Information on the back of the card:

STORM ON THE SEA OF GALILEE

All the synoptic Gospels include the story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. See Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, or Luke 8:22-25. This composition by Brother Clause is iconographic in style without drawing upon any traditional patterns. Most icons are painted upon a layer of a plaster-like material called gesso. Here, the artist applied the paint directly to an untreated board, taking advantage of the grain pattern in the wood to add drama to the design.

Dark clouds race overhead. Huge waves overtop the gunwales. The boat pitches at a sickening angle. Jesus is dressed in the traditional garb of red tunic symbolic of His humanity, and blue cloak symbolic of His divinity. The Apostle Peter stands in the boat, pleading with the Lord to awaken and save them. The other Apostle huddling in his cloak and looking very frightened is John, “the disciple Jesus loved”. He is traditionally shown as a young man in iconography because tradition says he was the last Apostle to die.

We all have experienced times in our lives when we felt like Peter in this scene, pleading for help and hearing no answer. We all have experienced times when we felt like this portrait of John, overwhelmed by our worries and problems. Pray for a while with this icon, place yourself in the scene, lay your troubles at the feet of the sleeping Jesus. Then hear his words, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Our Lord Jesus Christ is God, so powerful that even the winds and waves obey Him. Yet he loves you so much that He gave His life to save you.

And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” Matthew 8:25