June 25,
2000
Mark 4:35-41 (CEV)
[One] evening, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross
to the east side." So they left the crowd, and his disciples
started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats
followed along. Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake. Waves started
splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.
Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and
he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, "Teacher,
don't you care that we're about to drown?"
Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The
wind stopped, and everything was calm.
Jesus asked his disciples, "Why were you afraid? Don't you
have any faith?"
Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, "Who
is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
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1.
To cross to the east side of the lake is to move in the direction
of the unpromised land. Metaphorically this is a move from order
to chaos. There would ordinarily be some hesitation about this
direction. And, sure enough, once they make it across the first
thing they run into is a man possessed. To suggest such a move
to the east would begin to put the disciples nerves on edge.
2.
Already on edge a storm that someone could sleep through might
not be all that much of a storm. Let's suppose that the disciples
were not exaggerating when they wake Jesus with a "Chicken
Little"-like response, "We're about to drown!"
They shift their fear from the elements to Jesus. "Who is
this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" The unspoken
line here is, "The wind and waves obey him much better than
we do, will he turn and not drown us but zap us for being so fearful,
so incompetent, so human?" The predictable they could handle
by being predictably scared. The unpredictable they simply didn't
know what to do with and were even more afraid. How is it with
you?
3.
When you go back to read the Bible passage again note how easy
it is to delete Jesus' question from the text. The disciples didn't
respond to the question about faith they responded to the act
of power. That is so like disciples of every age. It is so difficult
for us to live out of faith rather than the usual way we have
been socialized to live out of fear, particularly fear of the
unknown.
For the moment, let's highlight
that verse which is so easy to pass over. Hear it directed at
you -- "Why are you afraid?"
The proposed antidote for fear
is faith -- "Don't you have any faith?"
Here is a little exercise for you. On a sheet of paper posted
on your mirror or refrigerator or wherever, title it Fear/Faith
Ratio. Down the side write the next 7 days of the week. During
the next week, at the end of the day, jot in a figure which best
represents your fear/faith ratio -- 25/75, 50/50, 67/33, etc.
-- and what you think the fear of the day was about. At the end
of the week show it to someone you trust with spirit matters and
talk with them about what you found and whether or not you tended
to make your ratio look better or worse than it really was.