One of the most thought-provoking works of art that I appreciate is Rembrandt van Rijn’s Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, completed in 1633 at the age of 29. Interestingly, it was once housed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston but was stolen in 1990 by two thieves pretending to be police officers. Legal authorities never recovered the work. Rembrandt was a master of the use of light. Light penetrated his character’s faces and acted as a doorway into the soul, into a more profound meaning he wanted to convey.

In this painting, we see a striking contrast. The fierce and overpowering waves threaten to consume the scene. Yet, amidst this chaos, a small, radiant figure of Jesus stands out. His face glows, a beacon of calm and control in the midst of the storm. If one does not know the whole story, this contrast is a powerful symbol of Jesus as the master of the waves and the storm.

We witness how Job encounters the God of the Storms in today’s first reading. God speaks to Job from outside the storm and reminds his servant that he is the creator of all the elements, who can also calm the pride of all who come before his majesty. The psalmist reminds us that God’s “command raised up a storm wind which tossed its waves on high … They cried to the LORD in their distress; from their straits he rescued them. He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled.”

Saint Paul reminded us that Jesus, who calms the storm, loves us beyond the great storm of death. He also reminded the Church of Corinth that Jesus, whom we crucified, rose triumphant over the grave. His love can reach us in this life and beyond death. Death becomes the doorway to his eternal and loving presence.

Jesus entered the evening with his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee. When life seems dim, and we enter the darkness of uncertainty and doubt, trust that Jesus is with us. We trust he can calm any storm within us in his perfect time. The God who calms the elements can move our hearts to love him and encounter him in the calmness of the still, small voice.

Rembrandt’s great work may still need to be rescued and rediscovered, but its message is timeless. Jesus is not the calm center of the storm—he is the master of the storm. Every wave bows to him. If the waves can bow to his word, should not our hearts do the same?