Mark
Dear Friends in Christ,
It happened six years ago but I still remember it pretty well for reasons which may soon become apparent. Perhaps you’ve been in a similar situation. For me, it has forever given this familiar text a new meaning…
I was on an airplane (without my family; this was a trip for the Mission Board I was serving at the time) when about two hours into the flight the captain came on the intercom to alert us to some bad weather approximately 90 miles to the west. He said it was unlikely to cause us any trouble, but just as a precaution he told us to put our seatbelts on.
It was about ten minutes later the memorable part of the trip took place. With no warning to us, the plane suddenly dropped dramatically in altitude. I was drinking a coke at the time and the next thing I knew my plastic glass was half way up to the ceiling with ice flying out of it. The feeling I had was the same kind you get coming down a steep hill on a roller coaster. Things were flying everywhere and people were screaming. It was all over in probably 10 or 15 seconds, but the passengers were clearly shook up.
About five seconds later, it happened again. This time worse. More stuff flying around. More screaming. The plane then lurched to its side a little bit. And I distinctly remember thinking to myself that this may be it; this plane is out of control.
Within a few more seconds the turbulence was over and we once again hit clear skies. What I remember then is the silence on the airplane. People were collecting their thoughts or praying or trying to calm themselves down. Shortly thereafter a flight attendant went row to row asking if everyone was alright. What I noticed was that her voice was calm but her hand was shaking. Later on a couple of travelers far more experienced than me said this was the worst they had ever gone through, that they were frightened, and that they seriously thought we were all going to die. The flight attendant may have had the same thought.
This raises a couple of questions. Were we really in danger? The answer is yes, we were in danger. Could that plane have crashed and all the passengers been killed? Yes, that was a sad possibility which we all know has happened before.
But now an even more important question. Even if that had happened, does that mean that God is powerless or uncaring or that certain circumstances are beyond His control? And to that the answer is no. Nothing is outside of God’s control.
In our text for today the disciples found themselves in a similar situation to the one just described. The progression of circumstances roughly followed these lines: Something came up. They became scared. Then they became more scared and began fearing for their lives. Only to find out that with Jesus at their side, their fears were needless. What they learned – and what we learn through them – is this important, comforting truth:
CHRIST IS IN CONTROL
1. Jesus cares
2. Jesus acts
“That day when evening
came, He said to His disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him
along, just as he was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with him.”
It had been a hard day spent entirely in public teaching of the
masses and private instruction of His disciples. Jesus was bone tired. As the true man He is, Jesus needed time to
rest and recharge. So He requested that
His disciples, most of whom were familiar with operating a boat, take Him from
the bustling city of
The trip was not to be as uneventful as the disciples no
doubt anticipated, because… “A furious squall came up and waves broke
over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.” Geographers tell us the lay of the land
makes the
Interestingly enough, Jesus is sleeping through it all – a
testimony not only to how tired He must have been, but also to the implicit
trust He placed in His Heavenly Father.
For the disciples, however, the situation had reached a crisis
point. Experienced sailors as they may
have been, they could taste the end coming, and it was wet. So… “The
disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’”
Think about this for a moment. In this crisis situation the disciples come
to their Lord not with prayer or supplication or a respectful request for His
assistance, but with an indictment – and a rather stinging one at that. We can almost hear their thoughts: “Here
we are almost dead, working our tails off to keep this boat afloat and you’re
just sleeping away as if we don’t mean anything to you! Perhaps, if it does not interfere with your
nap, we could use a little help, thank you please.”
“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” they ask. Of course Jesus cared. And with the benefit of knowing how things ended, we know that Jesus did indeed help them.
Let’s stop for a minute and analyze this further. Because if we are honest, in this question asked by the disciples in the thick of their trouble we may see more than the unflattering response of frightened believers. We may see ourselves…
Let’s review the process the disciples went through. When the storm came up they first got worried, then scared for their lives, then trying their best to rectify the situation with their own power, and then, when that failed, turning to the Lord not so much for help but with the indictment of being uncaring.
