Who is this?
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: Mark 4:35-41
Who is this? Who is Jesus? This is the question that the author of Mark is trying to help answer for us today and throughout the gospel. Through his unique way of sharing the story of Jesus he is painting a picture of who Jesus is. And isn’t that the question of each of our hearts as well? Who is this? Who is Jesus?
Today’s reading is a familiar one for many regular church goers. It’s the story of Jesus calming the sea. It is late evening on the Sea of Galilee —680 feet below sea level, surrounded by hills, and prone to sudden, violent storms. After a long day of ministry, Jesus is sleeping at the stern of a boat, sleeping soundly as his disciples steer the vessel. According to Mark, their boat is not alone. There are other boats. That was something new I noticed in our text today. It is a subtle detail but it shows that others are starting to follow Jesus too. All at once, the winds pick up, huge waves hit the boat, and the disciples (remember they are seasoned fishermen), fear for their lives.
They wake up the still-sleeping Jesus: "Teacher, don't you care that we are drowning?" It’s a good question; but it’s also an accusation. “Jesus, this is not the way things were supposed to go! You told us to get into this boat, and now we’re in serious trouble. We followed you. We trusted you. Aren’t you supposed to do something? Why are you asleep? The only possible explanation is that you don’t care.”
And haven’t each of us has been there too. We’ve asked that very question. We’ve been in the same boat--full of fear because there is much to fear: natural disasters, tragedies, war, inexplicable acts of violence and the pain of various kinds of personal suffering…those things can leave us crying out to God, “Do you not care that we are perishing?”
Then disciples heard a word from God and experience the word of God and it uncovers more of the “Who is this” question about Jesus. We hear Jesus say, Peace, be still!
The first thing Jesus does upon waking is calm the wind and sea. He will speak to the disciples after that. What is especially significant with this miracle is that he speaks directly to the wind and sea. And the wind dies down and the waters become perfectly calm. But what is even more significant is that he does something only God can do.
Interesting fact is that the fishermen/disciples would have been familiar with Psalm 107, written of those who do business on the waters. The fisherman would have known it well:
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
God, who created the wind and the waves, has authority over them. Jesus is God in the flesh. This is the same Jesus you and I trust and follow: Emmanuel, God with us. God is with us through all the storms in our lives. God is with us in all situations life finds us. God is right there with us. In the boat.
Graduates, you soon will find yourselves spreading your wings and starting a new chapter in your life. You are going to make amazing memories, learn a lot-academically and in life. There are going to be challenges and you might even question God “Do you even care”. Are you here? I hope you remember the message you’ve learned here at your church that God loves you and God is with you. Always. May you remember that this is who Jesus is and trust that.
I remember showing up at Cicero UMC in June of 1997—for my graduation Sunday where I had to wear my cap and gown and share my future plans in front of my church that had loved me and taught me most of what I knew of God and faith. I went with their blessing but I had no idea at the time how that blessing (of having a loving church family) would change my life. I took a 3 year hiatus from church and faith while I was living my best life at St. Lawrence University. And then in the midst of my own storm—when I thought I was all alone in the world…the voice of God spoke peace into my life. That assurance allowed me to quiet my fears and hear a call to pastoral ministry. It gave me courage to show up at a new church --the Canton UMC that would help me understand and nurture that call to ministry that God had spoken into me. I’m not sure I would have known how to pray, or have courage enough to go to church if I had not had the foundation at my home church. I needed time and space to be my own person and to explore life and I thank God that in doing that I found that God had never left my side.
If we go back to Mark’s story of the storm, the obvious fact is that Jesus is just as present in the raging water as he is in the soothing calm that follows. Despite the disciples’ inability to perceive it, there is no point in the night when God is absent or even distant. In that vulnerable boat, surrounded by that swelling, terrifying water, the disciples are in the intimate company of Jesus. He rests in their midst, tossed as they are tossed, soaked as they are soaked.
In his great tenderness, Jesus waits until the nightmare is over before he invites his disciples to take spiritual inventory. “Why are you afraid?” he asks them. I don’t read his question as an accusation. I read it as an invitation to take stock, to reflect, to learn, to grow. After Jesus calms the storm, the stunned disciples ask the most important question of all: "Who is this man?" Indeed. Who is this man, this Christ, this God, who sleeps through storms, accepts our accusations, and offers us his quiet, mysterious presence in wild and wind-swept places? Who is this God who loves us in the chaos? It’s after the vicious storm that the disciples recognize the holy in their midst. It’s after the boat fills with water that they are “filled with a great awe.” It’s after Jesus accompanies them in the chaos that they realize who he is. May the same be true of us. (Debie Thomas, Journey with Jesus)
I think I will spend the rest of my life seeking this one grace — the grace to experience God’s presence in the storm. (Debie Thomas)