“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:37-41 ESV).
This has been a wild week. First an earthquake and now we’re expecting a hurricane named “Irene.”
We didn’t always name our hurricanes. Before 1950 they were just known by the area they damaged and the year they hit, as in the “1821 Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane.” The hurricane naming system we have today began in 1979, and runs alphabetically through male and female names starting with a name beginning with the letter A, such as Arlene.
So, the name “Irene” shows that earlier storms have already taken place in 2011. But this is the first hurricane force storm to head our way this year. And according to the news, this one could be really dangerous from the coast of North Carolina all the way to New York.
I suppose that those selecting names like “Irene” were more concerned for the first letter than the meaning. The name Irene is derived from the Greek word εἰρήνη (eiréné) meaning “peace.”
When Jesus calmed the storm in the Gospel of Mark, He named that storm “Irene” too. He said, “Peace (eiréné)! Be still!”
I’m praying that the Lord calms this “Irene” as well.