June 23, 2024
The Reverend Kathleen Killian
Proper 7B/24
Job 38:1-11
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
Elemental Faith
Our gospel story takes place in the evening, after a long day. Jesus has been preaching to a crowd that included the Pharisees, his family, and disciples, speaking to them in parables about sowing and seeding, and that the kingdom of God spreads abroad from even the tiniest of seeds so that all may take shelter in its shade. At the end of the day Jesus says to his disciples, let us go across to the other side. There seems to be some urgency to his request, in that crossing the Sea of Galilee at night would be riskier than waiting to do so in the morning; and because, he is not specially equipped for the journey but gets into the boat, just as he was. To note, there were other boats also making the night crossing with him.
I wondered what might be on the other side that would compel Jesus so? In the verses following our gospel passage, Mark tells us; that as soon as Jesus steps ashore, he is rushed upon by a man living in the tombs and possessed by a legion of demons. Jesus exorcises and heals the Gerasene demoniac, after which the townsfolk implore Jesus to leave for fear of the miracle he had done. So Jesus sails back to the other side, to be met by the desperation of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, and the chaotic grief of a household in which a little girl has died. Jesus restores both the woman and the girl to new life.
When Jesus goes across to the other side, he crosses boundaries to people and places thought to be beyond reach; as to Jesus no place is a tomb, and no person is abandoned to death, and nothing will keep him from the other side.
But let’s get back in the boat with Jesus who has fallen asleep. No sooner, though, did the gentle lapping of the waves turn into a great or mega storm (megas) that began to swamp the boat. Some of the disciples were experienced fisherman and well used to the unpredictable weather of the Galilean sea, but they quickly reached the limits of their expertise and can’t manage the heaving boat and crashing waves, let alone their faith. When the panicked disciples shake a sleeping Jesus awake, they are rather accusatory, saying: don’t you care that we are perishing?! Jesus answers them by commanding the storm—Peace! Be still! The winds and waves cease to churn and the great chaos becomes a great calm—except for the disciples who were calmed at Jesus’ command; rather, as the Greek renders, they were afraid with great fear.
I can imagine that in that moment the disciples flashed upon Psalm 107, in which a perilous storm at sea was calmed by the Lord at the distressed cries of the ship’s crew; or the story of Job in which God rebukes Job—gird up your loins man—reminding him that the earth and the mighty seas are subject to God’s command because God made them. Perhaps they might have thought of the great flood and Noah’s ark or the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus.
This storm, however, their storm, was no scripture on a scroll or parable to be pondered. It was a real life or death situation. Yet neither was the storm only an existential threat to be thwarted. This storm is apocalyptic in scope, meaning it is prophetic and revelatory of who Jesus is, and the world changing, even unwelcome ramifications that come such a disclosure. The disciples are left not only with deep fear but deep questions: Who is this? Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey? Who is this in the boat with us?
The first century world in which St. Mark lived and wrote was indeed chaotic, fearful for the early followers of Jesus. With the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE), the cultural and religious center of their world no longer held. Identities among Jewish groups and Jewish Christians or Jewish Gentiles were changing and at risk. Indeed, who is this in the boat with us? When Jesus overcomes the storm and commands healing and liberation—Peace! Be still!—he answers their question not only for the sake of his disciples in the boat at that time, but for the sake of all of the other boats at sea and for the life of the world; as Jesus tells us in the gospel of John (16:33): have courage; I have overcome the world!
All of us in the nave of the church are in the same boat with all of humanity; all of us going across to the other side, just as we are: some possessing everything, some having nothing, some with hearts wide open, some with fists clenched tight. We navigate the same powerful, fearful waters that churn in our texts. In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks to the hardships of a life of faith and service to God, and that we are sustained through them by the Christ’s saving love. Grace is indeed given yet to be accomplished—we row across to the other side with oars of faith—and are not to accept the grace of God in vain but work together for the good of all. As baptized Christians, we have vowed and committed to exercise dynamic trust in God and participate in the world at a level deeper than fear. So as St. Paul exhorts, let us open wide our hearts, and see, that now is the day of salvation!
Lastly, what caught my attention and is important to note is that Jesus doesn’t say to us, his disciples in the boat, “fear not” or “ don’t be afraid”, as he so often does; rather he asks, why are you afraid? to which no answer is given. Implicit in the silence is that they/we are afraid because of little or no faith, to which Jesus then gives voice: have you no faith? It’s as if Jesus is saying, miracles don’t produce faith; it’s the other way around; faith proceeds miracles of hope, trust, and possibility of new life in God. From faith, even the size of a mustard seed, the kingdom of God can grow so mightily within as to spread outward and abroad that all are provided shelter.
So we must ask: Has the seed God sowed in you ripened or has it failed to bear a miracle? Have we faith that is conscious and responsible, not blind and subservient? And, indeed, who is this in the boat with us?
There will always be another storm, and another prayer for another miracle. But see, now is the day of salvation! So when we come forward for communion, let us open wide our hands and our hearts and receive the miracle of God’s mercy and love, which never fails to help us and guide us to where we are bound: home to safe harbor.