In The Boat With Jesus

June 20, 2021

Hope Lutheran Church

Rev. Mary Erickson

Mark 4:35-41; Psalm 107:23-32; Job 38:1-11

In the Boat with Jesus

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

They’d crossed the sea hundreds of times. As seasoned fishermen, they’d seen Galilee in all kinds of weather: as smooth as a mirror, sparkling with thousands of dappled diamonds in the morning sunlight, gray and misty, choppy and difficult. They knew the lake with the familiarity of an old lover.

So when Jesus mentioned one evening that they should cross to the other side of the lake, it was no big deal. They got in the boat and started to sail for the eastern shore. Jesus moved to the stern and settled in on top of the gear. Once they started moving, the sailing motion rocked him to sleep.

But at some point, the winds picked up. A lot. Up their little boat climbed to the heaven, then down they tumbled to the depths. The waves spilled over the gunnels and started to fill the tiny craft. Several of them were put on bailing detail. Even so, they were swamping. The seasoned fishermen could feel their courage melting away.

They looked over in Jesus’ direction. He was sound asleep! One of them staggered and reeled like a drunk man over to Jesus. He shook Jesus by the shoulders and shouted in his ear.

“Teacher! Wake up! We’re about ready to die! Don’t you care?”

Jesus got up on his knees. He shouted at the storm: “Peace! Be still!” And just like that, the fury driving the winds ceased. The lake was perfectly calm.

Many years ago an old fishing boat was discovered in the muddy bottom of the Sea of Galilee. It carbon dates to the time of Jesus You can see from the photo that it’s relatively small, a little longer than 25 feet and about seven and a half feet wide. This is probably very similar to the boat that Jesus and the disciples were in.

Although we call it the “Sea” of Galilee, it’s really a freshwater lake. The lake is the main source of fresh water for Israel today. It’s about 8 miles at its widest and about 13 miles in length. Not so big, but big enough that you don’t want to be on it during a raging storm.

The lake plays a significant role in Mark’s gospel. Jesus crosses back and forth several times. The eastern side of the lake was mostly settled by Gentiles while the western side was Jewish. Jesus’ ministry takes him to both communities.

In a very real way, we’re still in the boat with Jesus. This sanctuary we’re situated in, the main area with the pews is known as The Nave. The word Nave is Latin for “Ship.” You’re seated in your rows just like persons aboard a galley ship. Very early on the church adopted the ship as an image for the church of Jesus Christ.

We’re all in this ministry together, moving forward in mission. We’re in the boat with Jesus, doing mission in the name of Christ. The spirit of Jesus goes with us still. He promised: “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

On one level, the storm at the sea presents a metaphor for our life together in Christ. The disciples’ response in that boat teaches us a thing or two about our life as disciples of Christ.

First of all, there’s no guarantee that we won’t face adversity. Being disciples of Christ doesn’t place a protective bubble around us. The disciples had Jesus right in the boat with them. Nevertheless, they were barraged by a severe storm threatening to drown them.

We may question why. Why do bad things happen, especially to good people? Job wondered exactly that. Here he had been devoted to God. He’d been a servant of God’s justice and peace in his community. Then disaster struck. His health was ruined, all of his children were killed in a freak accident, and his livestock was wiped out. Job raised his complaint to God.

This morning we heard God’s response. Who are you, Job, to question me? Were you there when I made the earth? Did you set the measurements for the earth and the heavens? Basically, God’s answer put Job in his place. We are not God. We see only in part. God’s wisdom and plan is so vast and so deep that we cannot comprehend it.

We will never be able to answer the question on the presence of evil and suffering in the world. But we can reflect on it. St. Paul came to recognize how he had actually grown through adversity. He grew in ways that would never have been possible without the hardship. He reasoned,