In today’s sermon, I look at three stories in Mark where the disciples wrestle with faith in the midst of fear, all of which take place on boats.
This is the sermon for June 20, 2021, for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost at St. Peter Lutheran Church, a congregation of the ELCA in Greene, Iowa.
Thank you to Richard A. Jensen’s book Preaching Mark’s Gospel for this approach to today’s lectionary reading, Mark 4:35-41. Also helpful was God Pause for Friday, June 18, 2021, by Tim Kellgren.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
How many of you have watched the show Seinfeld?
I’d never seen it, but Christin and I recently finished going through the entire series, and maybe you remember, one of the keys to the show is that the characters in Seinfeld don’t grow. They don’t learn anything from their experiences.
It has its funny moments, but it’s also frustrating to watch, because they keep making the same kinds of mistakes, getting fired from jobs, self-sabotaging in relationships, and after nine seasons, they’re still just as self-centered and immature as they were at the beginning.
I don’t think it’s possible for people in real life to go through years of experiences without any learning or growing, but there are moments in the Gospels where the disciples seem to be on that track.
Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are trying to figure out who Jesus is. They know he’s special, and they’ve committed to following him, but as you read the stories, you realize that over and over again, the disciples misunderstand what Jesus is doing. They underestimate him.
Every time you think they’ve learned a lesson and made some progress, they seem to slide backwards and say something foolish.
Of course, unlike the Seinfeld characters, there is some growth. The disciples do eventually make some progress. But it’s painfully slow.
Sometimes you want to grab them and say, “Don’t you get it yet? You’re literally walking around watching Jesus do miracles; how do you not understand who he is?”
There are three stories in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus’ disciples are on a boat crossing the sea of Galilee, today’s reading being the first.
Jesus has been teaching the crowds about how the kingdom of God is like seeds scattered on the ground, where God’s kingdom grows from even tiny little mustard seeds, and he’s even been explaining the meaning of his parables to the disciples.
That night, or that afternoon, they get into the boat together, and they head to the other side of the lake.
Suddenly a storm comes up, and they’re in trouble. Waves are crashing into the boat, and the disciples are convinced they’re going to drown. This is the end.
But Jesus is asleep in the stern, and they wake him up, and they’re panicking. “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re in trouble? We’re drowning here; don’t you care?”
So on some level, the disciples get it. They know Jesus can help. They’re not just waking him up so he can see the world one last time before he goes under. They seem to trust Jesus can save them.
But they’re not sure he will. They’re going to the right place, to the right person for help, but out of fear, not faith. They have some faith, but it’s far from mature.
Jesus wakes up, rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And miraculously, the storm stops. Jesus turns to his disciples, and says, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
And the disciples seem to get it. They’re filled with awe, and they wonder to each other, “Woah. Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” They’re figuring it out, growing in faith.
Their fear of “don’t you care” has turned into the wonder of “who is this” as they’re recognizing Jesus is more than just a great teacher; he’s got power from God.
The Bible often uses the sea as a symbol of chaos, of evil power, so Jesus is doing more here than just changing the weather, more even than just saving lives.
Symbolically, he’s doing something only God can do, changing the chaos into calm. He’s demonstrating his power, revealing his identity.
So that’s boat story number one, where the disciples learn Jesus has God’s power to make even the wind and the sea obey him. It’s metaphorical too, right? Jesus can calm the storms in your life. Just as importantly, the disciples learn that Jesus really does care about them. They learn they don’t need to be afraid, only to trust in Jesus.
Let’s jump ahead two chapters to another boat story, and if you have a Bible, you can follow along in Mark 6.
This second boat story comes right after what’s probably Jesus’ greatest miracle yet, the feeding of the 5,000 thousand. We’ll hear John’s telling of the full story in August, but the short version is that with just five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds 5,000 people. Mark says everyone ate and was filled, and the disciples gather up twelve baskets of leftovers.
Here’s Mark 6:45-52.
Immediately [Jesus] made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified.
But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
So again, the disciples see Jesus, but they don’t know who he is. They don’t recognize him, they think he’s a ghost floating on the water to them, and they’re terrified.
It’s like they’ve learned nothing. They’ve watched Jesus calm storms before; they’ve watched him provide for people in trouble, but they still don’t trust him. They should have faith, but they’re right back to fear.
Their hearts are hard. And so Jesus has mercy on them, and he comes into the boat with them, and when Jesus gets in the boat, the wind ceases. It’s all ok.
Surely this time, the disciples will understand. With all the evidence they’ve seen, they’ll really trust him now. Their faith is maturing, right?
Two chapters later in the story, Jesus feeds another large crowd. This story often gets overlooked, because it’s not as impressive as the feeding of the five thousand was. This time, there are about four thousand, and there are seven loaves and a few small fish. So, two more loaves of bread and a thousand fewer people — still impressive, but just a little anticlimactic after the first time. Oh, and only seven baskets of leftovers this time.
Again, Jesus and the disciples get into a boat to cross the lake, and this time there’s no storm or adverse wind, but listen to what happens. This is Mark 8:14-21.
Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And [Jesus] cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.”
“And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
You can hear the frustration in Jesus’ voice, right? “Do you not yet understand? Are your eyes shut? How do you not remember? Seriously, I just proved for the second time that I can feed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread. There’s only a dozen of you in the boat and you have a loaf of bread. How are you possibly worried about food?”
And yet Jesus does not give on them. Perhaps that’s the good news for today, for us who are so often like these forgetful, fearful, unfaithful disciples. We have seen God’s faithfulness.
We have the stories right here, passed down for thousands of years. We have evidence around us of God at work. We have evidence in our own lives. God is faithful.
And yet we’re still afraid, aren’t we? We’re afraid of what’s going to happen to us in the future, afraid of what might happen to our church. We’re afraid of not having enough, afraid of being overwhelmed by the storms. Despite all the evidence we’ve been given, we still fall back into wondering if God cares for us, afraid we’re not good enough or faithful enough
But here’s the hopeful part: Even the disciples do eventually grow in faith. Fear doesn’t get the last word.
Rather than giving up on this group of timid, foolish, forgetful followers, Jesus trusts his ministry to them. On Easter morning when Jesus rises from the dead, the message from the angel to the women who find the empty tomb is to go and tell Jesus’ disciples he’s alive. These are the saints who found the church, who in turn trust the message to us.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we are often timid and foolish, forgetful like the disciples. Send your Holy Spirit to build us up in faith, to help us grow as your followers. Open our eyes so we might see who you truly are. Open our hearts so we might trust you in the midst of the storms of our lives, that we might recognize you are in the boat with us, even when we worry if you’re asleep. Thank you for never giving up on us, no matter how many times we fail to live up to your call. Help us to follow you always, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen