Year B
Mark 4:35-41
The Rev. Denise Vaughn
Arms Extended Wide
Not too many years ago, when the Army sent families or the enlisted men and women overseas, you went by ship, not by air. When my father was sent to Europe, I was 8 years and 10 years old when we returned to the US and both going and coming back our travel was by ship. I don’t remember a lot about the trip over but the trip back to the US was a different matter. It was in March and most of what I do remember is feeling sea sick the whole trip because of the 30 foot waves we encountered on most of the 5 days it took to cross the Atlantic. So when I read this very familiar scripture story of Jesus stilling the storm on the Sea of Galilee demonstrating his divine power, I can easily recall how unsettling large waves can be.
The Sea of Galilee is a very large and shallow body of water. In Jesus day, it was about 15 miles long and eight miles wide. It was and still is notorious for its sudden and unexpected storms. Even a little wind can make at least six-foot waves. At night in a storm, there could possibly be 10 to 12 foot waves and in a small boat, this could be rather frightening. I mean, when those who fish for a living are afraid and think they are going to drown, you know it must have been bad. It does seem that every time the disciples get into a boat with Jesus it is either test time or he performs a miracle. While this miracle story is a story demonstrating his faith in God which manifests itself in divine power, it is much more. By probing deeper into its language and imagery, we discover a number of insights for us today who are taking this Pentecost journey with him.
In the Gospels of Mark and Luke, Jesus has spent a full day teaching and preaching the parables to the crowds. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has just healed Peter’s mother-in-law and many others. What we can gather from these stories is that Jesus has been very busy and was in great demand. At the end of the day, he says to the disciples, “Let us go over to the other side” which indicates more than just a change in venue. Because, the “other side” represented Gentile territory, the “country of the Gerasenes” where Jesus will later heal the demon possessed man. This would be Jesus’ first trip in Mark to what might be considered a dangerous, even inappropriate destination. Over and over in the gospels we hear Jesus proclaim the good news is for everyone. By taking his ministry into Gentile territory, we see Jesus begin to demonstrate and represent this good news for all.
That evening the text says they took him “Just as he was” which probably means he was exhausted. After all, he did fall asleep in the boat which certainly shows us his humanity. On the way to the “other side,” a great windstorm arises, we read it was so great that the waves were beating the boat and the water begins to fill the boat up. So they turn to Jesus and possibly because of the powers that he has shown in healing the sick and exorcising the demons, they cry out, teacher, do you not care that we are going to die? And, in the next moment when Jesus awakes from the pleas of fear, we hear him rebuke the wind and calm the sea. In this story we see his humanity, deity, faith, compassion and power. We see the calming, healing power that only Jesus can provide in the storms of life.
In the midst of the storms all around us, the pain of our own personal suffering and the suffering of others, we hear people of faith crying out to God, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Which one of us has not cried out to Jesus in despair? Jesus turns to us as he did to his disciples and asks us: “Why are you afraid? And “Do you not yet have faith?” And here we encounter the real meat of this story faith and fear. We Christians have been taught that faith is belief. Yet, this story today exposes this notion that faith if simply belief. Faith in Mark’s gospel means trust in God. To trust something requires acting as though it is true even in the midst of doubt. Faith requires this action because the opposite of faith is not disbelief or doubt it is paralyzing fear, the inability to move, or to act on those things that we claim to believe in the face of danger. The disciples did go to Jesus for help, they woke him up believing that he could help, yet it was their fear that showed their lack of faith? This fear represents a challenge to us also because we live in a culture of fear and fear is what eats away at our faith. Even with the proof before their eyes, the disciples lack trust and exhibit fear rather than confidence.
In the Old Testament story today, Job must confront that which he fears most and his cry to God is ours also. Job wants to know why he must suffer despite his innocence. And God does indeed answer. Job sees and hears God in creation and it is enough. He begins to realize that despite the suffering, the world rests on a secure foundation. The fear and chaos is still there, but so is God; who contains the chaos of the sea. The scriptures, especially the psalms, and the promises of God can help us deal with our fears. The truth is that fearsome things are very real, yet as we grow in faith, in trust, we come to understand that even though such fearsome things are real, they do not have the last word. They do not have ultimate power over us because reigning over this world of fearsome things is a God who is mightier than they.
Like Job, Paul, and the disciples, as Christ followers, we are challenged in the midst of the storms in our life to rediscover our trust in the power of God, in the love God has for each one of us. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians that as servants of God we must commend ourselves in every way “through afflictions, hardships, calamities…by patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God with the weapons of righteousness.” For the faithful, there is the “new creation in Christ Jesus. Despite everything, we, the Church, don’t need to be afraid at what life throws us because we are not alone in the boat. This miracle reveals the true nature of Jesus Christ; God and man, but also a God of power and compassion. Although, we believe that Jesus is God, we are to live every day like we really believe this. If we believe in a Christ who has power over the forces of nature, who rose from the dead, who is alive and in our lives, then our faith will reflect that kind of trust and vitality. The Lord of the wind and waves brought peace and calm and urged them and us to trust in God’s faithfulness.
I saw a photograph taken after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and you may remember this photograph, of a cemetery devastated by toppled trees, debris covering the ground, burial vaults broken and smashed and in the middle of this devastation, untouched by the storm, there stood a statue of the risen Christ, arms extended wide, offering a benediction of calm amid the chaos. This is the image given to us in this text: the image of Christ with arms extended wide over the chaos of our lives and our world, saying: “Peace, Be still!” “Why are you afraid? “Have you still no faith?” In Christ, there is calm, peace, courage and confidence.