Mark 4:36a, 37-38
“Leaving the crowd behind, they took [Jesus] along, just as he was, in the boat…A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’”

Matthew 26:36, 39-40
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’…Going a little further, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.’  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  ‘Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?’”

Psalm 121:3-4
“He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Saving God, with eternal vigilance you care for your people.

Gripped by fear, we desperately try to preserve our lives and feel you are absent.  Lulled by indifference, we abandon you when you are fighting for our souls.

Give us faith to rest in the storm.  Give us fortitude to stay attentive to your calling through the dark watches of the night.

We ask this in the name of Christ, who was strong enough to sleep in death so that we might wake with him to eternal life.

Listen to ‘Hiding Place’ by Matthew Monticcio, featuring Brooke Annibale