121125 Walk with Me: Overwhelmed

Storms happen.

Jesus had just finished a significant amount of ministry, and wanted to head to some other area along the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). Fishing boats in those times had low sides to make it easier to lift the haul of fish inside. Jesus was wiped out – a sign of his humanity – and was crashed in the back of the boat where they likely stored the nets. A storm picked up in that Tahoe-sized lake and, like the lake we know and love, meant potential calamity, especially in an overloaded fishing boat.

The winds and waves worsened, and the little boat started taking on water. The disciples panicked. Jesus slept. Finally, out of their desperation, they roused Jesus with unvarnished incredulity: don’t you even care that we’re all about to die?

Earlier this month, I think a lot of people were praying similar prayers as Super Storm Sandy attacked our eastern seaboard. How could God allow such a thing to happen? But we don’t reserve such prayers just for natural disasters of earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, or drought and heat. We have plenty of other occasions which seem to call forth our inner disciple, questioning whether or not God exists, gives a rip, or is able to do anything about it. Cancer. Dementia. Alzheimer's. MS. MD. HIV. PTSD. Schizophrenia. Bi-polar. Rape. Divorce. Unemployment. Domestic violence. War. Terrorism. We have plenty of storms that threaten us all throughout our lives. Just like the disciples, we tend to freak out. For many, it is at that moment that prayer is finally uttered to a God we tend to ignore until it hits the fan.

The “prayers” did rouse Jesus. He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Immediately, peace and still happened. Mark recounts this event portraying Jesus as treating the wind and sea as he did a demon-possessed person in need of exorcism. Mark offers this take to help us see that the God who handled the individual struggles is big enough to handle the biggest challenges that atmospheric conditions can throw our way.

This would not be the first time the disciples would face faith-challenging situations. Around the time Mark’s Gospel was being circulated, the disciples were facing severe persecution from Jewish leaders as well as Roman authorities. These forces would not just tell them that they were wrong – they would illustrate the fact by beating them severely to show that the disciples’ god was powerless against Roman brutality. The boat was going down…

Sometimes we wonder if God is making all this happen, as if it all is part of God’s perfect plan. I don’t prefer this way of thinking about the awful realities we face in life. It implies that God wills the good and the bad, the holy and the evil. It means that rapists rape in accordance with God’ will. It means all the “organic matter” we face is somehow exactly what God intended. This portrays God as an apparently unjust deity where the playing field is not level, and sometimes the people who honor God most get rewarded with what seems like hell. How do we make sense of this? Why doesn’t Jesus rebuke those storms?

Because of this apparent disparity, some wonder if the story is even credible. Did this actually happen? Did Jesus really rebuke the weather into submission? Does it matter if this story is to be taken literally? Does the story’s impact change if it is not taken literally? This is for you to mull over, along with hundreds and thousands who have done the same.

The point is the same regardless of your hermeneutic: peace followed prayer.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. – (Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)

“Organic matter” happens. Some of it we bring on ourselves. Some of it comes from others. All of it a reality of living in an imperfect, unpredictable, multi-variable world. Sometimes we think we simply want a miracle to give us relief from whatever we are facing. But like those in Jesus’ time who were healed, we discover there is something more important. None of the people who were healed by Jesus are still walking around today. They have all passed on. But when they drew close to their last moments, I am sure many of them did so with peace, knowing that there was a God who was bigger than cancer, the sword, their mistakes. A God who would soon welcome them into his loving embrace.

So, when you are feeling overwhelmed, pray. Pray in unvarnished ways. Worry more about being honest than about offending God with your panicky prayers that might come off offensive. Pray for the obvious problems you face. But place your hope on being in the presence of God now and forever, where true strength and peace reside. Miracles of healing and calmed storms may sometimes happen. The experience of the peace and presence of God which transcends our pain and suffering can happen regardless of our immediate prayer being answered. This is the greater answer to our prayers, that we are not alone, that we are loved, and that hope remains.

May you, as you find yourself living life with all of its storm fronts, call out to the God Jesus found himself in, and find a peace that truly does pass understanding.