The storm...

I think it makes a big difference in how we experience Jesus in Mark 4 by the way we read his words to the disciples and even to the storm. Jesus resting on a pillow in the stern of the boat as its rocked by crashing waves and the howling wind of a storm is at once a picture of peace in the middle of chaos.

In the beginning when God created the heavens and earth, Genesis gives us a powerful image of wind/Spirit of God hovering over the chaos that was pre-creation. The story of Jonah works with the theme of chaos to a new level in showing that God can even use the chaos of the sea to bring about his purposes. And here as the disciples battle against the wind and waves, their shouts of “Don’t you care?” betray the chaos the disciples are experiencing all around them. And maybe chaos is the right word to describe the reality of fear in our lives.

When the doctor invites us to take a seat and hear a diagnosis.

When a police officer knocks at the door late at night to share some horrible news.

When your boss/supervisor calls you into the office with news that cuts are being made or the company is moving in a new direction and it doesn’t include you.

As you are walking home alone, late at night, you hear the soft, crackling sound of someone or something stepping on dry leaves nearby. Your heart begins to race as you imagine who or what lurks in the shadows.

Each of these create their own sense of chaos (and of course there are others) within the order we try to create in our lives. Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves or at least raise our defences when a legitimate threat appears. But we also may have a fear of the unknown:

Fear of death…

Fear of being contaminated by some obscure disease…

Fear of terrorism…

Fear of flying…

Fear of rejection…

Fear of impending catastrophe…

Fear of failure…

Even a fear of success…

Sometimes we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and often these cause us hang back for no good reason. Traumas or bad experiences can trigger a fear response within us that is hard to shut down. When these fears take hold of us it can be crippling. It can ignite the “fight or flight” response within us. It could cause us to withdraw and refuse to take any risk whatsoever. Fear can curl us up into a tight ball that tries with all the strength possible to keep the world away

Fear can be terrifying. Fear is chaos…

So a question for your experience of chaos: when you read the words Jesus spoke to the storm in Mark 4:39, what is the tone of voice that you hear?

Do you hear Jesus standing there with all his muscular ferocity, with his long flowing hair blowing in the wind, yelling with a deep thunderous voice:

“QUIET! BE STILL!”

Is this the same deep thundering voice of power that stopped you in your tracks as a child when you knew you were doing something wrong?

Is this the voice you need to speak into your experience of fear?

Is this what God’s voice sounds like in your life?

I’ll admit there are times I want the warrior God to act – to bring justice; to right what I think is clearly wrong; to bring some sanity to an often messed up world. Maybe this is exactly the voice of God we need when our lives are spiraling into chaos. And maybe this is the voice that Jesus used to calm the storm.

But think about those words for a while “Quiet! Be still!”

A while ago I was listening to a parenting conversation on Focus on the Family (there’s always more to learn on this parenting journey and I’m happy to pick up wisdom along the way). The presenter in this parenting talk suggested that depending on the temperament of your child whispering might be the best way to get your wishes through to your child – when they expect you to yell and scream, get down to their level hold their face in your hands and whisper your exact instructions and get them to repeat what you’ve said.

This got me thinking about how Jesus interacted with his disciples.

Jesus – the Word become flesh; present at creation; active in creating the universe and yet fully man there with his disciples. The God who creates does not need to yell for his creation to hear him. In fact the most intimate moments of God’s interaction with humanity recorded in the Old Testament are moments of quiet. In Genesis 3, God comes for a stroll in the garden in the cool of the evening – it’s an image of a peaceful walk in the forest. In 1 Kings 19, after the great a powerful wind, followed by a bone rattling earthquake, followed by a scorching fire – after all of these came a gentle whisper and there was God.

How does this story of the disciples pushing against the oars, fighting the storm, crying out, “Don’t you care?” – how does this story change if you hear the voice of Jesus as a gentle whisper?

“Quiet! Be Still!”

Psalm 46 begins with strong words of assurance:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (v.1-3)

And the Psalm continues by presenting the power of God over the nations and over creation itself. As the Psalm reaches its climax one would expect a noisy crescendo of power, but there in Psalm 46:10 the still, small voice rings out, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

After the storm had gone still, after the chaos of the waters had turned glassy smooth, Jesus turns to his disciples and asks, “Why are you afraid?” the NIV has, “Why are you SO afraid?”

I hear that question with a voice of compassion and the deep concern of a friend.

To be sure there are many things that bring fear and anxiety into our lives. Too often I think we have given the subtle message that as Christians we should have banished fear a long time ago, as through the waters of baptism not only washed us clean but scrubbed out all fear.

I think the disciples help to bring us back to reality.

Jesus – King of kings and Lord of lords was there in the boat with them.

Jesus – Saviour of the world was asleep in the stern of the boat.

And still they shook him awake over the noise of the storm and cried out, “Don’t you care?”

In Jesus’ words of rebuke to the storm and his question to the disciples is the assurance we read in Isaiah 44:1-2 – 

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! 

Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you: 

Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.”

You belong.

I am holding you in my arms.

I have this crazy world under control.

God declares to the thunderous applause of heaven: “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.”

Some days fear rears its ugly head and seeks to overwhelm us

Some days fear feels like an endless falling,

Like a deep threat,

Like rising water,

Like a ruthless wind.

But Jesus is there – Jesus is with you.

Christ walks this journey through fear with you rebuking and silencing and ordering. And in Christ we find again the place of rest even in the very eye of the storm. This is what it means to put Jesus at the centre of our lives – at the centre of who you are. This is about coming to a place of surrender – the place of faith.