June 23, 2024 at Saint Peter the Apostle Church in Naples, FL
Job 38: 1, 8-11 + Psalm 107 + 2 Corinthians 5: 14017 + Mark 4: 35-41
Through the whole Gospel of Mark, Jesus reveals by action and word the power of God and the will of God to save and gather us together. With today’s passage from the fourth chapter Mark wants us to see the power of God over nature. In the next chapter, we will see God’s power over evil as demons and diseases are cast out, and then over death as Jesus raises a synagogue official’s daughter who dies.
It all begins with a boat scene. There are many of them in Mark’s Gospel. He tells us it is getting dark, and immediately we ought to sense that this is not good. Evil lurks when it is night or dark in the Gospels. Then there is an odd little note at the beginning when Mark tells us that they took him “just as he was.” He was teaching, so this will be a continuation of his teaching. But now, Jesus is alone with his disciples away from the Jewish crowds on one shore and the Gentile crowds on the other. With this story and message then, Jesus is directly ministering to or teaching the church, teaching us just as much as that early church for which Mark is writing. Jesus is calming a storm/devil. This
storm” is not about a meteorological event. There were no storm warnings or alerts. The point of his teaching is faith and fear. They don’t fit together.
So, this story is about a crossing, but not from one side of a lake to the other. It is about crossing from fear to faith. These are code words for Mark, “fear” and “faith.” They are a dynamic challenge for disciples even to this day. Are we going to be afraid, or are we going to have faith? Which is going to be?
As Mark tells is, there is no resolution to this story. “Rebuke” is the verb Mark uses as Jesus speaks. It is the same word used to describe the casting out of evil spirits suggesting that it is an evil spirit that threatens them from continuing their mission.
My friends, we ought to keep this story in mind when the storm/devil disrupts the ordinary lives we often enjoy. It happens all the time, and wise is the disciple who knows how to calm fear with faith, and remember that fear, anxiety, and the unexpected are always the work of the evil one. Disciples of Jesus through the ages have faced persecution, natural disasters, or personal struggles.
The message is simple yet profound telling us that nothing can truly harm those who trust in the Lord. At the same time, it must awaken our drowsy faith in God’s presence. The most repeated demand in the Scriptures is “Do not fear.” Refusing to be afraid disables the evil one always trying to dissuade us from our mission. When we have no fear, the enemy will tremble in fear.