Pentecost 4B

4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A steam [boat] was crossing a stormy bay, when the engine suddenly stopped, and for a few minutes the situation was one of real peril. An old lady rushed up to the captain, and asked anxiously, “Is there any danger?” “Madam,” was the uncompromising reply, “we must trust in God.” “Oh, sir,” wailed the inquirer, “has it come to that?” Many people are willing to trust in everything—except God. (G.B.F. Hallock, New Sermon Illustrations (Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1953), p. 133.

Fear drives a great deal of our lives. And that’s not surprising. We heard a couple of weeks ago the first emotion that humans talked about was fear - “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was AFRAID, because I was naked...” (Gen 3:10) Our dealing with fear started very early in our walk with God. Or rather, it started very quickly after we started walking away from God.

And the farther we’ve drifted from God, the more it seems that fear grips us. Psychologists tell us that we are only afraid of 2 things at birth: falling and loud noises. All other fears are learned. Now, think about things you’re afraid of. If you’re anything like me, you probably have a list of at least a half-dozen things that you fear…that cause you terror. Most of them, you’ve learned at some point in your life. You weren’t born with those fears…except loud noises and falling…and it’s possible that you’re not longer afraid of those.

“God commanded Joshua to not be afraid because fear is one of the strongest negative emotions we humans can have. Fear can push us to lash out in anger, to cower in a corner, or jump into situations that are not healthy. Moses spoke of this paralyzing fear when he reprimanded the Israelites for being fearful to enter the land God had provided for them, telling them not to be fearful or discouraged because this land was a gift to them from God.” [https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-does-the-bible-say-about-emotions.html]

Fear drives much of what we say and do in our day-to-day lives. As children, we learn to fear those things which might hurt us, physically or emotionally. Fear becomes a primary tool to teach our children… fear the consequences of poor decisions, of laziness or apathy, or of poor performance, or insufficient effort. The adults in our lives use fear to drive us and steer us as we grow.

It doesn’t get better when we’re adults. Fear of failure keeps us going in college and in our jobs. Fear of losing our livelihood, fear of not meeting expectations, fear of not living up to our potential…all continue to drive us. But that’s just internal. Externally, we are BOMBARDED by fear daily. For as long as I can remember, fear is broadcast on the news constantly. Everything from violent criminals on our streets to “did you buy broccoli from this tainted batch? If so, your household could be at risk of catching e coli. News at 7.” And of course, the worst culprit of my lifetime: the Wuhan Virus pandemic. So many decisions have been made about our nation in the last 15 months based on raw fear - some good and necessary, but some, as we are now learning, were definitely neither good nor necessary - and this fear continues to grip many people…some, I’m sorry to say, who cannot seem to let go of their fear, even when confronted with facts and evidence that would lead them out of it.

Fear is a powerful political weapon; this is not new. It has been used in our own country many, many times by both major political parties. If you vote for the Democrats, our way of life will be destroyed! If you vote for the Republicans, our environment will be destroyed! Both parties use fear - better known as “fear mongering” - during election campaigns. It’s atrocious and disgraceful. And perhaps the saddest part of it is: it’s very, very effective. We are complete suckers when someone tells us what we should be afraid of, but that they can protect us from it. We fall for it constantly.

Today’s Gospel lesson is, I think, one of the best answers to fear that God has ever given us. Jesus and his disciples are riding in a boat across the Sea of Galilee - which is really just a large lake, but it’s quite deep, and storms are frequent, and often quite powerful. Boats in Jesus’ day were not large, and they were not very rugged. So when we read that the waves were breaking into the boat, and it was already filling, this was likely the kind of situation that the fishermen knew could very well sink them and kill them. It likely was a VERY scary experience for them.

Now since this is only the 4th chapter of Mark, none of the 12 have yet come to the realization that Jesus actually is the Messiah. They know he has power from God, and has performed a few miracles: casting out demons, cleansing a leper, and healing many others, but they don’t know yet who he truly is. This is obvious when they ask him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Think about that for just a moment. The fact that ALL of them were perishing…THROUGHOUT their WHOLE lives… perishing from sin and death and separation from God… that’s the very reason that Jesus is there! Again, if they knew who Jesus really was, they’d know the answer to that question.

