At our service in church, I will show the children some pictures of the calming of the storm by a Dutch artist. I have often used them with children, but they also speak to me very powerfully as an adult. One picture in particular speaks to me. (You can find the picture at the beginning of this online service). In the midst of the storm, Jesus is fast asleep - on a cushion (a wonderful little detail which is in Mark's account of this story). David and I sometimes have this picture up on our bookcase in our study. Last December when I was away from church and facing an especially stormy time, the room my friend had set aside for me had this picture framed on the wall. It is a wonderful picture of calm and trust: Jesus asleep as the storm rages about him. Certainly, it felt like a sign to me, a reminder to trust God even in the most difficult times.
Of course, the picture of Jesus asleep in the boat in the midst of the storm comes half way through this story; the climax is when Jesus stills the storm, rebuking the wind and the waves, and the disciples respond with awe and wonder: 'Who then is this man that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?' Two different pictures of Jesus are portrayed in this story: Jesus when he is fast asleep as the storm rages, and Jesus subduing the elements with great power and authority. I want to explore a little the relationship between these two depictions of Jesus and what they say to us.
First, let's try to imagine the scene as if we were one of the disciples. 'Let us cross the lake' Jesus says, and so you gather your stuff together into the boat. It's a warm summer day and your spirits are high as you put out into the lake. Jesus is exhausted and is soon fast asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat. 'Yes,' you say to yourself, 'He needs his rest after all that preaching, teaching and healing, after the clamouring demands of so many people.'
Suddenly, as sometimes happens on the lake, the wind picks up; it is funnelled with great velocity down from the mountains surrounding the lake. The clouds are darkening in the east and you can see some nasty weather is on its way. Before long, a full blown storm is upon you. The wind is howling around you and stirring up huge waves which crash into the boat. The boat which had seemed so strong and secure minutes before now seems fragile and vulnerable. More and more water is coming into the boat. You all work together to try to get rid of it, shouting to each other across the noise of the wind. Meanwhile Jesus continues to sleep.
Things are getting worse and you feel a rising panic, and also not a little frustration and anger at Jesus. How can he possibly sleep at a time like this. Finally, in desperation you shake him awake roughly, 'help! We're going to drown!' Jesus wakes up, looks at you steadily, willing you to trust him, then then he stands up and speaks to the raging wind and waves 'be still' and the storm dies down and there is a deep calm.
'Where is your faith?' Jesus says and you feel a new fear; a fear of awe and wonder. Who is this man who commands the winds and the water and they obey him?
In this Gospel story, Jesus speaks with God's authority. The miracle highlights that Jesus' authority does not only include the authority to teach and to heal; his authority is also seen in his power over the natural world. We see in Jesus the authority of God the Creator.
Our two other readings this morning speak of God the Creator. We heard in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the second of the two accounts of God creating human kind. Our reading from Revelation, the last book of the Bible, depicts a scene in heaven where God is worshipped as the Creator of all:
'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.' (Revelation 4:11).
The book of Revelation concludes with the renewal of all things, the vision of the new heaven and the new earth. In this vision of the new creation, we are told 'that the sea was no more.' This may seem a very disappointing detail to those of us who love the sea and were maybe looking forward to trips to the seaside in the heavenly country. But that is to miss the point. For the Israelites, the sea was the symbol of chaos, destruction and death. In the vision of the new creation, the fact the sea is no more is the guarantee that all things are now made perfect; never again will the forces of evil work destruction in the world and cause misery to human beings.
When Jesus calms the storm, he embodies the power of God over creation. As some of us reflected in our discussion on the Creed recently, creation is the work not just of God the Father, but of the whole Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Creation is made in, through and for Christ and in him it holds together. (Colossians 1: 15-17).
God has made all things, visible and invisible, and he will eventually restore and remake all things, visible and invisible. This will involve the removal of all that is destructive and evil. Jesus' calming of the storm gives us a glimpse of this authority. An authority we also see in his healing of the man possessed by demons which follows straight after the calming of the storm on the lake. Just as Jesus calms the storm, the wind and the waves, he also restores calm to this man's inner 'storm', his inner turmoil and chaos.
But Jesus' authority is not an authority he possesses in himself, but stems from his complete trust and dependence on God his Father. Think back to the two striking pictures of Jesus in this story of the calming of the storm: one of him standing with arms outstretched, commanding 'be still' but the other of him asleep while the storm rages about them. The disciples think Jesus being asleep means he simply doesn't care what happens to them. But the fact Jesus can sleep in such a situation illustrates his complete trust in God. Jesus' authority is tied up with his trust and dependence on his Father.
So this Gospel story tells us something about Jesus, his authority and his trust in God his Father, but it's also an encouragement for us to trust God in the midst of any storms that we face. We may not be caught up in a storm at sea very often, but all of us will experience 'storms' of different kinds in our lives. Sometimes we face storms that come from outside circumstances, situations which, like the sea, become out of control and threaten to overwhelm us. We may also experience inner storms of anxiety, anger, fear or despair. Most of us can expect some kind of 'storms' or difficulties at some point during our lives. How do we respond to such storms?
There's always the danger that when profound suffering or anxiety hit us, like a storm, we lose our faith and trust in God completely. Hopefully, more often, we respond like the disciples: we both have faith and lack faith at the same time. Sometimes we may feel like we are hanging on to God by a cobweb, as one friend once memorably put it to me. The important thing is that we still cry out to God in the midst of the storm as the disciples cried out to Jesus. They weren't sure he cared, they weren't sure he would do anything, but nevertheless they turned to him in their desperation. We may even, at times, feel frustrated and angry with God, as the disciples were with Jesus. But it's better to turn to God and rail and shout than to turn away from him in bitter silence.
If we can hang on in there when storms come, what then? Eventually the question comes what will God do? That's where the real challenge to faith comes, because we do not have a promise that Jesus will speak 'peace, be still' and calm every difficult situation and suffering we face here and now in this life. Many people have experienced the painful reality that they pray and pray but the storm, whatever it is, continues to rage about them. Then perhaps, rather than picturing Jesus standing in authority to rebuke the storm, we should remember him asleep on the cushion in the midst of the storm. Jesus trusted his Father and was confident in his love for him even when outward circumstances seemed dark and terrible and God seemed silent and inactive. When Jesus hung on the cross, God didn't come down in mighty power to rescue him. Nevertheless, Jesus continued to trust him and his trust was vindicated by God raising him to new life.
We may be facing storms of some kind at the moment. Certainly, none of us know what storms may come in the future. But let us take encouragement from this Gospel story this morning. God has authority over all forms of chaos, suffering, evil and death and ultimately all storms will be stilled, and there will be healing and peace, new life, and the perfection of all things. We see the beginning of this in Jesus' resurrection and we will see the fullness of this new life in God's recreation of the new heavens and the new earth. In the meantime, let us learn from Jesus' complete trust in God his Father. Even when the storm rages around us, he is with us, and we can trust ourselves completely to his knowledge and his love.
Helen Marshall