Power Over Chaos – Mark 4:35-41

A text – Mark 4:35-41

4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
4:36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.
4:37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
4:38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
4:39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
4:40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
4:41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

A reflection:

Jesus and his disciples were often in the midst of crowds, people who came seeking to learn from him and to be healed by him. What must that have been like? Many of the crowds came when they were out in the countryside, where crowds could assemble without the Roman officials getting too worried about it, and, frankly, where there was enough elbow room for a crowd to gather and stay. But the disciples probably never really knew what was coming that night – would they be camping out there, or would they be in a city or back in Capernaum? In this story, Jesus tells the disciples he wants to go across the water to the other side. Jesus’s group pulls away from the crowded shore, where people were assembled on land as well as in other boats. The disciples begin rowing their boat toward the other side.

Several of these disciples had been fishermen, so they knew how to handle boats. But if a sudden windstorm arises, all boat people know that the wind and the waves can be unpredictable. A storm can take the life of anyone, even a seasoned professional. The boat was filling up with water from the waves crashing over it. Picture it happening.  Jesus is asleep in the stern. The disciples are bailing and probably shouting, maybe in an organized way, but probably panicking. They were the guardians of this amazing man and his ministry, they were humbled and grateful to have been chosen to follow him, and now, suddenly, thanks to nature’s chaos, they were all about to be swept into the sea.

They awaken their master and ask him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” That question could be asked and has been asked of God millions of times, even by us. We are dying, here, don’t you see it, God? Don’t you care? Help us! A teenager being bullied, a mom with a breast cancer diagnosis, a family in a tornado, a couple whose car is wrecked by a drunk driver crashing into them – Lord, we are perishing! Help us! The disciples have seen Jesus change illness into health and water into wine. What about the chaos of nature?

Jesus awakens and rebukes the wind, and he tells the sea. “Peace. Be still.” And it is. I am sure there was a long uninterrupted moment of silence. Then they ask one another in great awe, “Who is this, then, that even the wind and sea obey him?” Only God can tame a storm. They know this. Only God. In this moment, in a becalmed sea, if they had ever had any doubts about Jesus, now they know. The father Jesus often refers to is God, the Creator of the Universe, a being much more powerful, much less understandable and familiar than even a great human being. This man Jesus, his father is God, ruler of the entire universe, to whom they have prayed since they were little. Jesus is the Son of God.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the stories of Jesus and his disciples that you have made certain to pass along the generations so that we can know them now. Thank you for revealing yourself to these disciples in so many ways, so they could know you and we can know you, too. Help us to remember that you, the compassionate Jesus, who felt human life and danger and suffering as we do, also can rebuke the wind and still the waters. You are the Son of God.  Amen.