Tag Archives: Mark 4

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Peace! Be Still!

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“Peace! Be Still!”

Mark 4:35=41 (4:39) – June 23, 2024

            Have you ever slept in a tent while a huge thunderstorm crackled and poured overhead? The blustery wind, rain and loud thunder seem right on top of you. I know firsthand; I spent several summers in high school at a Girl Scout camp, sleeping in a platform tent every night.

            Except, in our Gospel reading, Jesus and the disciples did not even have the cover of a tent. They were out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of a fierce storm.  Our Gospel writer Mark tells us “Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water.”

            Can you relate? Has this ever happened to you? Maybe it’s an actual storm, blowing in all of a sudden out of a clear blue sky, complete with the skies turning black and the heavens opening up with pelting rain. Except, sometimes it can be a figurative story. Something horrible comes up suddenly, upon you or upon a dear member of your family. What about a sudden car accident? Or, perhaps a house fire in the middle of the night, or emergency hospitalization, out of a clear blue sky?

            These kinds of sudden, serious storms can blow up in anyone’s life, and they can overwhelm any of us with their intensity and traumatic effects.

            Let us look at this reading again. “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

            Fear can absolutely paralyze people! I can see these guys, scared out of their sandals, on this tiny boat. Rain pelting down, the wind and the waves threatening to swamp the boat, far from shore. Some of these guys are used to sailing and used to sudden squalls on the Sea of Galilee. But, a portion of the disciples are not fishermen, and are not familiar with boats or with seafaring. And what about Jesus? He is sleeping, for heaven’s sake, through the storm, the pitching of the boat back and forth, the pelting rain coming down.

            As one of my commentators says, “This is it. They’re going down. Life’s over! Jesus doesn’t seem to care. I’m not sure what they’re expecting of him—probably they just wanted him to show a bit of concern about their plight.” [1]

            What about those sudden storms that blow into our lives, today? Catastrophic accidents, emergency hospitalizations, or the very abrupt closing of a company. (That recently happened to one of my relatives, and it’s throwing a monkey wrench into everyone’s lives! Everyone who works there, and their families, too.)

            This storm that blew up on the Sea of Galilee must have been some storm, though! Even these seasoned fishermen, familiar with the water, were certain that death was near! “They must have exhausted all their other usual options and now that panic has set in all they have left is to turn to the one who is sleeping on the cushion — seemingly oblivious to the violent wind and driving rain.” [2] What is their cry? “Teacher, don’t You care if we drown?”

            Stories from recent church history can be distressing and catastrophic. Stories about weathering storms from church history can be helpful, and empowering, too. Take, for example, the true story about Anna B.

About 100 years ago, Anna B. was a faithful member of a dying church. The building was run-down, the congregation could not afford to pay a minister. Without a minister, people stopped attending Sunday services. Except – Anna B. kept coming to the church. She opened the doors on Sunday morning, week after week. She lit the candles and provided a place for prayer. She filed the necessary papers to maintain the church as a legal entity. These simple acts of faithfulness and diligence kept the congregation going for several years. Eventually, rebirth happened, and it was in great part because of Anna B. [3]

            That is the true story of Anna B., who was instrumental in faith and revitalization when that church was going through a series of storms in the life of that struggling congregation.

            Anna B.’s history takes place over several years. The sudden storms that come into our lives can blow up abruptly. What does Jesus do in this specific situation? “Jesus rebukes the wind and tells the sea to simmer down; the first word (“Peace!” in the NRSV) is a verb meaning be silent; the second (“Be still!” in the NRSV) means literally be muzzled.” [4]  Just as suddenly, the sea calms and the wind is stilled – muzzled! And, the disciples are left dumbstruck. Jaws hanging open, they murmur, “Who is this?”

            Just as the power and miracle-working capability of Jesus became clearer to the disciples, it can become clearer to us, today. No matter what our personal storm is, no matter how fearful and anxious you and I are because of our personal circumstances, our Lord Jesus has the miraculous power to calm the storms in our lives, too.  

            This Gospel reading is a powerful reminder about the power of God, as displayed through our Lord Jesus. Except, I know from sad experience that miracles do not happen the way people expect sometimes. Even many times. Like Rev. Janet Hunt, I am also not certain how so many deal with lives devastated by all sorts of storms, actual and figurative, storms that threaten from outside and from within. “Even so, perhaps we are changed if we allow ourselves, even as the disciples did, to simply stand still in awe when in the presence of such power which muzzles the worst that can threaten us. Which is all the time, if we are paying attention. Indeed, perhaps it is so that [we] do walk away re-empowered to hold fast in the storm if [we are] able to trust that somehow our benevolent God holds us all. Even in the storms. Especially in the storms.” [5]

Jesus calls on each of us to have faith, even in the midst of the raging storms of our lives. We can believe, we can have faith that Jesus will be right by our sides, through any difficulty. And, Jesus can say “Peace, be still!” to the storms in each of our hearts, too. Alleluia, amen.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.bobcornwall.com/2015/06/sleeping-through-storm-lectionary.html

[2] http://words.dancingwiththeword.com/2015/06/power-over-storm.html

[3] Beaumont, Susan, How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, (London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), 99.

[4] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-12-2/commentary-on-mark-435-41

[5]

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“God Changes Things!”

