“In the same boat!”

Mark 4:35-41 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to , “Let go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be !” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

As I reflected on this passage about Jesus and his disciples in the storm, I was reminded of a time when I was in a similar situation. My friend Ashley and I decided that we needed to do something big to celebrate our 40th birthdays, so we booked a cruise to Mexico. We were sailing out of Mobile, so we made the five-hour drive. We checked into our hotel and went to have lunch at a restaurant downtown. We were already in vacation mode, enjoying the day, when Ashley’s phone rang. I thought she was joking with me when she said that our cruise had been delayed due to mechanical problems with the ship. She was not kidding. We were going to have to find a place to stay for an extra night, and it was the weekend of the Senior Bowl in Mobile. Every room within an hour and a half radius was sold out. By the grace of God, we found a room. We boarded our ship late the next day and would miss one of our ports-of-call, but we were determined to enjoy our trip.

The next night, all of a sudden, our boat sailed into stormy waters. I had been on many cruises, but I had never seen anything like this. We got concerned and asked the crew members if they see storms like this a lot. One man said that in his 10 years at sea, this was the biggest storm he had sailed through. Waves were crashing over the decks. Most on board activities had been shut down.

One thing I observed that night is that people on board responded to the storm in different ways. Each played a different but essential role. Many passengers were . Others were trying to take care of the ones that were sick. Some were still trying to have fun. Some of the dedicated crew members were still trying to do their jobs. I watched a man to run a vacuum cleaner while he could barely stand. We needed all of those people. Thank God, not everyone was panicking all at once.

Much like the disciples in our passage who panicked and went to wake Jesus, Ashley and I began to pray. We were each on our bed praying out loud. My prayer was, “Lord, please save us! If this boat goes down, help me to survive in these freezing waters.” Ashley was very seasick by this point, and her prayer was, “Lord, I’m ready, take me on !” We were seeking the Lord, but we were not in one accord.

Our world is in the middle of a storm dealing with this Coronavirus pandemic. This storm was unexpected and people are dealing with it in many different ways. How can we help the others who are in this boat with us? All of us can be used by God during this time. This week, I was so encouraged by many of you. Our virtual passing of the peace on Monday blessed me by allowing me to have longer conversations with some of you than I normally would have had on a Sunday morning. We must look for the good things that are coming out of this difficult time. We can support each other and become stronger as a church than we’ve ever been.

We need community. I have friends who have kept me laughing through this time by sending me funny memes. I have enjoyed seeing pictures on social media of what you are all doing to occupy your time. I have seen people using their gifts and talents to make others’ lives better during this time. I have seen many teachers offering to help students and parents who are trying to homeschool. I have seen people offer to teach exercise class, art classes and music classes online. Using the gifts that God has given us is a way that we can show the love of God to others and point them to Him in the middle of this crisis.

Our passage today sheds some light on how we might best weather this storm together. Let’s begin to unpack this story. When we see how the disciples responded to the storm, we can find keys to navigating the storms of our lives.

This story is one of the most familiar in the life of Jesus. When some people teach this story, they focus on Jesus calming the storm, but I began to think about what the story can teach us about life during the storm.

This passage in the book of Mark is very detailed. We read that this voyage began in the evening. There were other boats around. Jesus wasn’t just sleeping, he was asleep, in the stern on a cushion. All of these details lead Bible scholars to believe that Mark 4:35-41 is an eye witness account of Peter. He probably used this story in his preaching and the events were narrated by the writer of the gospel of Mark.

At least four of the original disciples were fishermen by trade. (Andrew, Peter, James and John) They would have had a lot of experience sailing on the Sea of Galilee. Anyone who fishes on a daily basis has surely encountered storms before. Our passage tells us that waves were coming in the boat and the boat was being overwhelmed. This was not just any storm. This was the storm of the century. Large enough to scare professional fishermen. They did not see any possible way they would survive this.

They panicked.

