The dark clouds roll out like a carpet for the thunder that follows as smoke preceeds the magician; the audience is thrilled and yet altogether frightened. Something spectacular is going to happen, not because some cheesy flyer told them so, but because they can feel it in the air.
Their faith is going to be tested...they're not going to believe their eyes...they're going to be amazed!!! Always that promise of amazement, never a promise of pleasure. But they all want their faith to be tested, don't they? They all want to be shocked, to see this ordinary man with an extraordinary gift perform the impossible. As the smoke sweeps eerily across the stage and wraps itself round their seats, the audience holds their breath, wide-eyed and frozen still, and waits.
Spectacular things, indeed. At the first brazen bolt of lightning that flashes across the sky, at the first loud crack that echoes throughout the land, terror is struck in the foolish hearts of grown men. Men who spend their days toiling the field and shepherding cattle, their nights chopping wood and pounding metal and building fires. Men who kill animals with their bare hands, settle disputes with swords and spears, and teach their sons to do likewise. Men who must protect their sons as though they're the last living males on earth while living in fear of them dying of disease or else murdered under the law.
So there's a lightshow, and sound effects...is that it? And a few drops of rain...is
that it?
The men swap glances, but bite their tongues. Where
was the Captain, anyway? They'd spent half the day following him around the city, letting him tell all kinds of fantastical stories to anyone who'd listen. Stories of the supernatural...of provision and prophesy and healings and even people being raised from the dead. Some of these things he even executes himself, right there in the dusty streets. They were tired and hungry and all they wanted was a little time with him for themselves. They'd rescued him from the crowds, taken him on a relaxing fishing trip on their boat, and what did they get in return? Nothing but crappy weather and a Captain who...where
was he?
The winds begin to blow, haphazard at first and now steady as the rain comes down faster. Thunder and lightning work their magic intermittently, each one picking up just when a tease of letting up settles in.
The men clear their throats and scratch at their beards, none wanting to be the first to show signs of concern. This is not at all going the way they had planned. Sure, the boat is beginning to rock, but this is nothing impressive. What's a little wind and rain but a distraction from the real show? A real magician doesn't need perfect conditions for his tricks to work. They'll still get their show, they're sure of it. But
where was the Captain??In the time it took to wonder, the situation takes a severe turn for the worse. Rain assaults the crew with no sense of environmental order like shrapnel from the enemy's lines. A powerful squall knocks them all to their knees and with angry waves, jostles the poor boat to near overturn. Thunder rumbles, a whip of lightning brands the somber sky, and suddenly all bets are off. Fear is a wild dog scrambling round the deck, scratching and biting and howling until the men finally give in.
"How did this happen??"
"What do we do??"
"Where is the Captain??"
"This storm will take us under!!"
"Where is the Captain??!""...Over here! He's right here!"
The men all turn their heads, clinging dearly to whatever looks sturdy, and squint through sheets of cold precipitation. One of them has located the Captain, lying down and sleeping peacefully at the stern.
"Master! Master, wake up!" The man yells, shaking a resting shoulder. "Don't you care that we're about to drown??"
The Captain wakes and observes all that is going on around them. He doesn't seem the least bit worried and rises, taking firmly the frantic man's hand in his own.
"Quiet, and be still!" He says, raising his free hand to the sea. In an instant, the wind dies down and the waves are completely calm. Says the Captain to his crew, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith in me?"
A soft breeze floats by and the boat rocks gently, comfortingly. The men breathe easy again, feeling reassured and utterly foolish. They'd been safe all along and were too blinded by their own unbelief to know it. Had they not been witnesses to their Captain's power all morning long? Had they not heard of what he could do and seen it all come to pass with their own eyes? Had they not walked with him and trusted him at the risk of being laughed at and mocked and rejected? There they were, panicking in a silly storm, when the Master Magician himself had been right there with them the whole time. No frills or fraud, no bells or whistles, no unnecessary dramatization. Just resting, because he
knew. And he had everything under control.
Rest.
