Storms may come, but he is still in the boat…
June 23, 2024
Scriptures: Mark 4:35-41 in narrative form…
Exhausted…there was no other word for it…I imagine that Jesus was just worn out by the end of every day from the constant push and pull demands of the crowds that followed after him everyday. So many had shown up, seeking to hear from, or perhaps even to be touched by this man of God who had gained a wide reputation for miraculous healings and powerful teachings. Indeed, Jesus took time for each one who sought him…listening to them and healing them, giving many a fresh start at life. All the while keeping up his constant effort to teach them the good news…to explain to them that God was in truth a God of mercy and love…that the God they worshiped was one who had heard their cries, and was in fact the Promised One who had come to set them free in so many ways.
But at this point, on yet another evening following a full day of ministering to all who had come, Jesus needed a rest. Still in the boat from which he had been teaching for most of the day, he turned to his disciples and said, ‘Come, let us go across to the other side…let us leave these crowds for today.’ So they shoved off out onto the lake and began the long row across to the other side. For his part, Jesus moved to the front of the boat, to the small sheltered area under the bow, and laid down where he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
As they pushed out into deeper water, leaving the shoreline far off in the distance, the setting sun was replaced by ominous black clouds that seemed to crop up out of nowhere. Straining harder against the oars the disciples grew concerned as the wind picked up and began to push the waves against them, their progress now slowed significantly by the increasing momentum of the gathering storm.
They were used to sudden weather changes on the large lake however and thought they could muscle their way through it and make it safely to the other side. As they pulled harder on the oars, the storm itself seemed to sense their efforts, and redoubled its fury, whipping the waves into a frothy frenzy and sending water cascading over the sides, quickly filling the boat past the point at which they would be able to bail it out in time. The boat began to list to one side, as though submitting to the storm’s will, and the disciples feared that they were in serious danger of going down.
Jesus however, was still fast asleep in the front of the boat, sheltered and secure in the only dry spot on the small little craft…seemingly oblivious to the dangerous predicament they all seemed to be in. The disciples also seemed to have forgotten their passenger as well in the sudden onrush of the storm. All of a sudden they remembered who it was that was sleeping in the bow of the boat, and they rushed over to him, roughly waking him out of his slumber and accusing him of not caring about their plight. ‘Do you not care that we may all perish out here?’ they shouted above the wind’s howl. ‘Can’t you do something to help us get through this storm, the boat is already swamped!’
Now fully awake, Jesus leaned out from under the shelter of the bow and then stood up in the surge and strain of the storm. He looked out at the howling wind and said simply, ‘Be still! Then turning his attention to the waves that were now splashing over the sides of the boat he commanded, ‘Be calm!’
Immediately, the wind ceased altogether, and the waves settled out into small little ripples barely making a splash against the now waterlogged little boat. Then turning his attention to the disciples, now in awe of what they had just witnessed, he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid…do you have so little faith…do you not trust in me?’ None of them seemed to have an answer…they were all still in shock at the sudden change in their fortune…all they could do was wonder at the incredible power of Jesus’ words…at his ability to speak and control even the wind and the waves. For as yet, they did not fully understand who he was…they did not really know that his power was in fact, the loving power of God offered on their behalf.
As they bailed out the boat and began once again to row across to the far side of the lake they could only wonder… marveling that yet again this man of God had done something so miraculous, so extraordinary…and so unexpected. Filled with awe…and no small measure of gratitude they could only look at one another…quite unsure of whom Jesus was, but very, very comforted that he was in their boat on a night such as this…this is the gospel of our Lord…amen
*****
What a story…what an amazing day those disciples had witnessed…from seeing Jesus work amongst them all day long, doing the most incredible things, making such profound differences in the lives of all those he touched, setting them free from demons and struggles that had plagued them all their life…and then to see him hurry to their aid in a most unexpected way, rescuing them from certain peril out there in the midst of the greatest storm they had ever wrestled against…truly it was a day like none other…
I think that this story has much to offer to us as well. Even just at face value it is a fascinating look at the disciples, as well as at the grace and care of our Lord Jesus. But I think there are deeper levels here, other parallels to our own lives…other ways that this little story can speak into our own lives and bring us into a place of awe and wonder, and maybe even a place of comfort as well.
To start with, I am sure that there is no one here who has not weathered more than a few serious storms in their life…no one here who hasn’t felt the wind pick up, and the waves grow in intensity until they are spilling over into our fragile little boats…filling them up to a point of possibly capsizing. Sometimes, they are great howling storms of misfortune, winds battering against our strongest resolve…wave after wave seemingly beating against our last strength and resolve…and at other times long dreary days of cold and drizzling rain that never seems to let up, seeping all the way through into our bones, until we begin to lose hope that the sun will ever shine brightly once again. Both of which can lead us to a place where we too cry out…‘Lord, don’t you care, can’t you do something about this storm, are you really there?’
