"In Peril on the Sea"

Mark 4.35-41

Pastor Tom Johnson, June 24, 2012

 

One of the few shows everybody in my family enjoys watching is Whale Wars. The show is about an international group of activists that are trying to stop Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic Ocean. The people show an amazing amount of courage to go thousands of miles from civilization. They must be as tough as nails to put themselves in harm’s way. Even with the best equipment, a human being could not survive for more than a few minutes in those near freezing waters. In a recent episode, their fastest ship is damaged during a storm. They literally have to repair their ship by tying it together with a rope. The nearest ship is nine hours away and has to go around the storm to get to them. The multimillion-dollar ship may stay afloat until help arrives; then again it may not. When the reality of their situation sets in, the captain of the ship and the rest of the crew start to lose their cool. Some are cursing. Others are crying. But everyone has a panic attack. Sitting on my couch on solid ground, it takes a bit of imagination and empathy to really understand how terrifying it must be—to be so alone and vulnerable in the Antarctic Ocean—to walk on the edge of the frailty of life. The chilling truth is that many people died of hypothermia in the artic waters when the Titanic sank almost 100 years ago.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus and his disciples take several boats out to sea. They too encounter a great storm. The waves beat the boat. It is flooding with water. We know several of Jesus’ disciples were professional fishermen. If a professional fisherman is afraid at sea, then there is good reason to fear. The boats are being swamped. The wind and waves are too strong to survive long in the water.

What are the storms raging in your life? What is the wind howling and tossing you back and forth? What is the wave threatening to pull you under and drown you with fear and terror? Is it a difficult relationship? Is it some bad news? The Apostle Paul says that we can be “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of teaching” (Eph 4:14)—when we are not grounded in God’s Word, our lives can feel like they are spiraling out of control. James says in his letter that “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way” (Jams 1:6,7)—when we don’t trust God we don’t know where to reach for help or to whom we call when we are in distress.

In Mark’s Gospel, he wants us to remember another story of a boat in a deadly storm at sea. Can you guess which one? He gives us a handful of hints and even quotes the story word for word twice—the story of Jonah. Jonah was a disobedient prophet. He was going in the opposite direction God told him to go. A storm started to threaten the boat Jonah was on. Jonah was so clueless—so out of touch with reality that he was sleeping on the ship. On Whale Wars, the crew made it a point to say that they could not sleep. The boat was moving too wildly. There was too much to worry about. They may sink at any moment. It is hardly a time to count your sheep when you’re wondering if this may be your last moment.

Can you believe it? Jesus is also asleep on a sea-drenched cushion in our text. The boat is jerking violently here and there. The wind is howling. The waves are crashing in and filling the boat with water. And Jesus seems to be as clueless and out of touch with reality as Jonah. “Teacher, don’t you care? Don’t you realize we are about to drown and die?” they yell. After waking up, Jesus says, “Shut up! Put a muzzle on it!” That’s what “Peace! Be still!” literally means. Maybe it took a moment for them to realize that Jesus wasn’t telling them to shut up but the wind and the sea. The wind stopped blowing and howling. The sea stops churning and slamming against their ships. In the story of Jonah, the ship’s crew tossed Jonah into the sea and the sea calmed miraculously as well. It takes a few moments for a bathtub full of water to stop moving if you slosh it around enough. The waves and ripples caused by a big cannonball splash in a pool will also take a few minutes to settle down. A stormy sea will take hours and even days to calm. For Jesus to stop the waves from tossing instantaneously is a miracle.

Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish. And on the third day the fish vomited him out on the right side of the sea—in the right direction——to bring God’s message of grace and mercy. Jesus spends three days in the belly of the earth. In Matthew 12 (vv. 40-41), Jesus says, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” By his death and resurrection, Jesus shuts up and muzzles sin, the devil, and death itself. He tells us not to fear but to trust in him to still the storms of our lives. He gives us a peace that passes all knowledge, the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. In peril on the sea, land, and air we can trust Jesus. As the hymn reminds us: “upon the chaos dark and rude, and bid its angry tumult cease, and give, for wild confusion peace.” In peril and in peace, Jesus is the anchor of our lives.