But he doesn’t answer them. He just gets up and “rebukes” the wind. To rebuke is to express sharp disapproval or criticism in response to someone’s behavior or action. So he’s basically scolding the wing. And then he says to the sea “Peace! Be still!” That word “peace” is not the typical “shalom”-type peace we read about elsewhere, where you are “lacking nothing”, like when we say “peace be with you”. This one is more like “shut up!” It literally translates to “silence!” And the wind and the sea obeyed him.

It was only THEN that Jesus addressed his comrades. He doesn’t say “don’t be afraid” though. He asks a question… or rather, 2 questions: “why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Let’s take those one at a time. “Why are you so afraid?” Well, first they said in their question to him, that they think they are “perishing” - that death is imminent. They are afraid to die. Or rather, they are afraid of death. I think most of us can appreciate that. Death is a scary prospect. Science tells us that we don’t know for sure what happens when we die. It’s a great mystery to human kind, and has been since we first walked upright…probably even before that. And humans are notorious for being afraid of anything we don’t understand.

But that only answers the question “what are you afraid of?” - and that’s not what Jesus asked them. They don’t answer him. Why are they afraid? Because they don’t know what Jesus can do for them. That’s the simple answer. They don’t know - when they ask him - that he can save them. They don’t know that he has the power to keep them from perishing. And they are afraid of perishing.

Jesus’ second question actually tells us part of the answer to his first question. Part of why they are afraid is because they don’t have faith. At least, not faith in the right thing. Their faith is in their boat, and it’s losing to the wind and the waves. But he doesn’t ask “Have you no faith?” does he? No, he asks, “Have you *still* no faith?” At this early point in his journey with them, he is telling them that by now, they should have the faith to not be afraid of anything but God. Of course, they’re not there yet…Jesus is still teaching them, but it’s kind of interesting that Jesus seems to think that these 12 have the spiritual formation that they need to not be afraid in the face of great powers of natural disaster.

Now here’s what bothers me about this passage: we know EXACTLY who Jesus is, and yet we still fear things. We fear violence and disaster. We fear failure and humiliation. We fear loss and suffering. And of course, we fear death. As Christians however, we don’t have to fear death. We confess in the Creed each week, whichever one we say, that we believe in the resurrection of the dead. When we say that, we are reinforcing our belief that Jesus has defeated death, and that his power and authority over death and the grave will be demonstrated on the last day when everyone will be raised. We believe this, and we say it every week. Unfortunately, the world around us pummels us constantly with the message that we should be afraid of death. I estimate that we hear that at least once a day throughout our week, whereas most of us only hear the Good News proclaimed once a week. Is it any wonder then, that the message we hear daily has more of a grip on our hearts than the message we only hear once per week?

“Fear is a common feeling that can hold our emotions hostage, which is why fear is discussed several times in biblical text because God wants us to not be afraid when facing dangers, uncertainties, or discouragement. The only fear we should exercise is the fear of God, and fearing life without Him in our lives to love, guide, teach, and forgive us.” [https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-does-the-bible-say-about-emotions.html]

We know the Biblical narrative from start to finish. We have the complete Gospel telling of Jesus’ time walking among us, doing his earthly ministry. We know exactly who Jesus is and what he has done for us…and what he CAN do for us. Why then are we so afraid? Do we still have no faith? As we’ve said many times, “faith is the opposite of fear” right? Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? He is the Son of God, who died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, that we would all be freed from our captivity to sin, and through him be brought to eternal life with God. *That* is who he is.

My good friend Pastor Gilbert told me the other day that God says “do not be afraid” 365 times throughout the Bible. That’s one time for every day of the year. Brothers and sisters, that is not coincidence. I pray that in the days ahead, as we encounter things that spark fear in us, may we be reminded of just one of those 365 verses, where God tells us “don’t be afraid”. And as we recall those exact words, let us be reminded of why don’t need to be afraid: that The One Who tells us that is the Only One we need to fear: our Dear Heavenly Father...and He loves us as His very own children with a love that has no equal. Thanks be to God!

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.