Mark 4:35-41 The Calming of a Storm at Sea.

On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him.

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat so that it was already filling up.
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?”

He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm.

Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

I had the privilege of examing this passage amongst several others as part of a Sunday morning discussion at Denslowe Community Church last Sunday morning. This is not a particularly opaque passage so several meaningful points were shared. 

The context is this passage was immediately preceded by the miracle of feeding the crowds who had gathered to hear him teach. They saw him perform something amazing and miraculous yet several hours later, they fell into fear in the brunt of the storm. The point is this missed the point. They were to have faith and believe in the miracle and miracles of the Christ and the transformation into men who might die but never experience death. They were safe because they were in the presence of Christ who had chosen them for the ministry to come and had shared a prophetic vision of his mission. It was not the day for them to die, they had work to do. Much work.

Before I retired as a manager in the business world, I frequently assured people even though things might look scary or difficult, they should not panic unless they saw me panic first. Thanks to long experience and assurance of things turning out as they should, I rarely panicked. In fact, I can remember being concerned sometimes but never fearful. Bully for me. 

The truth is I am a fearful man. I worry about many things much of the time even though I have the benefit of experience to guide me through the fiction of fear to the reality of the moment. Were I with the disciples, I not only would have been frightened, but it was also likely I would have been lying on the bottom of the boat hanging on for dear life praying for deliverance. Aw, that might be a little too much hyperbole. I really don't get panicked all that often. Overcoming fear is a normal event for me so I tend to actually do ok in most situations. Still, I am sure I would have been yanking on Jesus' tunic. 

What is the message for me? Storms happen. They happen all the time and they are a normal part of life. What matters is if I find calm in the midst of a storm even if the storm itself is not calmed. God, after all, is all about our interior life because that is where he works his greatest work. Calm in the midst of a storm is the gift he wants for us through our faith in him.