Imagine yourself with Jesus, in a boat on the sea, as a sudden storm fills the other passengers with fear.
When the priest read this Gospel story in Mark 4, Marlena Graves didn’t see herself as the terrified disciples, lacking faith. She wasn’t Jesus, peacefully sleeping through the danger. She wasn’t the wind or the waves. According to Graves, “I was the boat! And then it occurred to me that, like Jesus’ mother, Mary, I, too, am a God bearer.”
Journey with Graves and discover these things:
When the priest read this Gospel story in Mark 4, Marlena Graves didn’t see herself as the terrified disciples, lacking faith. She wasn’t Jesus, peacefully sleeping through the danger. She wasn’t the wind or the waves. According to Graves, “I was the boat! And then it occurred to me that, like Jesus’ mother, Mary, I, too, am a God bearer.”
Journey with Graves and discover these things:
- We are all vessels that carry Jesus as we journey throughout our lives.
- Boats are made for the water—they have a mission—and that mission always involves others.
- Jesus is not disturbed by any storms (or our reactions to them).
- Our lives, which carry Christ and the gospel, are to bring salvation to others, especially those who have been thrown overboard in life.
- There is a destination—life with God—at the heart of spiritual formation. As we bear God and go out to sea, God is also bearing us into oneness with him.
Writing with the bold urgency of a prophet and the tender heart
of a pastor, Marlena offers her readers an evocative image: You
and I are called to become little boats bearing the compassionate
presence of Christ into the uncharted waters of our bruised and
broken world. To help us respond faithfully to this calling, she
offers us navigational instructions that are accessible, practical,
and helpful for our voyage. Reading her words with my South
African eyes, I valued her constant emphasis on our Christ
following being related to personal engagement with those who
suffer around us. The generous glimpses Marlena shares of her
own voyaging experiences give her written words the ring of
deep authenticity and genuineness.
TREVOR HUDSON, pastor of the Methodist Church, South Africa
