We have four Sundays this year between the end of Epiphany and the start of Lent, and these help us to set the scene for Lent. So we're nearly there, for the forty days that lead up to Easter. It is a very challenging time, a time to cut through the outer wrapping of our faith, to get below the words which we say so easily and the things that we so often do without thinking.

Today, 23rd February, 2nd Sunday before Lent, we hear of the storm that blows up as Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee. The boat fills with water and the disciples wake Jesus from his sleep, for fear they are going to drown.

Jesus, as we know, calms the wind and the raging waves, and the disciples look at him in astonishment. ‘Where is your faith?’, he asks.

A good question, appropriate for us to ask ourselves as we appoach this season of self-reflection before the great feast of Easter.