I see that Sue Lawley is about to give up her Desert  Island place in favour of Kirsty Young.  The Brummie will give way to the Scot  with the seductive tones.  Kirsty will be the second woman to host this long  running programme and the fourth presenter in succession to Roy Plomley,  Michael Parkinson and Sue Lawley.

What a marvellous programme it is, I have  listened to it for decades and always find it to be one of the best possible  programmes on the wireless.  Eight gramophone records, one luxury and one book,  putting aside the Bible and Shakespeare, which are already on the island.  What  a genteel start to the broadcast - "My castaway this week is Ö.."   But what  would happen if the Bible wasn't on the island and you could only choose one  verse, or one story from Scripture to sustain you in your hours of loneliness  what would that be?

Although I deeply love the story of the  walk to Emmaus - I think that for a desert island I might well choose the story of Jesus stilling the storm, which would  bring enormous comfort during the hurricane season - that wonderful story has  always been one of my favourites.  I think that one of my least favourite  verses from the Bible comes in Revelation when John, in describing heaven says  - "and there was no more sea" (21:1).  How horrible!   Each summer I can't wait  until it's warm enough to have a dip in the sea - as a child, I was brought up  by the sea, I absolutely adore the sea and I simply cannot image a heaven  without it.

Yet, St. John the Divine in writing down  his vision had a particular reason for saying - "and the sea was no more".  When thinking about Jesus stilling the storm we need to bear in mind that  within a long strand of Old Testament tradition, the sea was especially  associated with evil powers.  God had to combat many forces of chaos to  separate the land from the sea.  The primal battle between God and evil is well  documented in the psalms and the prophets, especially those dating from  periods when Israel was passing through storms of war, invasion and  persecution.  So, the sea remained the place of evil associations and the abode  of demons.  Probably, this is why in the healing of the Gadarene demoniac, the  demons when transferred to the swine end up there, in the sea, in their proper  place.

The Gospel story of Jesus stilling the storm on the  Sea of Galilee, has offered Christians assurance that the struggle with chaos  and evil continue, yet God is always silently beside us. Tertullian, an Early  Church Father who wrote against heresy at the turn of the 2nd century on  Baptism, offers these comforting words:

"The little ship offers us a figure of the Church,  for she is tossed by the sea, that is, the world; and by the waves, that is,  persecutions and temptations; with the Lord patiently sleeping, as it were,  until awakened by the prayers of the saints, he checks the world and restores  tranquillity to his own." 

The image of the storm has  not lost its power to express chaos and danger.  The storm miracles have  strengthened countless millions of Christians and churches, through  breakdowns, schism, illness, loss, betrayals and bereavements.  There can  hardly be one of us who cannot immediately identify with the frightened  disciples, losing faith in face of fear and chaos, sinking in panic, then  gathered up and rescued by a loving Lord.

Through the waters of our baptism God continues to  fight the chaos and battles of our Christian lives with us.  Christ is in our  baptism and we are in Christ.  We are marked with the sign of his love and  nothing will take that away.  The rescue comes when we emerge from the waters  from time to time to stare at the stars, then we are immersed again in the  chaos and evil of the world where Christ also immersed.
St Augustine of Hippo  wrote a lovely prayer, which sums up our Christian journey through the chaos  of life and the tempestuous turmoil of faith:

"Blessed are all thy saints, O God and King, who  have travelled over the tempestuous sea of this mortal life, and have made the  harbour of peace and felicity.  Watch over us who are still in our dangerous  voyage; and remember those who lie exposed to the rough storms of trouble and  temptation.  Frail is our vessel, and the ocean is wide; but as in thy mercy  thou hast set our course, so steer the vessel of our life toward the  everlasting shore of peace, and bring us at last to the quiet haven of our  heartís desire, where thou, O God, art blessed, and livest and reignest for  ever and ever. Amen."

Every Blessing,

FATHER DAVID