A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
We too sometimes encounter storms that cause us to fear, if not for our lives, at least for our identities, and our ability to maintain our way of life. And this happens regardless of whether or not we are where we are because we listened to Jesus say, "Let us cross to the other side". Following him was not only no guarantee of smooth sailing, but seemed to be the main factor that led us to the place where the storm occurred. The fact, frequently confirmed by life experience, that Jesus does not lead us around stormy weather, may cause us to suspect that either he is not all-knowing, and therefore didn't see it coming, or not all-powerful, and therefore unable to do anything about it. We know, of course, that he was not directly at fault, that creation is still fallen, awaiting "freedom from its bondage to corruption" and "the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (see Romans 8:18-25). But what happens to our faith in the times when Jesus appears impotent before such forces? Do we lose our ability to believe that such a redemption is really on the horizon?
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
The fact that the storms of life leave Jesus unruffled does not at first inspire in us great confidence. Rather, it leaves us indignant, as though he does not understand what we are enduring. And yet, he is with us in the boat. He is enduring the same storm. He is simply so rooted in his Father's love that the storm cannot overcome his peace. From his perspective, the fact that we are terrified is the surprising thing. He wonders, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?". And we must concede, that in this sense of the word, we must not yet have it, not like that, or to that degree. However, even in spite of the disciples' lack of faith, their fear was unfounded because they were together with Jesus since they had obeyed his word. He himself would ensure they were able to cross to the other side as he commanded.
What, then? Ought they have been indifferent to the storm and the sinking of the ship? Should they all having been asleep while the ship met an untimely end? Part of the difficultly was that they did have to engage with circumstances that were being their ability to control. We can hardly blame them for wanting Jesus to intervene. But their fear was actually a further manifestation of the storm itself, not only outside now, but inside themselves as well. It meant there was more for Jesus to rebuke when he rebuked the wind and the sea. He had to speak calm into the hearts of his disciples as well.
They could, however, have interpreted the situation differently. They could have realized from the fact of Jesus being a sleep that they had nothing to fear. Perhaps they themselves would have been able to let the peace of the sleeping Christ work through them to calm the storm. But even if they had to wake him up, they would have been able to do so calmly, without the risk of rash responses and bad decisions to fear brings.
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
This is what we can call the high Christology of the Gospel of Mark. They knew, and Mark, wants us to know, that there was only one whom the wind and sea obey. Only of God was it said, "You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them" (see Psalm 89:9). Who, then, was Jesus? The implied answer, while unstated, was obvious.
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan answered David: “The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.
Sometimes the storms we face are temptation, or even the consequences of our own sin. At such times especially we need to trust in the Lord to deliver us. Precisely because our storms cannot harm him he is positioned perfectly to deliver us, to reawaken his divine power within us, and speed us on our way to the far side of the sea.
Audrey Assad - How Can I Keep From Singing?
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