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Mark 4:26-34 (4:30-32) – June 13, 2021

            When my children were small, they loved reading time, every night before bedtime! I read them all kinds of stories. I remember reading some lovely illustrated versions of Aesop’s Fables. These taught children (and adults) some moral or practical lesson, wrapped up in engaging storytelling. Who doesn’t remember the lessons of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” (slow and steady wins the race) and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” (honesty is the best policy)?

            The Rabbi Jesus also was a master storyteller, like Aesop.  Jesus used a different method. He regularly told parables. Parables are not quite the same as fables. Jesus told many parables to help people learn what God is like and how God wants us to live. “Parables are useful when the truth you want to share is difficult, whether difficult to hear, comprehend, or believe.” [1]

            In today’s Scripture reading from Mark chapter 4, Jesus tells two parables, both about seeds. Parables can be seen from a number of different viewpoints. Children can view a parable as a simple retelling of people planting seeds. As we age and grow, our understanding ages and grows, too. As I would sometimes tell my children, these Bible stories – or parables – are thinking-about stories. We think about them, ponder them, and ruminate over them.

            Parables, as pastor and writer Eugene Peterson has said, are in this sense like narrative time bombs. “You hear them – tick – wonder about them – tick – think maybe you’ve got it – tick – and then as you walk away – tick – or over the course of the next day or so – tick – and all of a sudden the truth Jesus meant to convey strikes home – boom! – almost overwhelming you with its implications or … blinding you with its vision.” [2]

            Both parables Jesus relates talk about sowers and seeds. I was drawn to the second one in my study for this sermon, the parable of the mustard seed. How many people here today have ever seen a mustard seed? You can often see them at a produce market or ethnic food market, in the spice section. A fairly large tree will grow from that tiny seed, half as small as an apple seed!

            Children especially really like the idea of a tiny mustard seed growing into something big. Children are small, much smaller than adults. Yet, they can see a tiny little thing like a mustard seed growing big and bigger, and indeed taking over the garden, if we don’t watch out. Small children intuitively appreciate this story about something small having great influence. And perhaps, grown people who feel as if they don’t ordinarily have much influence also appreciate this parable about tiny things becoming big, grand, and having influence after all.                

            Aren’t we amazed that such a tiny seed can turn into a small tree? What is more, seeds germinate and grow when hidden under ground – hidden from everyone’s sight. As Jesus said, every small thing we do can make such a big difference. 

But it does not stop there! One little mustard seed doesn’t just produce one bush. Mustard bushes are what many people consider weeds. One quickly becomes several and several soon take over the whole field. Understanding that about mustard trees tells us something else about God’s Kingdom – it is unstoppable. It is going to fill the whole world.

Here in suburban Chicago, we are now into the beginning of June. Many gardens are starting to grow, producing flowers, and the beginnings of fruits and vegetables. Our Lord Jesus relates a number of parables about sowing seeds, and these parables have multiple meanings, and can be viewed from different points of view.

When the sower first sows seed, the plant has not started growing yet. But, there is potential for it to grow! As we sow good seeds in this congregation, these seeds have the potential to grow, too. Are we going to tend these tender young plants carefully? With love? Or, are these plants going to be left alone, and allow the weeds take over the plot of ground?

As we prayerfully consider this beloved congregation, a change seems to have come upon St. Luke’s Church, accelerated by this past year of Covid-tide. (as some church folk are now calling it) It is true that St. Luke’s Church is no longer the church it used to be, 20, 30, 40 years ago. St. Luke’s Church has changed, and the world has changed, too.

Do we – faithful believers in Christ – know what is coming next? Frankly, I do not. Our church leaders do not, either! Do you? This is a waiting time, an expectant time. A time when seeds can be sown, and nurtured, and a time when God may bring forth unexpected growth and exciting events! Are you eager to see what happens next? I know I am!

We know what happens when a caterpillar goes into a cocoon. The caterpillar gradually turns into a chrysalis, and after a time, a beautiful butterfly emerges. But – that is from the point of view of a human, watching over the chrysalis. What about the caterpillar? Did you ever think about the caterpillar’s point of view? I suspect the caterpillar has no idea of what is happening to it all the while it is in the chrysalis, transforming into that butterfly. That is where we are, now!

Can you see it? Feel it? St. Luke’s Church is on the threshold of a new thing! The sower sows the seed, and it goes into the ground, where the growth happens unseen. Something new is coming. “The Kingdom Jesus proclaims has room for everyone. It creates a new and open – and for this reason perhaps a tad frightening – future.” [3] Maybe Jesus is telling us God’s best dream for us – for St. Luke’s Church – is like that. Once God’s love gets planted in us and starts to grow, it changes everything around us forever. Sure, the next thing might be a bit frightening, from the caterpillar’s point of view, but I’m excited to see what is coming next! Aren’t you? I know God will be right by our sides, no matter what. And, it will be all right. Truly.

(Thank you to David Lose for his commentary “Preach the Truth Slant,” from “In the Meantime” in 2015. I took several extended ideas from that article. And thanks to Illustrated Ministries for their lesson for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost from Mark 4, from their 2020 Summer Children’s series.)

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://www.davidlose.net/2015/06/pentecost-3-b-preach-the-truth-slant/

“Preach the Truth Slant,” David Lose, …in the Meantime, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.