“Peace! Be Still!”

Mark 4:35-41

The Spider.

The itsy-bitsy spider, went up the water spout. Down came the rain, and wiped the spider out. Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, and the itsy-bitsy spider went up the spout again.

I love stories with happy endings. Stories where clouds and rain and winds threaten the well-being of good people – or good spiders – but just when it seems like the destructiveness of the storm will prevail, something good happens, and fortunes are reversed, and victory is snatched out of the jaws of tragedy. I love that sort of thing. Don’t you?

Jesus and the disciples are out on a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. The winds begin to pick up, and the waves begin to build – as they sometimes do on that very large lake. Before long, the fierce storm is upon them – and the situation is looking very bad. The boat is tossed about, and the disciples are unable to keep it into the wind. The mountainous waves begin to crash over the sides, and the boat fills up with water. They are seconds away from being swamped and going down.

Jesus is taking a nap in the stern of the boat. That guy is like many of us – put him in a chair in front of a golf game on TV, and he’s out like a light. Wife, kids, neighbors could come in and have a parade around his recliner, but he’s oblivious to it all, lost in dreams of beating Tiger Woods in sudden death at the Masters.

The disciples shake Jesus awake. “We’re going down, Jesus! Get up! For crying out loud, don’t you care about what happens to us???”

Jesus yawns and wipes the sleep from his eyes. “I was just lining up my third putt…” he mumbles.

And then he sees the crisis of the wind, and the rain, and the sea. He sees the fear-streaked faces of the disciples who have done all they can to save the boat and themselves, but to no avail.

So Jesus stands up in the stern of the boat, and simply says, “Peace, .be still.”

And – miracle of miracles - out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, and the itsy-bitsy spider went up the spout again.

At first glance, we may see in this story of Jesus calming the storm the rather obvious message that Christ can bring peace to our lives in the midst of the storm. And by all means, I hope you will take that message to heart. The answer to the disciples’ question, “Don’t you care what happens to us?” is answered with a resounding, “YES! I DO CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!”

And if you are here today experiencing some terrible storm in your life, I hope you’ll take those words of Jesus personally. God DOES care about what you’re going through. Don’t be afraid to call out to the Lord to ask for help…and for peace in the midst of your storm.

At our 10:30 Music Sunday service today, there will be a handbell and clarinet piece based upon the great traditional hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” You probably know the story-behind-the story of that hymn. A man by the name of Horatio Spafford, a very successful Chicago lawyer and very devout Presbyterian, experienced a series of terrible personal tragedies. The worst one came when, on the advice of his physician, he planned a family vacation to Europe. Because of work he needed to clear up in the city, Mr. Spafford sent his wife and four daughters on ahead aboard the ship Ville du Havre. But out on the high seas, that ship collided with another. It went down. Mrs. Spafford was saved, but all four daughters drowned.

A distraught Spafford took the next boat to meet his wife in Wales where the survivors had been taken. He was overwhelmed by grief, and all the moreso when the ship sailed by the very spot where his daughters had perished. The captain brought the ship to a stop, and a wreath was thrown out. Can you imagine what that must have been like? Yet, it was during that unimagineable time, when completely overcome by the storm of grief, that Mr. Spafford experienced some small gift of grace. As he looked out at the boiling seas, words began to filter through his mind:

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows, like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come;

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

The promise of this God who loves us is that He does care! And though the storms of life may not all be able to be abated by some extraordinary miracle, God assures us that we can have peace in the midst of the storm, and the assurance that things will be well in God’s time. I’ve known this experience personally – when I’ve lost loved ones, when we’ve faced heartbreaks with our kids, when my abilities as a pastor have been overwhelmed by the tragedies of the people I love. There is a peace that passes all understanding. I call out to Jesus for that peace all the time. And with that peace, I am able to face the storm.

Perhaps you hear Jesus speaking to your heart this morning as you face whatever you’re facing. “Peace, be still!” This story in Mark 4 is intended, in part, to bring us the assurance that the Lord does indeed care about what happens to us. So turn to Jesus today, and ask for peace!

But that’s not the whole story of Jesus calming the storm.

Did you notice the really strange part?

Jesus has spoken. The winds have subsided. The sun has come out, and dried up all the rain! The boat, the spider, and the disciples have been saved! And this is how Mark describes the reaction of the disciples:

“They were terrified, and asked each other, ‘Who IS this?’”