Now let’s look at ourselves. The storms of life come up. Maybe it is a personal tragedy or a sudden illness or a nagging problem which seems to defy solution. Maybe it’s a burden on our heart related to family or friends or our work. Maybe it revolves around our finances or our children or our future. We all know the storm clouds of our lives.
Sometimes they just threaten, other times they blow over, but at other times these clouds open up and then it begins to rain. And then it rains harder. Then the waves begin to become more noticeable. Then the boats of our lives seem to rock and lurch and suddenly the deck is getting wet and we’re taking in more and more water and things are getting more and more intense…
How do we react? Sometimes like the disciples. First up is worry. You know, sleepless nights. Fluttering stomachs. Frustration and agitation, which too often we take out on others (usually those closest to us).
Worry gives birth to fear. We get overwhelmed and are convinced the storm is going to kill us – or at least do us great harm. We become more scared and our worries escalate. And all the while we’re looking for things we can do with our own power to correct what is wrong. (Think here of the text. Imagine the disciples spinning the wheel, bailing the water, fixing the sails, etc. – everything humanly possible.) But the trouble persists…
Then, and only then, is all too often when God first enters the picture. And as difficult as it is to admit, all too often, instead of coming to Him with a plea for help, in our weakness and our stress we offer an indictment very much like: “[Lord,] don’t you care if we drown?”
Don’t you care, God? If ever there was a question that need never be asked, this is it. Of course God cares. And Jesus has got the nail prints to prove it. The forgiveness and eternal salvation worked out for sinners through His life, death and resurrection is the ultimate example and the unimpeachable evidence that God cares for us.
And when we keep that in mind we might be able to better understand that some of those storms that come into our lives happen not because God doesn’t care about us, but precisely because He does. For the disciples, the storm served a very useful purpose. They were very much impressed with the power of God that stilled it, and their faith was strengthened. They were too self-reliant, perhaps. After this, they would hopefully handle a storm better…
So it is with us. There are very few things in life we dislike more than the feeling of not being in control. Sometimes it takes a storm for us to realize how very little we do control, and how much we need God, and how He alone is the place to start rather than end when the clouds begin to gather. Storms can serve not to distance us from God, but to draw us closer to Him for the refuge and strength which only He can provide…
The main thing to remember is that just as it was God who
allowed the storm on the
As the event in our text concludes we see that not only does
God care for His children, but He also acts on their behalf. In response to the disciples’ indelicate
question, “Teacher, don’t you care?”
we read: “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’
Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”
The disciples witnessed a miracle. The object of their fears and worries had been erased. The fear of death was replaced by respect and awe for the Lord who could do such marvelous things as even control nature. “Quiet! Be still!” said Christ. And it was.
Again, we see the parallel. Through Word, through sacrament, through the promises of Scripture, and at times, through the same miraculous power exhibited on the Sea of Galilee, Christ continues to still the storms in our lives as we turn to Him in faith. This doesn’t mean that every time we have a problem we can expect that God will make it disappear immediately. The solution to our storms may not be so quick and neat as the one that took place in our text. Maybe it will – I’m sure many of us have experienced a direct and immediate answer to prayer – but then again, maybe it won’t…
What we can be assured of when we turn to the Lord is that something will happen, regardless if the outward situation in our lives changes or not. That’s because we have the promise that as we turn to God and place our matters and concerns before His Throne of Grace He will respond by either 1) bringing about change or 2) giving us the strength and courage to accept, enabling us to always keep our eyes “on that bright shore where we weep no more.” Either way, the storm will be stilled.
“Quiet! Be still!” Jesus said to the storm on the sea. “Quiet! Be still!” Jesus continues to say to the troubles in our lives as we turn increasingly more toward Him and increasingly away from ourselves as the solution to life’s storms. This is our confidence, our consolation and our strength: Regardless of the weather, Christ is at the control of our lives…
Which means we can sing with conviction the hymn verse we will shortly:
Be still my soul; your God will undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still my soul, the waves and
winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he
lived below. Amen.