By Kim Thoday
The most important part of any sea going vessel is its navigation system. It’s also helpful if the boat doesn’t leak. Whether in contemporary times or in days of old, a ship needs to be sea worthy and to have means of navigation. Ancient mariners used the stars to chart a course. Later came the compass. Now ships are equipped with special computers that use satellite systems.
The image of a boat or ship at sea has been a very meaningful one as a representation of the Christian Church since the earliest days of Christian origins. One of the very early depictions of Christian experience is the famous story of Jesus and the disciples in a small fishing boat, caught in a catastrophic storm, on Lake Galilee. By the time the story had become part of the Gospel of Mark, many Christians had already suffered martyrdom, and now the Roman forces had destroyed Jerusalem. For Christians at this time the story offered meaning and hope amidst the violent storms of persecution, dislocation and disorientation.
The story of the little ship of the Church is a powerful metaphor for all generations of Christians in the turbulent seas of life. We can make our vessel as water tight as possible with strategies and safeguards, but unless we have a compass how can we navigate the storms that threaten to swamp us?
The living Lord Jesus continues to be the compass by which we need to navigate. The Gospel stories about Jesus of Nazareth are still the stars by which we proceed. The communal worship of God, through Jesus, is still our satellite system of destiny.
Blessings in Jesus’ name,
KIM THODAY, Hewett Community Church of Christ, South Australia
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