Mark 6:45-56 (NIV)

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷ Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴ As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Reflection:

In this passage, Jesus is not with the disciples in the boat, but shows up to help them.He notices their struggles and comes to them, walking on a lake.It’s an incredible way Jesus comes to the disciples, but this is always the way God comes to us… incredible.Incredible, not just because of how, but because it is God choosing to come to us. Not leaving us to wonder or struggle on our own, He speaks powerfully over us, “Take courage!It is I.Don’t be afraid.”

Response:

The next wind storm pushing against our hearts can become another incredible encounter with Jesus. Let’s pray that we would hear the Lord’s voice powerfully over any storm or struggle that we face.Let’s also praise and thank the Lord for who He is and the incredible love He has for us.He comes and not only brings the peace and power of His presence, but in His power and authority, silences the storm.

Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, editorial cartoonist for The Economist and UMBC artist-in-residence, was featured on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show last week (interview begins 19 minutes in). KAL discussed his coverage of the 2012 presidential election, the power of caricature and global importance of freedom of expression, and his own career trajectory as a cartoonist.

At UMBC KAL advises student bloggers in their coverage of current events and politics on USDemocrazy.

When asked to chronicle her life since college, illustrator Monica Gallagher did so in the way that meant most to her: in comic book form.
Check out her essay from the Winter 2012 issue of UMBC Magazine:

 
A designer, illustrator and comicker living in Baltimore, Gallagher graduated magna cum laude from UMBC in 2001 with a degree in visual arts, emphasis on animation. While at UMBC she learned Japanese, traveled to Greece with the ancient studies department, fainted in a yoga class, participated in film festivals, worked in the photo cage, stayed up way too late in the computer lab, got hit in the head with a volleyball, and has many, many other awesome memories.
 

When asked to chronicle her life since college, illustrator Monica Gallagher did so in the way that meant most to her: in comic book form.

Check out her essay from the Winter 2012 issue of UMBC Magazine:

A designer, illustrator and comicker living in Baltimore, Gallagher graduated magna cum laude from UMBC in 2001 with a degree in visual arts, emphasis on animation. While at UMBC she learned Japanese, traveled to Greece with the ancient studies department, fainted in a yoga class, participated in film festivals, worked in the photo cage, stayed up way too late in the computer lab, got hit in the head with a volleyball, and has many, many other awesome memories.

The UMBC Blackboard server will be down for two hours of maintenance from 7 - 9 am Wednesday, March 21. DoIT staff will be installing necessary patches and updates during this time.

We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconveniences that this down time may cause.