“John and Valerie Bernhart were among those on Blackburn Lane who nearly lost everything, while also enduring a night of intense fear not knowing if they were going to survive.” So begins a story about a retired couple living in Maury County, TN, after a tornado ripped their house apart this past week as they huddled together on the floor and prayed. “We have hope,” they say, “and thank God we are alive.”
I’ve never been in a tornado. Perhaps you have. Or maybe you’ve experienced some other storm of wind, driving rain, hail, or some other storm that prompted you to pray to God for protection. Sometimes, in these circumstances, God might seem to be far off and unconcerned. Other times, maybe as you reflect back on the event, God might seem to have been near, protecting you from harm.
In Mark chapter four, we read the account of Jesus stilling the storm on the sea. In this case, God was near to the disciples; in fact, He was right there in the boat, on a cushion, asleep!
When evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
The disciples’ faith is in its infancy. They are still learning just who it is that is asleep on the cushion in their boat. One of the Church Fathers notes that, while the boat carries Jesus, Jesus, as part of the Godhead carries the boat! Hebrews 1:3 says, “[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Paul says, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Jesus allowed the storm to come up on the sea that night. He allowed waves to buffet the boat and to begin to swamp it. Athanasius (c. 296 – 373 A.D.) writes that, “Even while he was asleep on the pillow, the Lord was testing his disciples… For when he arose, and rebuked the sea, and silenced the storm, he plainly disclosed… that the Lord who rebuked [the storm] was not a creature, but rather its creator.” What was the purpose of this miracle, if not to instill in the disciples a deeper understanding of who Jesus was?
The disciples are not the only ones to ask, “Who is this?” The Pharisees and Scribes, the leaders of the people ask it, but in a little different way – they ask, “Who do you think you are!” They come at Jesus with unbelief and reject him out of hand. He performs miracles, signs and wonders, but most of them harden their hearts against Him, and do not put their faith in Him.
Our world today certainly follows their lead:
“We have modern medicine and medical procedures. No need for a Healer.”
“We have scientific support for evolution. No need for a Creator.”
“We have our reason. No need for a God.”
And yet, the Holy Spirit is active through the Word and the Sacraments. Our Augsburg Confession (Article V) states that, “Through these, God gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where it pleases God, in those who hear the Gospel.” The Holy Spirit creates faith and sustains that faith through Word and Sacrament.
We may wonder why, if God loves us, do the storms of life still come? Why, if Jesus is with us as He promises, doesn’t He prevent some of the difficult and terrifying experiences to happen? Perhaps, as we see with the disciples, these experiences come with a purpose, to mature our faith, as opportunities to go our Lord, to call on Him, trusting that He does, indeed, care for us, and believing that He will carry us through to the other side.
Just as the storm on the sea was sent that night to increase the faith of the poor, frightened disciples, so the storms in our lives are opportunities to grow in our faith as well.
Of course, the storms do not have to be tornados that destroy our homes. A storm might come in the form of a physical ailment, a hospitalization or diagnosis that destroys our tranquility and our reliance on our good health, and moves us instead to rely on Jesus our Good Shepherd. A storm might come in the form of a change in our financial situation that destroys our reliance on our good planning, and directs us to look to the One from whose hand we receive all things, and who has promised to provide for all of our needs. A storm might come in the death of a friend or family member, shattering our peace, and moving us to turn to Christ who suffered death for us, who defeated death by dying and rising again, urging us in our grief to lean on Him and find peace in His promise of resurrection.
The storms we encounter in this life are opportunities to ask with the disciples, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him,” and to recognize in faith that He is your Lord and Master. He is your Brother through baptism. And He is your Redeemer – the One who stilled the wrath of God over your sin by accounting your sin as His own, so that for all who believe on His Name, the day of judgment will not be a day of storm and gloom and gnashing of teeth, but a day of serenity, a day of great calm, and a day of endless rejoicing.
In the Lutheran Study Bible there is a prayer that accompanies this miracle: “Lord, forgive our doubts, for we sometimes take Your silence as nothing more than sleepy indifference. Remind us that You never sleep nor slumber, but always keep us under Your watchful eye. Amen.”
God’s peace be yours,
Pastor