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The Good Book Club: Day 11 The Gospel of Matthew Easter 2020

Matthew 8:14-34 14When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; 15he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. 16That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. 17This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” 18Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” 23And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. 27They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” 28When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. 33The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. 34Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.

Questions

What are you afraid of? Sit quietly and identify your fears. What would it feel like if you invited Jesus to experience them with you?

Right now, at this time and place, amid the pandemic, I am most fearful that I will be separated from my husband or children, one of them will be sick, and I will not be able to be with them.  My husband is just moving to Sacramento from Tacoma during this crazy time.  A few weeks ago, he needed to go back to Tacoma and I could not go with him.  I was terrified that while he was there, he would get the virus and I would not be able to be with him.  And even more frightening was the thought that he would die from it and I would be miles and miles away from him.  Or the other scenario was that while he was there, I would get sick here and he would not be able to come back until I was better or that I would die and never see him again.

Our life together feels precious.  I am in my late 50s and he is in his middle 60s.  It is his first marriage and my third.  I have been very embarassed by the fact that I have been married three times.  But I am getting over that quickly because our life together is so wonderful!  I have been living my whole life to be ready for this marriage – it has taken me over 26 years of previous marriage years to be mature enough to live into the beauty of our love.  And that is frightening.  Sometimes I am paralyzed by the fear that something will happen to him.  And I know that I cannot live like that.  If I do it will diminish the beauty of our life together.

So instead, I am grateful for each and every day we have together and I am letting his love for me change me, help me grow, and give me the courage to live less in fear and more in love. by Rev. Mary

Prayer Lord Jesus, calm our fears as you calmed the storm at sea. Help us to trust that you alone can see past, present, and future, and that if you are not afraid, then we need not be afraid. Give us faith in your eternal changelessness. Amen.

Crafton, Barbara Cawthorne. A Journey With Matthew: The 50 Day Bible Challenge . Forward Movement. Kindle Edition. 

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