When I was in high school, my dad, grandpa, and I went on a salmon fishing trip over to Lake Michigan. Now, as a Minnesotan, I grew up spending many hours on boats every summer without ever having a problem. But, when we got on the water for the first night of fishing, we ended up getting caught in a large thunderstorm when we were about a mile offshore. I’m sure it wasn’t quite this bad, but to me, it felt like the boat was rocking so aggressively to each side that it really seemed like we were going to tip over. I got incredibly seasick, and it got worse every time I went into the cabin of the boat, so I sat outside on the deck, getting drenched as the wind, waves, and rain kept soaking me. My dad and grandpa kept trying to get me to come inside, but I could only just sit there, looking miserable as the water kept coming. Now, as excited as I was to catch a salmon the next day when we went out, I’m sorry to say that, because of the storms, this was not my favorite of our father-daughter fishing trips! So, I understand at least a little bit how the disciples were feeling in today’s story!
Our Gospel is set on the Sea of Galilee, as Jesus and the disciples finish their teaching on one side and are making their way across to the other. Despite the fact that the Sea is smaller than Lake Washington, I can imagine that it wouldn’t have been so fun to be rowing the boat through a massive windstorm. As Jesus is trying to get some rest after all of his teaching, the disciples wake him up and cry out “Teacher, doesn’t it matter to you that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4: 38). Yet, I always find it interesting that they are so stunned once Jesus calms the wind because why did they wake him up and demand that he care if they didn’t think he could do anything to fix their problem. If I was Jesus, I’d want to keep sleeping too!
Jesus has an interesting response here when he replies “Why were you so frightened? Have you no faith?” (Mark 4: 40). Yet, I think it’s incredibly understandable that the disciples would be doubting and struggling in the midst of what feels like to them a life-threatening experience. Their boat is filling with water, the opposite of what a boat is supposed to be doing, and who knows if any of them even know how to swim. Perhaps Jesus was just feeling a little grumpy after being woken up from his nap. Because, this story is often pitched as one about the lack of faith on the part of the disciples, but I think if we only look at that piece, we actually miss a really important detail in this Gospel of Mark. I don’t think this story is about the disciple’s reaction to the storm, but about how Jesus responds to his disciples fear and anxiety surrounding what they’re experiencing.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ identity is often kept a secret. Whenever Jesus performs a miracle or the disciples begin to realize who Jesus actually is, he always reminds those gathered not to tell anybody about what they have seen and experienced. So, it makes a lot of sense today that Jesus’ identity as the Son of God isn’t spoken aloud but is instead shown through his actions. Because, when Jesus calms the storm, he does so by speaking to the wind and the sea. It is through his voice that he is able to control the forces of nature.
Naturally, the disciples are amazed, confused, and afraid because the only other person in the entirety of our Scripture that is able to control creation with their voice is God. This Gospel reading is meant to recall the story of Genesis when the wind moved over the waters and God spoke creation into existence. If only God can control creation with speech, then perhaps there is something special about this Jesus guy after all. The disciples aren’t yet sure about everything that Jesus can and will do, but they do realize that not everyone can control a storm. They wanted Jesus to do something, but I don’t think they were expecting this.
Despite his comments, Jesus still acknowledges the fear of the disciples and puts their anxiety at ease by calming the storm. He could have told them to have more faith and let the storm continue to rage around them, but that isn’t who Jesus is. The reality is that storms will happen in life. Things will go wrong, there will be times that we are afraid or have doubts, there will be challenges that seem too big and too daunting to face. Our problems aren’t fixed with a snap of God’s fingers, but today’s story also shows us that Christ enters into the midst of those fears and worries with us. The storms of life may not come to a dead calm like they do in this story, but we can still trust that God will remain present through the storms with us.
Just as I don’t think Jesus was sleeping today because he didn’t care about the disciples and what happens to them, but in addition to showing Jesus’ divinity through his control of nature, this reading also shows his humanity in his need to rest. It shows the disciples that despite all the miraculous things that Jesus can do, he is also still a person who needs to eat, sleep, and rest after teaching to crowds of people all day. And, it’s a reminder for us that God isn’t always going to do everything that we want the second that we want it too, as frustrating as that might be. But God does still care about the storms that we are going through.
Now, my fishing story ended with a beautiful salmon that my dad woke up me to catch the next morning after I spent most of our time on the water sleeping. But when I look back on that trip, I don’t really remember catching the salmon. I am, however, incredibly grateful that my dad woke me up to catch it though because he passed up his opportunity to catch a salmon in order to let me be the one to reel it in. I do, however, remember being soaked and freezing, getting incredibly seasick, and sleeping on the side of the boat because sleeping was the only thing that kept me from being seasick. I remember my dad waking me up at 4 A.M. to go back out on the water, giving me more seasickness medicine and assuring me that it wouldn’t be so bad that second day. Somehow, I think it was actually worse that second day. So, while I don’t know that I would take that trip again…sorry, Dad… I’m glad I went. That experience and today’s Gospel are reminders that life isn’t always going to be smooth sailing. But, when it all feels like it is spiraling out of control, we can take a moment to breath, to feel the wind, and remember the words that Jesus spoke “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4: 39b).
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Sunday June 2nd, 2024 Worship