Why would anyone be terrified at the end of such a wonderful story? Why do you suppose that is?

When Dick Willyoung took me along on one of his Angel Flights last winter – transporting a liver transplant patient over to Duke and back - we flew into a pretty bad snowstorm. Dick’s Cessna 182 was getting thrown around inside the clouds by some pretty heavy turbulence. The snow was coming like a blizzard. And then it changed to freezing rain. Ice began to cover the windshield and the leading edges of the wing. I’ve mentioned before that I turned to Dick and asked, “Aren’t you concerned about the icing?” And Dick, in his inimitable way said, “Nah, the ice’ll probably melt in the post-crash fire.”

Well, Dick – sick sense of humor not withstanding - did a great job of piloting us through that storm, and when we finally broke free of the clouds, I felt tremendous relief and joy. Not once was I even tempted to look at Dick with fear and terror!

I was not afraid of him! In fact, I wanted to kiss the guy, and give him all my money! Thank goodness that was just a fleeting feeling.

So why do you suppose the disciples reacted to Jesus’ saving them so differently? The Bible says they were terrified.

Well, Mark tells us that, connected to their fear is this question:

“Who IS this who even the wind and the waves obey?”

It seems to me that the disciples were confronted in that moment with the reality of the Christian challenge. If Jesus can speak to the wind and the waves pounding a boat at sea, he can also speak to the storms confronting our lives at home. And we are not always ready for that.

About a year ago, we gathered in this sanctuary for a Memorial service celebrating the life of one of our dear church members. She had suffered from cancer, and was now set free. And we had a beautiful time remembering her life, and thanking God for His many mercies.

Some time after the service, this woman’s husband confided something interesting to me. He said, “As her memorial service came to a close, I found myself not wanting it to end. I knew that as soon as it was over, I was going to have to start my life all over again – all alone after 50 years with her.” Then he said to me, “After the benediction, you came down the stairs and held out your hand to lead me down the aisle, and honestly Marty, I’ve never been so terrified in my entire life.”

The call of Jesus to face the storms of life is not always an easy call to accept.

My friend Barbara had three children and another on the way. She was 9-months pregnant when her husband decided he didn’t want to be a husband or father anymore. So he left. Just like that.

Barbara said, “I hurt so badly, all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball, fall asleep, and never wake up again. But all the while, I kept hearing this inner voice saying, ‘Barbara, your children need you to be their mother, and this new baby needs you to give it life. You have to get up, and go on.”

Barbara sensed this was the voice of God. And it terrified her to think that she couldn’t just curl up and die, that she was going to have to live and face the challenge of raising her children on her own.

You see, the Christian Faith is the most demanding Faith in the world. It will not let you sit idly by for very long feeling sorry for yourself. It will not stand by and watch you destroy your life and your family with an addiction to alcohol or drugs. It will not passively permit you to spend the rest of your life wallowing in the pain of the abuse you suffered as a child. It will not leave unchallenged your feeling that you can’t make something of your life.

No, instead, Jesus Christ enters EVERY storm we face, and gives us the opportunity to find our way through to joy – to peace – to wholeness. And the most liberating moments of life are those that come when – in the face of the storm we’re facing – Jesus whispers that it’s time to move on.

Maybe its time for you this morning – time to begin moving from a storm of sadness to a place of new joy – maybe it’s time to begin moving from estrangement to reconciliation with someone you’re on the outs with – maybe it’s time to move from guilt to forgiveness – time to move from self-centeredness to putting others first – time to move from being overwhelmed by your disability to becoming the master of your disability – time to move from judging of others to loving others – time to move from apathy to involvement – time to move from doubt to faith, and from despair to hope.

Maybe Christ is whispering to you today!

It can be a terrifying experience to be a Christian because God is not content to let us give in to and be sunk by the storms of life. The Good News of Jesus is that there is not a thing that has ever happened to you, that is happening now, or that will happen to you in the future that you and God together cannot transform into peace and life and wholeness.

Who IS this who even the winds and waves obey?

Why He is the Savior who loves you, and gives His life for you!

And all that He asks is that you let Him into the boat with you – no matter how half-sunk it is - and learn to row into the future together!