Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra

Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 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?" 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 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?"

Dead Calm

Before I begin, you need to know something about me. Some may already know this but others might not. I have motion sickness. On a plane – without drugs I use that little white bag. In the backseat of a car, I turn green. On a raft – well, you get the picture. Now for the story:
The February before I graduated with my Master’s of Divinity, I had the opportunity to visit Israel with some of my colleagues and a couple of professors. It was a great trip. We climbed the rubble and ruins of ancient Israel, visited the Garden of Gethsemane, toured several of the large churches, walked the Via Delarosa and worshiped in the Temple of the Dome in Jerusalem. We also spent time on the Sea of Galilee.
When we arrived in En Gedi for lunch, the surface of the sea was like a mirror. The water was not even rippling as it quietly lapped on the shoreline. I was thrilled. I really didn’t want to take any Dramamine as it made me sleepy and I didn’t want to miss anything. But just as we were boarding the boat, the wind picked up. I looked out over the large body of water and saw the waves begin to swell. As we pushed off from shore, the captain said, “You’re in luck. The ride will be more enjoyable with the breeze.”
Breeze did not cover it. Within 15 minutes of the journey, the white-capped waves were four feet high. Though I managed to keep lunch down, I was glad that we were moving because the boat didn’t rock as much.
Then it happened. The boat engine stopped and we came to a halt right there in the middle of the sea. The captain announced that he was going to offer us the opportunity to experience what it must have been like when the disciples were in the boat with Jesus “and a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat.” (37) Though I did not chum over the side, I could relate with the feelings of those disciples of long ago – “Jesus, get up and do something!”
              The Sea of Galilee is notorious for its storms. This body of water is situated in a basin surrounded by mountains. Cool air from the Mediterranean is drawn down through th narrow mountain passes and clashes with the hot, humid air lying over the lake producing sudden, violent storms. Any voyager crossing the lake is liable to encounter just such unexpected storms as Jesus and the disciples.
            Our reading from Mark began with a clear day. The disciples were in the boat with Jesus and other boats were also there. But, then a great storm blew it. Eugene Peterson describes it this way, “A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, ‘Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?’ Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Settle down!’ The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass.” (37-39)
If we see the situation as a physical miracle and an example of Jesus’ extraordinary power, it’s impressive. How awesome it is to know that our Lord and Savior can command the wind and the waves and they will obey.
But the substance of this story in found in the unspoken message. Yes, the disciples were terrified when the storm was at its worst. But, when the disciples realized the extent of Jesus’ power – that He could calm the wind and the waves, they didn’t know how to respond. Jesus saw the shock in their faces and said to them, “"Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" (40) The disciples were filled with holy fear.
“In the Gardiner Museum in Boston there is a painting by Rembrandt entitled ‘The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.’ It is Rembrandt's interpretation of this scene. It shows panic etched on the faces of the disciples, as their small vessel is being raised up on a high wave, about to be crashed down. Two of the disciples are attempting to rouse Jesus who is asleep in the stern of the boat.
“But if you look more closely, you will discover that there is something that is not quite right. There are too many people in the picture. So you count them. There are fourteen. There should only be thirteen (twelve disciples and Jesus). But instead there are fourteen. It is then that you notice that one of the men in the boat is Rembrandt. He has painted himself into the picture. He has placed himself in the same boat.”
Isn’t that where we are…in the boat with Jesus – one of his disciples facing the storms of life? Take a look around this sanctuary. Can you see the lines of the boat in the ceiling? The dark wood suggests the boat’s hull – of course up-side-down. The boat has always been a symbol for the church. In the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church, USA, there are several pictures of the confessional banners of the church. The one that depicts the Scots Confession hosts a ship. Because this Confession contains a strong doctrine of the Church the symbol for the church, a boat, is found on its banner.
“Architecturally speaking, the church has the chancel up front and the narthex in the rear. Chancel and narthex are considered ‘church jargon.’ But where you are seated is called the nave. The word "nave" is obviously linked, linguistically, to the word "naval." Literally, "nave" is the Latin word for "ship." Even as we sit here in church, we are in the boat with Jesus.”
            …And, as we sit in the boat, we must remember what happened there. When the disciples called on the Lord, the storm became calm. Jesus’ presence brought dead calm to the situation. Fear was still with the disciples but it wasn’t about the wind and the waves. The fear that they now experience was a reverent fear – astonishment over what they had just witnessed. Now the disciples “were in absolute awe. ‘Who is this, anyway?’ they asked. ‘Wind and sea at his beck and call!’” (41)
            Indeed, Jesus calms the storms of our lives. Frustration, fear, anxiety; family situations, friend concerns, financial straits; failures, grief, change – Jesus promises to be with us and to will see us through our challenges. He doesn’t promise that we will not face the whipping winds and the drowning waves. What He does promise is that, when we call on Him, there will be a sense of peace with our decisions; there will be an assurance of comfort and care as we face the trials; there is a promise that we are not alone.
There was a woman in a community who was well known for her simple faith and great calm in the midst of many trials.  Another woman who had never met her but had heard of her came to visit one day.  "I must find out the secret of her calm, happy life," she thought to herself.
            As she met her she said:" So – you are the woman with the great faith I've heard so much about."
            "No," came the reply. "I am not the woman with the great faith, but I am the woman with the little faith in the great God."
Sisters and brothers, when we’re in the boat, we take the chance of experiencing some mighty rough storms. But in that boat, we will also experience the mighty power ascribed to Jesus Christ. When we’re in the boat, we can and will find that dead calm that Jesus brings, a calm that permeates our core. When we’re in the boat, we are where we need to be – with Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Savior.
Amen and amen.