"Perfect Storm/Dead Calm"
By Dr. Mickey Anders
South Elkhorn Christian Church
Lexington, Kentucky
June 21, 2009
Text: Mark 4:35-41
1) The Sea
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the
sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white
sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.
So begins the famous poem by John Masefield, and my favorite poem. It continues:
Is a wild call and a clear call that cannot be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume and the seagulls
crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like
a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's
over.
For those of us who are fascinated by the water,
as I am,
this poem captures the essence of the wanderlust the sea inspires. I find it refreshing to know that Jesus
understood something of that urge to go to sea.
Our text for today says, "On
that day, when evening had come, he
said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And
leaving the crowd
behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other
boats were
with him."
It had been a long day of teaching. The crowd was large, the need was great, and Jesus must have been tired. So he turned the boat that had served as his pulpit and headed for "the other shore."
2) The Storm
As familiar land receded into the background, the skies
darkened, the winds began to howl and the waves began to churn. The Sea
of
Galilee was known for its sudden, violent storms, which would often
drown those
caught in them.
Verse 37 says, "A
great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat
was
already being swamped."
The ancient Hebrews felt so helpless in the unpredictable waters that for them the sea represented chaos. The word for "sea" in Hebrew derives from the name of the evil god in the Babylonian creation story. It carried connotations of evil, a mysterious and threatening force opposed to God.
And when they wanted to stress God's authority,
they spoke
of Yahweh's power over the sea. And so in Genesis the Spirit of God
hovers over
the waters, and the creating God brings order out of chaos. The
psalmist
exclaims, "You rule the raging of
the sea, when its waves rise, you still them" (Psalm 89:9).
And in my favorite Psalm (107:23-30), we find
these words:
"Some went down
to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters; they saw the
deeds of
the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised
the
stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to
heaven,
they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their
calamity; they
reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress; he made the storm be
still, and
the waves of the sea were hushed. Then
they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their
desired
haven."
I love this imagery of sailors staggering about
the deck
like drunken men. Good sailors study
heavy weather sailing and storm tactics.
It is foolish to go to sea without being prepared for the storms. Every sailor takes foul weather gear aboard.
For all of those who go to sea, there must be a certain respect for the sea, for storms are a fact of life for sailors. They are a fact of life for us as well.
3) Disciples are not exempt from the storms
I find it very interesting that the disciples were
not
exempt from the storms of life just because they were following Jesus. Here they were in the path of duty. They were obediently following Jesus wherever
he went. Every day they were listening
to the words of Jesus and helping to proclaim his message.
They believed Jesus, loved Jesus and followed
Jesus. But here we see these very men in
trouble, tossed up and down by the storm and in danger of being drowned.
Surely the lesson is that Christians must not expect everything to be smooth in our journey with Christ. We must not think it a strange thing when we have to endure sickness, loss, bereavement, and disappointment, just like everybody else. Jesus does offer grace and forgiveness and strength for the living of our days, but he never promised that we would have no problems.
4) Jesus Stills Some of the Storms
We also need to see that sometimes Jesus stills the
storms. We need to always remember the
power of God, and the fact that nothing is impossible with God. No passions are so strong that God cannot tame
them. No temper is so rough and violent
that God cannot change it. No
conscience is so burdened that he cannot make it calm.
We need never despair. Christ can
do miracles amid the storms of
life, whatever they are. We may have
problems in our lives that seem too heavy for us. The
way may be rough; life may be hard; but
always remember - when Christ is on our side, when we are in the ship
with him,
there is no storm that he cannot calm.
God can intervene and take the problems away.
God has the power to do it. God is
able to do it. And sometimes, God will do
it.
5) Sometimes God does not still the storms
But we also need to know that sometimes God lets the storms
rage. Sometimes God will allow us to go
through the storm as a test of our faith, as a way of refining us and
proving
to ourselves that we have an overcoming faith.
Verse 38 says, "But 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?’"
In fact, Jesus had not intended to still this
storm. He intended to sleep right through
it while
the disciples handled it themselves. He
stilled the storm because of their lack of faith. Leonard
Sweet says, "The miracle Jesus
wanted to show them was not the miracle of calming the storm but the
miracle of
calming them in the storm (L. I. Sweet, Quantum Spirituality [1991],
165).
Sometimes storms are a part of God's plan for us. In James 1:2-4, we read, "My
brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind,
consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your
faith
produces endurance…"
In I Peter 1:6-7, we read, "In this
you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had
to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith…
is tested by
fire…"
The fact is that we all need certain storms in our lives. Without them, our faith would not be mature and our lives would be incomplete. Through difficulties come victories. The trials we face build our faith. They make us mature.
John Wesley experienced a storm like that on one
of his many
Atlantic crossings. A fierce storm broke
out; pitching and tossing the ship about like a bathtub toy. While
Wesley and
others clung to their bunks and hid their heads, a community of
Moravians,
traveling to their new homeland, calmly gathered to hold their daily
worship
service and sing praises to God. Watching these Moravians, so
apparently
unperturbed by the howling winds and crashing waves, Wesley realized he
was
witnessing a truly waterproof faith. From that moment on, John Wesley
prayed
that God would give him the ability to ride out life's storms with as
much
confidence. (Homiletics, June 19, 1994)
The disciples really missed the boat. Jesus wanted them to have a waterproof faith, a storm-proof faith, an unquenchable trust in him. He wanted them to learn to ride the waves. But they were overcome by their fear.
6) Faith Overcomes Fear
Verse 40 says, "He
said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no
faith?’"
Their fear is contrasted with faith.
Jesus was always telling his disciples,
"Fear not!" When Jesus called
Simon to be his disciple, he said, "Do
not be afraid, from now on you will be catching people" (Luke
5:10). On another occasion Jesus said, "Do not be afraid, you are of more
value than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:31). When
Jesus came to the disciples walking on
the water, he said, "Take heart, it
is I; do not be afraid." On the
Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus said to the disciples, "Get
up and do not be afraid."
38... and they woke
him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are
perishing?’
Here Jesus replies,
"Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
When we are filled with fear and ask that
question, "Lord, don’t you care about my situation?" He always
responds, "Have you no faith?"
Faith drives out fear. The Bible teaches that we
have not
been given a spirit of fear. 2 Timothy
1:7 says, "For God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." When we trust God, we have no reason to fear.
For we know that as long as we are in God's hands we are safe.
We need to learn to say with the Psalmist, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4). That is faith.
7) The "Who" Question
In verse 41, we find an intriguing verse that says, "And
they were filled with great awe
and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the
sea obey
him?'"
Take note that the disciples did not ask the "how"
question. "How did he do
that?" Instead they asked the
"who" question. "Who then
is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
This story isn’t about what Jesus did. It
isn’t intended to prompt us to ask how Jesus stilled a storm one
day long ago
on the Sea of Galilee. It is intended to make us ask, "Who is this
Jesus?" Ultimately, we are confronted,
not with what he did or how he did it, but with whom he is.
At the beginning of the story, the disciples are terrified by the storm outside. Now they are terrified by the storm inside. They were filled with awe and fear of this Jesus whom even the wind and the waves obey. Isn't that the way we are? Either we are afraid of the storms raging outside which have the power to destroy our lives or we are afraid of the Christ inside which has the power to change our lives. What may happen to us if this powerful Jesus is let loose to work redemptively in our lives? Both the storms outside and the Christ in the boat will change us, and we will not be able to dictate the terms to either. We can either fear of the storm outside or fear the Christ inside.
8) Dead Calm
One last thing captures my attention in this passage.
In verse 39, we read, "He woke up and rebuked the
wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be
still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm". Notice that sailing term, "Dead
calm."
What's it like inside you today? A raging storm or a dead calm? Have you discovered the stillness of Christ? I believe God desires that we experience this kind of tranquility - a kind of peace that trusts in God even in the midst of the storm. It's a peace that depends not on the absence of trouble, but on our faith in Jesus.
Do you have a dry-docked faith or a waterproof faith? Are you land-locked by fear or are you sailing to the horizon with an unquenchable faith? God is calling you to paddle away from the shallows, to sail into the deep. Do not be afraid. Trust Jesus, even in the storms of life.