Mark 4:35-41 Silencing the Storm June 20, 2021 Father's Day
I have to address the bank comments that Dave made last week. I loved it. I followed in my mom's footsteps. She was a banker for over 50 years. A little longer than you Dave. Manager of two branches and taught the Teller Training School for Bank of America in Salinas, CA. I was in banking for 25 years. I too have been in the BofA tower in San Francisco. It is truly an amazing place, but my favorite story of the visit is from the Security Seminar that I attended there. I do not remember the name of the Head of Security for the bank, but he was quite a character. He told us the story of a bank robber who went into one of the branches. The guy got up to the teller window and passed the teller a note. He was immediately arrested. He wanted to know why he was arrested so quickly. "Well," the police officer said, "when you get in line with a mask on it gives us time to get here and arrest you."
OK, here we go.
Jesus had been preaching to a large crowd from a boat all day on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He is tired and wants to rest. He asks his disciples to take them in the boat to the other side of the lake. He falls asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat and an extraordinarily strong storm comes up. The Disciples are terrified, and they wake up Jesus and ask Him if he is going to do something about the storm. He tells the storm very sternly, "Peace! Be Still!" Immediately the wind stops, and the sea is calm. Then He looks at the disciples and says, "Where is your faith?"
There is a lot of symbolism in this story in the book of Mark. There is the boat, and other boats on the water with theirs, the water of the lake, the extraordinarily strong wind of the storm. He is asleep on a cushion and his strong rebuke of the storm after the disciples wake him up.
The boat. One of my favorite sayings is, "We are all in the same boat together." It can be a situation at work, or in the family, or in our city, state, or country. In
the last year, a one-hundred-year event on our planet. Covid 19. We have all been facing this pandemic together. How many times have you faced a problem with others? How many times by yourself? Have you had the faith that God will get us through this? Have you asked for his help?
When I was looking at the commentaries for this section of Mark, I was surprised to find a fact that I had never thought of or considered. When you look at a traditional church building; between the Narthex, near the opening of the church, to the transepts where the kneeling rails are, is the section called the Nave of the church. It's where the congregation sits. We are in the Nave together right now. The word Nave comes from the Latin 'navis' or ship. The Nave of a church resembles a boat. Like Jesus and the disciples. "We are all in this boat together." The symbol of the boat was adopted in the early years of Christianity.
Jesus had been in the boat most of the day preaching to a large crowd on the shore. He needed rest. He asks his disciples to take them to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and he falls asleep in the stern of the boat. There are other boats with the one Jesus and the disciples are in.
We are surrounded by people who are going through storms in their lives. Their storm may be different than the one we are going through, but it's still a storm.
The water. The Sea of Galilee is 680 feet below sea level. It is surrounded by hills which means it is like a bowl of water. The wind coming down the hillsides stirs up the sea like stirring a bowl of water.
When someone does that it takes a few minutes for the water to stop moving around, but Jesus tells the wind and the water "Peace! Be Still!" The wind stops and the sea becomes calm immediately. The disciples wonder "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" They have been His disciples for a while now. Where is their faith?
The wind. Storms can be strong, but especially on the water. I grew up on the Pacific Ocean where it is always windy. One of my favorite pictures is of Erin standing on the beach in Carmel looking out to sea and her braids are straight out behind her from the blowing wind. I lived on Crete in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with my first husband who was in the Air Force. The winds off the Sahara Desert are extremely strong and come across the Mediterranean Sea
with nothing in the way to slow them down. I attended a baseball game on the Air Station during one of these windstorms and when I took my sunglasses off red dust covered my face except around my eyes. We got a good laugh out of that one. Racoon was one of the descriptive words used.
I lived in Michigan where they get the lake affect snows off the Great lakes. The winds blow across the lakes and pick up moisture. You can just imagine the depth of the snow. All the houses in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have second story doors so they can leave the house during the Winter. No stairs to the doors needed, you just step out on snow that is as deep as the first story of the house. Bill and I lived in Charleston, South Carolina where the big blows happen. That is what they call the hurricanes. We moved there 6 months after Hurricane Hugo. As we drove through a pine forest to our new home every tree we saw had been snapped in half by the wind. Very scary.
The wind that Jesus and the disciples are experiencing is coming down the hillsides that surround the Sea of Galilee which is 680 feet below sea level. Anyone who has lived in Southern California knows the Santa Ana winds. The wind comes down the mountain canyons during the Summers. If there is any kind of fire...well, you can just imagine.
The storm that Jesus and the disciples are experiencing is extraordinarily strong. Have you experienced this type of storm? A storm in your life that you wonder if you are going to get through? Divorce? Homelessness? The loss of your parents, of a spouse or loss of a child? What questions did you ask the Lord? Have you been able to keep the faith?
The cushion. I wondered about the significance of the cushion Jesus is sleeping on. How many times have we heard or read this passage in our lifetimes? This is the first time I noticed the cushion? A cushion is such a simple thing, or is it? We sit on them. We lean against them. We sleep on them. Our animals sleep on them. I looked in several commentaries wondering about that silly cushion. I found it in one place. The commentary talked about the cushion making the story personal. A sign of the story being a first-person account. We all relate to a cushion. We all know what a cushion is. It makes us comfortable to know that this storm was witnessed by the disciples especially when we are told that Jesus is sleeping on a cushion.
Finally, Jesus strong rebuke to the wind and the waves of the sea. Jesus said, "Peace! Be Still!" and the wind and waves immediately stopped. Jesus was showing that he is the one in charge. Of us, of all life whether plant or animal on this earth, the wind and the water. The universe. He is in charge of everything. We must have Faith and Trust in the Lord.
That no matter what happens in our lives or how devastating, if we turn to God and ask for his help, he is there with us.
My grandma Bustamante died in the Spanish Flu Pandemic in 1918. 103 years ago. We probably know of someone or even a family member that has been lost to the pandemic. Some of us have even been sick. We have been locked down and isolated from each other. We have learned how to use ZOOM or video messaging which for some of us is not an easy matter. Bill and I watched Sunday Services virtually from the Cathedral in Spokane like a lot of you. I have even been doing virtual appointments with our doctor in Sandpoint.
The good thing is we have been reaching out more to family and friends. I know Bill and I did. Bill even did virtual teaching with his students along with staff meetings. I found myself watching less TV and looking out the window because I hated being inside all the time. We saw families going for walks. Mom and Dad and the kids. Some with the family dog on a leash walking right along with everyone else. Before Covid it might have been one or two people taking a walk.
Parents have gotten closer to each other and their families. Can you just imagine families eating at the table again, or the parents teaching their children because they couldn't go to school?
I'm pretty sure there have been a lot of forts built with blankets over chairs, or cookies baked. Our daughter Erin has seen her kids putting Legos together, finger painting, face painting and in general doing things together.
Now most of us have been vaccinated against Covid and we are finally starting to see our churches, schools, and cities open again. We have come through one of the hardest times of our lives. A 100-year storm.
Have faith no matter what storm you may be in. Remember that you are not alone. Pray and ask God for answers, but do not expect an immediate answer. Be patient. Everything is in God's time. Know that God is with you and will answer you and keep you safe and well. I have done a lot of virtual phone calls with my cousin Ernie who is 92 years young. Cousin Ernie says, "God is good. Keep the faith."