One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.

~Luke 8:22–24

Lake Season

I have always lived in places with hot summers. As a high schooler, I spent my weekends at Lake Texoma at a family friend’s place. As an adult, my in-laws lived on Lake Belton where we would enjoy fireworks reflecting off the water on 4th of July holidays. When I moved to Austin, I was glad to cool off in Lady Bird Lake (well, it was Town Lake then) in a boat or kayak. When it is hot, it helps to get in the water.

First-century Palestine was warm too. There are many stories of Jesus in or near the Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Gennesaret). I learned that the Hebrew word for “big body of water” is often translated “sea” from Rev. Jerry Jay Smith’s potluck presentation last week. Fun fact, indeed.

While Jesus never complains about being sweaty in our Biblical witness, we can imagine he got warm if we believe his humanity. The story of Jesus calming the storm shows both his humanity and divinity. As the story begins, he is asleep, resting as people must. As the story continues, the earth’s winds and waters listen to his voice as only God could command. In this story we see a Jesus who is both lofty and lowly, macro and micro, cosmic and close. His humanity is grounded and his divinity is grand. After this story, Jesus saves a demon-possessed man and heals the sick, then sending his disciples out to do the same.

Many wonderful things happened in God’s story when Jesus was on or near a lake – the calling of the disciples, feeding of the 5,000, walking on water, and serving post-resurrection breakfast, just to name a few. This August, spend your Sunday mornings with us in worship where we’ll be telling Jesus’ lake stories in the cool air conditioning! Your humanity needs AC and church is also a place where you can feel closer to the divine. It’s a win-win.

This summer we will share these lake stories because, after all, it's hot! And when it's hot, water stories just feel right. No need to pack a bag or rent a house, come as you are to hear stories about who Jesus is and what God invites us to learn on the lakeshore.