Boating with Jesus
Mark 4:35–41
35On that day, when evening had
come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36And
leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into
the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But 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?" 39He woke up and
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the
wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, "Why are you
afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41And they were filled with great awe
and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea
obey him?"
This is a model of the "Jesus
Boat" which was discovered in 1986, during a period of drought which
exposed a fishing boat of that era. It is the kind of boat Jesus and his
disciples would have been in the above gospel story.
The Sea of Galilee is a small lake
which is 33 mi. x 13 mi. It is located
in a depression some 700 ft. below sea level and is surrounded by hills.
Frequently a rush of wind and the right mix of temps can cause a storm to come
suddenly on the lake. Storms on the Galilee were known for their suddenness and
violence. The little boat being tossed around in a big storm was a terrifying
experience, at least for the disciples it was. Jesus was sound asleep,
confident in God's care.
There is a prayer, the Breton Fisherman's Prayer, that
is so appropriate as we think about this gospel passage. Part of it goes like
this, "Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small." The
boats of our lives may be storm-tossed, but the Lord who stills the storm is in
our boats as well.
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