Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?

Christ Commanding the Sea, 16th century fresco; Dionysiou Monastery, Mt. Athos

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along int he boat as He was.  And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

 

- Mark 4:35-41 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."  And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.   

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along int he boat as He was.  And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"   On this passage my study Bible has several different observations.  The first is regarding the Lord's mastery over creation:  it's another sign of Christ's divinity and His identity as Messiah.  Commands to the wind and the sea could only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  On the other hand, Jesus was asleep because, as human being, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used as an illustration of the Church.  My study Bible adds that God both permits storms and also delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm also serves as illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

Why would God leave us to go through difficulties, fears, and tribulations?  Why, indeed, would Jesus deliberately lead the disciples through this frightening storm as they crossed over the Sea of Galilee?  My study Bible says that Christ deliberately permits this windstorm to arise while He sleeps in order to perfect the disciples' faith and rebuke their weaknesses -- so that they would eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  My study Bible further points out that in today's reading the disciples' faith is still mixed with unbelief:  they showed faith when they came to Jesus, but unbelief when they said, "Do You not care that we are perishing?"   Many of us might be tempted to ask God the same question when we go through difficulties in life, especially when we can't discern God's response for us to any of our troubles and the pain we are experiencing.   There are all kinds of fears and tribulations that life can bring to us.   The Scriptures do not shy away from illustrating the human experience of fear or despair:  In Psalm 39 we read this plea:  "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not Your peace at my tears! For I am Your passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers. Spare me, that I may find the place of refreshment before I depart and am no more!"   In Psalm 44, we read what might be the words of the disciples, "Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise, and do not cast us off forever!"  It seems that we are not spared from all of these experiences of what it is to be a human being; even on our faith journey, we will experience the reality of terror and fear and dread.  This is part of our inheritance of an imperfect world.  And so, we have to ask ourselves why this is so.  Why would Christ coming into our world not simply set it aright, banish death and sins, bring us back to life in the Garden?  I would venture to guess that we are called to a higher purpose than that, that human beings, in our capacity for "God-likeness" are meant to thoroughly experience the reality of our world and its problems, and in so doing call upon faith to transcend and transform, to become a part of that force for change that is our call back to God in the gospel of the Kingdom.  It's not about fixing the world or setting it aright or making it perfect; rather, we are invited in to the beauty of faith, the goodness of the Kingdom, the truth of Christ who is with us even though He may seem to be sleeping.  For despite our fears and despair and dread, God is with us in the form of love.  And although our prayers may seem delayed in their answer, oftentimes our response is subtle, may go without noticing, but is reassurance nonetheless that God listens, hears, and offers not perfection in some worldly sense, but rather a different answer, a peace, a capacity for faith that shores up assurance and confidence, lets fall away the things that will fall, but also teaches us what will endure.  For life is about finding what's real and releasing the false hopes of what isn't.  In today's story, the disciples travel across the Sea of Galilee, where they will find a strange scene of demonic influence, something entirely alien to what they know.  But they will also discover a mission and the power of Christ to set aright and heal and redeem with new purpose.  They will find their calling and the new life to which He leads them.  So may it also be with us.