A Word from Mark 4

If your life right now was a boat ride, how would you describe the trip? Is everything “smooth sailing?” Are you facing “stormy seas?” Or is your boat “dead in the water”—not really going anywhere, but at least not under threat?

And regardless of the conditions facing your “fragile craft,” is your attitude about your journey determined by the conditions around you? Or by the Companion who’s with you?

I ask all this because today’s word from Mark 4 tells a familiar story about a boat ride. Jesus and his disciples were crossing a lake, and the Bible says, “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion” (4:37-38a).

Of course, we have those moments, too, don’t we? Moments when the “storms of life” seem overwhelming, and when it feels—like if Jesus is with us—he’s not paying attention. And so, like the disciples, we’re tempted to cry out, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (4: 38b)

Of course, in today’s story, Jesus rebuked the storm and said, “Quiet! Be still!” And then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (4:39) And naturally, that’s not always the way Jesus deals with our “stormy seas.” As I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “Sometimes he calms the storm, and sometimes he calms us.”

But Jesus still asks: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (4:30) And if I’m honest, that’s a question I need to ask myself these days. Because even though my little boat is doing okay, it often feels like the “giant vessel” that is our “shared boat trip” is in the midst of category 5 hurricane.

So today, I hope we can remind each other that Jesus—our Sailing Companion, whom “even the wind and waves obey” (4:41)—is in the boat with us. And we can trust that he’ll get us to our journey’s end. Amen.