the men have been outside all day, teaching to women, men, and children atop a mountainside. The sun was on their backs all day, sweat dripping through their robes and down into the grass below them.

The thirteen men borrowed a boat after the teacher finished his lesson and sermon to the people. They were near a large lake and had a house on the other side, so instead of walking all the way back to the other side, they used a fisherman's boat. The boat was fairly large, with enough space to walk around for the men and their teacher. The teacher went below deck to sleep, for it was late at night when they borrowed the boat.

The twelve men stayed awake, thinking deeply about their lessons that day and dwelling on the wise words of their teacher. They were very fond of their teacher, making sure to ask questions when they did not understand and to tell other people about the great works that their teacher made.

There were other boats in the lake as well, full of the people who had listened to the teacher and his lesson. Mothers, husbands, children, and all in the like piled into a great many boats just to sail next to the teacher and his students. These people knew that there was something special about the teacher; something that was more special than any of them had inside of their humanly bodies.

That night, after the stars came out, they were covered up. A gigantic, furious storm appeared out of nowhere. The students were fearful; they thought that they were going to drown. Lightning struck and thunder roared through the sky, rain pouring down hard with hail to accompany it.

The people in the boats next to the teacher and his students were fearful as well. Many thoughts raced through their minds, but probably the thought that they were to die.

A wave rushed over the boat of the teacher, drenching the students and the top of the deck. The water sunk into the boards of the wooden boat, darkening them against the already pitch black, cloudy sky.

The students became more and more fearful, peace far from their minds. They ran to the stern of the ship, where their teacher lay asleep on soft cushions over the hard floor. They shook him, trying to awaken him from his slumber. The teacher woke, sitting up as the boat rocked against the waves. The students panicked with a fury, talking at once about the dangers of the outside and that they were going to die.

"Teacher!" One of the students yelled. He made his way to the front, standing in front of his teacher. "Do you not care if we drown in this storm?" His eyes darted with a great panic, looking from his teacher and all around the bottom of the ship, where they stood. All twelve students and their teacher were in the lower stern, and all but the teacher was scared.

The teacher stood up from his makeshift bed, walking to the top deck of the ship. He outstretched his hand in front of him, closing his eyes and looking up to the sky. "Quiet! And be still once more!" The teacher yelled; his hands still held out to face the Heavens.

As soon as the command left his lips, the storm ceased. The clouds rolled back to reveal a cloudless sky full of stars. The waves slowed and diminished to ripples in the lake, gently rocking the boat back and forth. The students stood in awe, watching as their teacher controlled the wind and the rain. The other people who had listened also saw this miracle, and they stood in awe and wonder as well from their boats.

The teacher turned to face his students, looking at each of them calmly and peacefully. "Why are you so afraid?" the teacher asked. "Do you still have no faith in Me?"

The students shook their heads, amazement filling their minds and hearts. They were terrified of the man before them, his miracle leaving an indention deep within their souls. The students turned to each other, whispering and speaking quietly to the ones next to them.

"Who is this?!" they asked. "Even the winds and the waves obey him!" They knew that this man, their teacher and friend, was above them and more powerful than them. They feared him, they loved him. They worshipped him and they followed him in all of his footsteps.

Mark 4: 35-41

"35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, 'Let us go over to the other side.' 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?'

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'

41 They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'"

Eventually, a long while after the events of the teacher calming the storm, a student betrayed his teacher. He sold him to the church leaders for twenty small pieces of silver, a payment that would forever change the world.

The teacher who held out his hands to calm a storm had his hands and body forced upon a large cross. He had a sign hung above his head that read: King of the Jews. He had a crown of thorns pushed upon his head, staining his hair with crimson blood. He lifted his head to the Heavens one last time, and with an anguished cry, he left the world, only to return as a conqueror and true king three days after.