He is about a bond of love that cannot be broken, even by the most vicious storms of human experience. Water also is the symbol of the bond Christ has made with us, refreshing, renewing, redeeming. Christ's presence with us, in the unsettled, turbulent, chaotic, that is what shakes us from understandings that are still too small or blase about God, and leave us awe-struck, frightened that what we thought was enough, is blown away by the reality of God with us, in the storms and the calm. It was calm, serene, a perfect night for a cruise on the lake. They set off from shore and immediately, Jesus falls asleep.
Storms blow in quickly on the Sea of Galilee.
The winds are funnelled down through the hills that surround the lake, churning up the waters and created white capped waves. Jesus is sleeping. The disciples sail on, and the storm starts working on them. All worked up, fear gets the better of them. They're in over their heads.