And sometimes…like those disciples that evening, we too may feel the sense of peace that Jesus is indeed close at hand…that he is already in our boat, even tho’ we too forgot for a minute that he was up there in the front. And in those times, we know that the storm is really no match for this one who loves us, and so we find the strength to wait and watch, to see how and when those storm clouds will flee and the waves will subside. Yes, sometimes our efforts do seem to rouse him and he hurries to our aid in a most amazing way…
…at other times however, we may not sense his presence at all, and find ourselves wondering if he really cares about our little waterlogged boats…forgetting, that the only way Jesus could ever sleep in our presence is because he already knows our needs, and already knows that no matter the size or strength of the storm, he has us covered. Jesus can remain at peace in the very midst of our storms, because they are not really storms to him. Rather they are opportunities in which he can continue to watch over and care for us…even from the sheltered bow of our own little boat.
Yes my friends, even in the midst of the most serious storms in our lives, he is already in the boat…already there. And even on those days when the drip drip of constant rain and bitter winds challenge our resolve, he is there. Even when he may seem far away, we only need to call out in the midst of the storm and peace will come…and the worst of the storm will subside…allowing us to begin to bail out the boat now so filled with water.
But why does Jesus even allow us to be tested this way, and sometimes so severely? Why does life have to be filled with such trials, and why is it that some folks seem to suffer so deeply while others seem to get off easy? A while back, I was speaking with a friend who had had a particularly tough stretch for six months or so. He had always been a solid, good, honest person…a good husband, devoted father, and a successful businessman. But recent events in his life always seemed to be a struggle…misfortune seemed to dog his every step. He shared with me that ‘Lately, if it is not bad news…it is not really good news!’
And then he asked me if I knew why. Why was it that he couldn’t catch a break, why, after being good, honest, and hard working all his life, he had to endure struggle after struggle…challenge after challenge. Indeed, his own ‘faith boat’ was seriously swamped…and he did not know where to turn.
I listened to him as he recounted tale after tale of misfortune and prayed inwardly that I would have some words of comfort to offer. When he was done I could only say two things…first, that ‘life can be tough at times…really tough’, and second, that ‘our Lord never said he would make our lives easier, but rather that he would always be there beside us’.
My friend heard what I was trying to share, and realized that he too still had so much to be thankful for….that his life could have been so much worse…that the blessings which followed him, whenever he stopped to remember them, were just as significant, if not more so than the trials he was struggling with.
Still not yet done however, and still frustrated, he said to me, ‘But David, I see so many others…people who are not good people, people who do wrong and yet seem to be content and happy-go-lucky…not having a care in the world…it just seems unfair that I can’t catch a break…I do not feel I deserve all the trouble that has been hounding me’.
Again the storm’s winds were gaining in intensity, and he was feeling overwhelmed. I said to him, ‘You know, they may seem like they don’t have a care in the world, but in the end…’, and he finished my sentence, ‘In the end it’s what’s on the inside that counts’, ‘Yes, I agreed…it’s what’s on the inside that counts’.
Even from a place of being centered in Jesus’ care…even in a place of having a deep faith and making a conscious effort to follow Christ…storms will still come. The winds will begin to pick up, and the waves will build up, and our boats will feel way beyond the point of being in our control. We will be tested, we will look around and wonder why it seems as though we are the only ones with such problems…and we will wonder why it seems that our own particular storm is so much worse than the ones others have to endure.
And…and, we will forget that Jesus is up there sleeping in the front of our boat, up there at the very point of the storm’s fury…there where the howl of the wind and the spray of the waves is the strongest. And we may also forget the blessings that so continually shower our lives…forget that it could be so much worse…forget that Jesus’ care for us not only meets our needs, at the right time, and in the right way…but…that like it or not, storms come and go.
As followers of Jesus…storms will come and storms will go…and the worst of them always seem to have a reason…we can learn something from each one we encounter. For you see, Jesus…the one who watches over us at all times…even from the bow of our own little boats, allows those storms to come against us, Jesus allows trials to enter into our lives. And in each of those times of testing…those times when we feel totally swamped and just moments away from going down, we need to remember that Jesus is still in the boat. And although we may not understand the reasons why our trials seem so difficult, and though we may feel like we do not deserve such a tough row out on the lake…Jesus has a reason.
For Jesus is always and constantly teaching us, always preparing us to be ready for our walk in the faith. Like young seedlings that are put outside in the cold and wind each day in spring for just a few hours, Jesus too is ‘hardening us off’, making us ready and better equipped to deal not only with future storms, but able to reach out to help others in similar storms in their lives. We endure the trials we endure in order to be strengthened and prepared to love more deeply…to prepare us to love from a place of true compassion and understanding…because we have been there before. The way we deal with and struggle through our own storms will help us to find and to comfort others in theirs.
Jesus knows our storms…and he knows the limits of our endurance. He hears our rising panic and hurries to our aid when our boat lists far to one side…and then…then he asks us to be there for others…in calming each of our storms, he is teaching us how to help calm the storms of others…
So, is your boat already swamped…does all seem lost…does the end seem near? Don’t forget that Jesus is still there…up there in the front of the boat…
…and remember as well, to be ever mindful of your own blessings…those blessings that so fill your life…
…and then give thanks for the grace-filled way he hurries to your aid, even in the midst of the worst of it…
…and finally…return the favor whenever the opportunity presents itself…
…amen
