With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’ (Mark 4:35-41)
In Mark’s Gospel the Kingdom is not something yet to come, it is a present reality. It is the presence and action (reign) of God among his people. That may not always been readily seen, but it is there none the less.
Last Sunday Mark used two parables to talk about the reality of the Kingdom. Over the next few Sundays he begins to talk about the mystery of the Kingdom present in Jesus and what living in the Kingdom requires. None Mark’s stories are about some awesome display of power. Mark’s stories make it clear that Jesus is about saving human beings, healing them and calming hearts disturbed by life’s storms. In Jesus is the power of life and liberation.
Sudden storms on Lake Galilee were well-known and still happen today.
Many of our ‘boats’ and those of our loved ones have been tossed about on turbulent seas since the sudden arrival of Coronavirus last year. Many of us know exactly the kind of fear and uncertainty that the disciples felt as they were tossed about in the darkness on the stormy lake in this Sunday’s Gospel. Many may also feel that Jesus is asleep somewhere.
And yet, signs of Jesus are all about us: in healthcare workers and medical researchers, in people trying their best to look after others, to provide meals and shelter, to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, to bring comfort and to pray.
Vulnerability is an uncomfortable experience. Mark helps us understand that life in the Kingdom begins with faith and confidence in God especially in the midst of epic struggles which threaten to overcome us.
The disciples’ question is ours, too. Who is Jesus for us? A magician, a wonder-worker, or a person who found the way to let the reign of God’s grace out of his heart and into the lives of those around him?
Download our Celebrating At Home reflection for this Sunday here:
Celebrating At Home 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time [PDF]
Celebrating At Home 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time [ePub]
