A homily on Mark 4: 35-41. Jesus stills a storm.
In Nomine etc.
"Who, then, is this, that even the sea and the wind obey him?" Who, then, is this?
Today's Gospel reading is a series of questions, only the first of which is actually answered. "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Evidently, Jesus does care, because he calms the storm that had evidently prompted their question. The next question, "Why are you afraid?" seems to have an obvious implied answer: a fear of drowning. But that is not actually the answer, according to our Lord. He goes on to answer it with another question: "Have you still no faith?" This is favorite Rabbinical technique, to answer a question with another question.
And his disciples don't actually answer the questions, "Why are you afraid?" and "Have you still no faith?" Instead, they come back with a question of their own, "Who, then, is this?"
The disciples' questions arise from fear and awe. Our Lord's questions arise from confidence, trust, a deep awareness of connection between himself and the world around him, and from insight into the real difficulties his disciples were experiencing.
The wind and the sea obey him. In our time, wind and sea, and a great deal else in our environment, are showing signs daily of great change, and are not obeying anything except the laws of their own nature. Rising seas, rising temperatures, spreading drought, depleting fisheries, and so on, show every sign of not obeying our wishful thinking, our command, that the wind cease and the seas be calm. What, then, is the difference between our Lord's command, and our wish? What is the difference between the fearful questioning of the disciples, and the insightful questioning of our Lord?
This story shows the deep relationship between Jesus and his disciples on the one hand, and between Jesus and his environment on the other. The disciples experience their disconnection between themselves and Jesus, and between themselves and their world, as storm, as fear, ultimately as the fear of death. But Jesus experiences these relationships as peace, stillness, calm, and he conveys these to his disciples through questions. His response to the storm recalls the verse in Psalm 46, "Be still, and know that I am God," and also the story of Elijah, who does not find God in wind or earthquake or fire, but in silence, or, as the old translation says, in "a still small voice."
"Have you still no faith?" Evidently the disciples did not, as we often do not, which the increasing disorder of the world shows us. We have, perhaps, lost that connection with our Lord, with each other, and with our world, which Jesus' actions in the story aim to restore.
I should say a few words here about what faith is, and is not. In our society, intellect, rationality, are highly valued. Some of us, perhaps, value intellect more than feeling, success in the world more than relationship, the ability to make money more than the desire to help others, and ourselves, become what God has made us to be: creatures living in harmony with him and each other. Faith is that trust, that confidence, that frees us to accept our place in God's creation, to live in harmony with the natural world and each other. Faith is not, in my view, belief in credal statements, which are only guideposts along the way to the Kingdom, to awareness of God and our relationship to him. The credal statements themselves are not faith, are not the Way.
The calm confidence of our Lord, and the agitation of the disciples, are strongly contrasted in this story, by contrasting storm and calm, wind and stillness. The power of the sea is contrasted with the apparent powerlessness of the disciples, and, by extension, with our own relative powerlessness against the forces of nature, which, these days, are making clear that our careless, faithless meddling could lead to some very stormy consequences indeed.
"Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Today's reading stops here, but the rest of Mark's Gospel answers it. The very next story is the healing of the Gerasene demoniac. This is not accidental. The peace, calm, confidence of Jesus are shown in the calmness of the sea in the previous story, and in the restoration of the demoniac to his calm, right mind. Faith, confidence, trust, peace, harmony with the natural world, restoration of the right relationship of ourselves to each other and the world, are all shown forth in Jesus' stilling of the wind and storm.
In Nomine etc..
In Nomine etc.
"Who, then, is this, that even the sea and the wind obey him?" Who, then, is this?
Today's Gospel reading is a series of questions, only the first of which is actually answered. "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Evidently, Jesus does care, because he calms the storm that had evidently prompted their question. The next question, "Why are you afraid?" seems to have an obvious implied answer: a fear of drowning. But that is not actually the answer, according to our Lord. He goes on to answer it with another question: "Have you still no faith?" This is favorite Rabbinical technique, to answer a question with another question.
And his disciples don't actually answer the questions, "Why are you afraid?" and "Have you still no faith?" Instead, they come back with a question of their own, "Who, then, is this?"
The disciples' questions arise from fear and awe. Our Lord's questions arise from confidence, trust, a deep awareness of connection between himself and the world around him, and from insight into the real difficulties his disciples were experiencing.
The wind and the sea obey him. In our time, wind and sea, and a great deal else in our environment, are showing signs daily of great change, and are not obeying anything except the laws of their own nature. Rising seas, rising temperatures, spreading drought, depleting fisheries, and so on, show every sign of not obeying our wishful thinking, our command, that the wind cease and the seas be calm. What, then, is the difference between our Lord's command, and our wish? What is the difference between the fearful questioning of the disciples, and the insightful questioning of our Lord?
This story shows the deep relationship between Jesus and his disciples on the one hand, and between Jesus and his environment on the other. The disciples experience their disconnection between themselves and Jesus, and between themselves and their world, as storm, as fear, ultimately as the fear of death. But Jesus experiences these relationships as peace, stillness, calm, and he conveys these to his disciples through questions. His response to the storm recalls the verse in Psalm 46, "Be still, and know that I am God," and also the story of Elijah, who does not find God in wind or earthquake or fire, but in silence, or, as the old translation says, in "a still small voice."
"Have you still no faith?" Evidently the disciples did not, as we often do not, which the increasing disorder of the world shows us. We have, perhaps, lost that connection with our Lord, with each other, and with our world, which Jesus' actions in the story aim to restore.
I should say a few words here about what faith is, and is not. In our society, intellect, rationality, are highly valued. Some of us, perhaps, value intellect more than feeling, success in the world more than relationship, the ability to make money more than the desire to help others, and ourselves, become what God has made us to be: creatures living in harmony with him and each other. Faith is that trust, that confidence, that frees us to accept our place in God's creation, to live in harmony with the natural world and each other. Faith is not, in my view, belief in credal statements, which are only guideposts along the way to the Kingdom, to awareness of God and our relationship to him. The credal statements themselves are not faith, are not the Way.
The calm confidence of our Lord, and the agitation of the disciples, are strongly contrasted in this story, by contrasting storm and calm, wind and stillness. The power of the sea is contrasted with the apparent powerlessness of the disciples, and, by extension, with our own relative powerlessness against the forces of nature, which, these days, are making clear that our careless, faithless meddling could lead to some very stormy consequences indeed.
"Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Today's reading stops here, but the rest of Mark's Gospel answers it. The very next story is the healing of the Gerasene demoniac. This is not accidental. The peace, calm, confidence of Jesus are shown in the calmness of the sea in the previous story, and in the restoration of the demoniac to his calm, right mind. Faith, confidence, trust, peace, harmony with the natural world, restoration of the right relationship of ourselves to each other and the world, are all shown forth in Jesus' stilling of the wind and storm.
In Nomine etc..
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