I wonder what we would answer to the disciples question ‘ Who is this man ?’ More to the point what would we do If someone came in here and took a glass of water then turned it into wine. Turning water to wine isn’t difficult but it does normally take more than a few minutes !

So let’s look at the content of the reading :

Jesus and his close friends go out in a boat after a ’long day at the office’ as it were . well no wonder the man is tired but he’s in good hands , after all some of these guys were fishermen, they must know how to handle a boat in all weathers So there is Jesus getting a well earned rest and a gale blows up; surely still no problems seasoned sailors aboard !

Now I don’t know which of us has been at sea in rough weather , it can be quite unsettling . Me and Anne on one of the cruises we went on ( yes remember those things called holidays) and we only got down Southampton Water into the channel before things got hairy . Glasses in cabins breaking , shows cancelled because of the swell – but you trust the trained sailors to get you where you’re going , just as Jesus is doing .

The crew panic , we’re sinking they say! So they go and wake the one person not yet involved in saving the boat –Jesus but he wasn’t a sailor he was a carpenter as I recall. Anyway up he gets sees their panic and proceeds to calm the storm . So what do they say : Thank you ? No they say ‘ who is this man ? I mean really ! so far they have seen him turn water into wine at Cana , heal all sorts of people along the way and still they ask who is he ? It’s no wonder that Jesus says to them ‘ Hey guys where is your faith ?’ why the panic?.

I can remember several times when I have come back from Ireland to Holyhead after a week’s business and then a choppy late night crossing how all I wanted to do was to get to my hotel for the night. This of course is Jesus and so we shouldn’t be surprised at what he does.

Jesus’s day gets worse having had a very rough crossing to get where he is finds himself immediately confronted by this man with demons . They know who he is ( the arch enemy!)

He tells the demons to go and strangely they just do that .

So what about us in the here and now of Amington , Tamworth and the places we conduct our lives in? We do live in a world where people are made uneasy by the things they can’t explain – If science can’t prove it then it can’t be happening ! But speaking as a scientist by profession that just isn’t so !

I can think of several times when the unexpected has happened against all logic in my own life and it can be unsettling.

What matters is how we respond to the illogical , un-provable and wonderful things that God does for us as we journey along the rutted path of life.

Are we like the disciples in trouble doubting who Jesus is , what God can do for us ? or do we have more faith than that; can we take all life throws at us and still say ‘It’s Ok Jesus will carry me through.

How we do this and indeed what we do depends on how much we feel safe in our faith. The demons knew they were no match for Jesus – they knew who he was as soon as they saw him but the guys who were travelling with him were still asking ‘ who are you?’ A bit like the Pharisees and the crowds – those who knew the scriptures and should have known who he was ( the Pharisees ) didn’t but the crowds of ordinary folk , who didn’t,came to see and to listen to him .

I wonder which camp we find ourselves in.

Friends whatever the world does we have a friend who stands beside us . he won’t let us drown . He won’t let the demands of the modern world cause us to despair ,( although in the last two years that could’ve been easier than ever before.)

Are we going to trust Jesus for our future ?

We’re on a journey and the sea will almost certainly be rough at times but let’s remember who we are travelling with . Jesus

It’s not only about us though is it, we are asked by God to spread the word to those who find life scary .

So the question is will we reach out to those who are lost ( as we say in the church family prayer ) will we show them that we have a Skipper on board called Jesus who can calm the fiercest storms .

To Quote Hebrews ch 6 V19 “ we have this hope as an anchor of the soul , both sure and steadfast “ So let’s put out trust in the skipper and help him to become real to others

Who is Jesus to You ? will he be saying to you – where’s your faith ? or will you trust him to bring you through ? My hope is that it is the latter but We each have that question to answer and not just the once but often