The disciples were overcome with panic because they were focusing on the storm around them. This is something that we all face. There are many “storms” of life: the loss of a loved one, financial hardships, relationship problems, health issues. The reality of life is that if you are not currently in a storm, another one will come along soon.

These storms and times of trials in our lives are often unexpected and cause us to feel helpless. This feeling of helplessness is what causes our panic. Panic is a signal that we realize that the situation we are facing is something we can’t survive without God’s help. It pushes us to the limits of our humanity. It causes us to realize that our only hope is to call out to God. This is the desperation we see in the group of fishermen who realized that their only hope was to turn their panic into prayer.

Now these are the disciples who spent every day with Jesus. They have witnessed all the miracles. They have heard him preach. They knew him well because they were his friends. Even though they knew him well, they did not fully comprehend his power.

When they wake Jesus up, they ask him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” The storms of life cause us to ask tough questions. Wrestling with the tough questions is how we grow spiritually. Where is God during suffering? Where is God when we have to bury a loved one? Where is God when we get laid off from a job that we thought was secure? Does God care that we are in the storm?

An answer to this question can be found if we look back to the beginning of our text in Mark 4:35. Before the storm began, Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” This storm was very scary for the disciples, but Jesus’ statement indicates that he knew they were going to survive. He had planned that they would make it to the other side.

This storm on the sea of Galilee that day was no big deal for Jesus. He was totally in control. Jesus was probably looking ahead to a much bigger storm on the horizon of his life. He was headed to the cross to show these disciples and all of us just how much he does care. We have been going through The Story. Throughout the Old Testament and now the New Testament, we have read over and over of how God relentlessly pursues His people, of how he saved them time and time again. We know that Jesus came to preach Good News and peace to all. He healed the broken hearted and reached out to the oppressed. And yet, just like these disciples, when things get tough, we wonder if he loves us? Does he still care?

Jesus so wanted us to know that he cares for us that he did way more than calm the storm for a group of fishermen, he went all the way to the cross and died and rose again to prove just how much he really does care. Our faith can grow if we focus on Jesus’ victory on the cross instead of fixating on the storm around us.

After Jesus said, “Peace be still” and the storm was over, the disciples were filled with awe and said, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” The man in the boat with them was more than just a good teacher, He was their Savior.

Jesus is our hope in the difficult times of life. He is our Living Hope. Listen to this description in 1 Peter 1:3-7

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Do you think in the middle of the storm the disciples regretted following Jesus? Maybe they thought, we could be at home with our families? Once they reached the other side, maybe they were thankful for the storm. Without it, they would never have seen God’s glory. Their faith would not have grown. They got a chance to know their Savior more intimately. They got a chance to grow in their prayer life. They found an answer to one of life’s most perplexing questions, “Does God care about my storm?”

We can see evidence from Scripture that Peter did grow spiritually from this time with Jesus in the storm. We can read in Acts 12 about Peter in prison. He is possibly facing execution the next day. Is he panicking this time? When the angel arrives to save him, it says in Acts12:7 that the angel tapped Peter on the side to wake him up! He had learned to follow Jesus’ example. He was resting in the middle of the storm he was facing. He not only learned to trust God to get him through the storm, he learned that the key to peace in the storm is trusting God ENOUGH to rest in Him.

Rembrandt has a famous painting of this passage of Scripture. It is called “Christ on the sea of Galilee”. Rembrandt sometimes painted himself into his paintings. If you look at this painting, Rembrandt is sitting in the boat. He is the little guy who has one hand on his hat and one hand on the rigging. He isn’t looking at Jesus or the disciples, he is looking at the spectators, at us. Maybe he is asking us, where are you in this story? Who do you turn to in the storm? Do you take your panic to God in prayer? Can you trust that he cares for you even in bad circumstances? Are you resting in Him?

Navigating the storms of life is what grows our faith. It is when we reach the end of ourselves that we fully rely on Christ. What will get us through these trying times is faith, hope and love. We can rest in the faith that God’s got this. Our Living Hope is that Jesus is victorious over all. We will love our neighbors, because we are all in the same boat.