Faith in the Storm

Mark 4: 35 - 41 (June 21, 2009)

1) The Text

35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

2) The Context

As witnesses to the events of Jesus life and death became old and died, the need arose for a written synopsis. Tradition has it that Mark, while in Rome, wrote down what Peter remembered. This book stresses the crucifixion and resurrection as keys to understanding who Jesus was. When other synoptic gospels were written, i.e. Matthew and Luke, they used the Gospel according to Mark as a source. Mark is most probably the John Mark mentioned in Acts 12:12: his mother's house was a meeting place for believers.

After teaching from a boat, with the crowds along the shore, he now suggests to the disciples that they “go across to the other side” (v. 35), to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. A flotilla of boats follow, but they scatter before the storm. (He is “just as he was”, v. 36, in the same posture as earlier, in the boat.) Squalls (“windstorm”, v. 37) are common on the Sea of Galilee, for the hills around it are high. Jesus is “in the stern”, v. 38, on the helmsman’s seat, well above the waves. He is “asleep”: he has complete confidence in God. The disciples see him as “teacher”; they do not yet know him fully. Jesus is awoken and rebukes (v. 39) the wind – as though it is a demon (see 1:25). To ancients, the sea symbolized the powers of chaos and evil. Jesus commands it to be still: only God can control nature. He castigates the disciples (v. 40): either they lack faith in God (do not follow Jesus’ example of trust in him) or in him (as a worker of wonders). Their question in v. 41 is an implicit confession of Jesus’ divinity: the sea obeys him as it does God in the Old Testament (Genesis 1:2). Jesus’ power extends even to power over natural disasters, then thought to be the work of the devil.

3) Interpretation

In many ancient myths, the god of the sea is the god of chaos. Most bodies of water can almost instantly turn from calm waters into deadly waves. We cannot control the water. The word used of Jesus "rebuking" the wind is commonly used of "rebuking" demonic spirits.

The background of these myths provides the answer to the disciples' closing question: "Who then is this?" This can be no other than God who has the power to tame the chaotic waters. Once again the readers know that Jesus is more than just a human being. He is Son of God (1:1, 11, 24), yet the disciples are unable to decipher the significance of Jesus' identity.

This theme can also lead to the idea that sometimes the storms in our lives are beyond our control. The chaos in our lives may be caused by people or situations or evil powers which we can do nothing about. Sometimes it is not our fault. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes even the world of faithful Christians comes crashing down. (Job might be brought in as an illustration that sometimes good people suffer unjustly.)

A contrast to the storms of life that are out of our control, one could also indicate that the reason the disciples are in such a mess is because they did what Jesus asked them to do: "Let's cross the lake"! A word of hope in this text (and Job and the Psalm) is that God has the power to control the chaos. God may not always do it according to our schedule. Sometimes God may appear to be sleeping in the boat while our world is falling apart, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't have the power to calm the storm.

The disciples' question of Jesus is interesting. They do not ask for a miracle. It appears that they wake him up to tell him that they are all going to die. Literally their question reads: "Teacher, is it not a care (or concern) to you that we are dying?" (v. 38). (The verb, "melei," can also carry the idea of "to be anxious about.")

The disciples' question can lead to a number of themes. Do we ever accuse God of not caring for us? What does it do to our faith and trust when we think that God no longer cares? How does God show that he cares for us? Must God always perform miracles -- remove us from dangerous storms for us to believe that God cares for us?

Using another definition of "melei," and Edwin Friedman's phrase ("Generation to Generation"), could Jesus become an example of a "non-anxious presence?" To paraphrase the disciples' question: "Why aren't you as anxious about dying as we are?" Pheme Perkins in "Mark" (New Interpreters' Bible) writes: "On the human level, we often act like the disciples. We expect others to share our panic or distress. If they seem detached from the situation, we accuse them of not caring about our suffering. Panic reactions can divide us from others who might help just as they can cause us to doubt God's love for us" [p. 581]

While we are more likely to picture ourselves as the scared disciples, I also think that we need to consider ourselves -- perhaps not individually, but as the church -- to be Christ. When does the church in the midst of chaotic times need to curl up and take a nap, be non-anxious, exhibit supreme trust in God -- which others are likely to interpreted as not caring?

There are times in our lives where trusting God means that we can take naps in a stormy boat. Another approach related to this theme could be the question: How do we show that we care for others? Sometimes it can be speaking an authoritative word to bring stability to chaos. Sometimes it can be doing nothing, hoping that the other will find the power within themselves to defeat the storms around them.

4) Thought Exercise

How does your faith in God get you through tough times?

How do you share that perspective with others when they face difficulties?