Reverend
Debbie Cato
Mark 6:45-52
Fairfield Community Church
July
21. 2024
Loving
God, Open our ears and our hearts to your teachings, that we may be
strengthened in our faith and equipped for ministry in your name. Amen.
Once again Jesus was teaching –5,000 people men. (Women and children were not counted in those days.) Scholars estimate there would have been around 10,000 people including the women and children. When Jesus realized they were hungry, He fed them with five small barley loaves and two small fish that a young boy contributed.
After the people were fed, Jesus had his disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd. After Jesus said good-bye to everyone, he went up on the mountain to pray, as was his habit.
Jesus must have been on the mountain praying for some time because evening came – it was dark. Now, we find Jesus standing alone on the side of the sea. He could see the disciples and he realized they were straining to control the boat because an adverse wind had whipped-up on the sea. It sounds like Jesus stood watching them for some time, because the passage says that when he began walking toward them on the sea, it was early the next morning.
The disciples were straining on the oars. They were caught in a storm and rowing using their own strength was no longer working. The waves and wind were furious and the resistance against the oars was more than they could handle. Perhaps they were even thinking about quitting because they were tired and running out of strength. They’ve been in the boat since early evening and now it’s the next day – we don’t know how long the storm had been raging. Perhaps all night, but we don’t know.
There are many times in my life when I’ve felt as if the problems and pressures of my life were like a vicious storm – knocking me down. Plenty of times when I felt like I was rowing on furious waters and couldn’t get away from it all. Like I was stuck in a storm of problems and pressures, and I was running out of strength to keep going. Have you ever felt that way?
I think about the people we pray for with cancer and other serious health problems. I think about those who are battling tremendous physical pain, fighting it each and every day. I think about the families of the teenagers that were killed last week and what a whirlwind of grief they are feeling. I think about people suffering in the heat, those who are hungry every day, those who work two jobs but still cannot afford rent, those who are house-less. We don’t have to look far to find storms raging – in our lives and others. Storms that have zapped our strength, our resolve, our very souls.
I think the way Mark is telling the story in chapter 6 of his Gospel, he’s reminding us once again - we are not alone. Jesus is there. It may feel as if he is far off, standing on the shore, just watching. But He will come to where we are, he will reach us as we are – regardless of what brutal storm we are battling. We can cry out – “Help, I can’t do this alone” and He will come to us.
We don’t have to have our life all-together, we don’t have to be in control of our psyche. Jesus doesn’t care if we are a mess, if we are overwhelmed, angry, grieving, or scared. He is there. Saying, “Do not be afraid. It is I. I am with you in this storm.”
In our story, when Jesus gets into the boat with his disciples, the winds immediately stop. The water is at peace, no longer pushing against the oars. Water is no longer splashing into the boat, the wind tossing them about with no regard. The sea is calm.
Now, I have never had my problems, my crises, immediately go away when I have given up figuring it out on my own and called out to Jesus. Problems and situations are still there. It is still hard.
But what changes is me. I no longer feel alone. I am no longer carrying the burden all on my own. I feel a strange sense of peace in the midst of my situation. I’m able to let go – just a little and pray about what’s going on – trying my best to give it to God. At the very least, I know I’m not in it alone. Jesus is with me. That’s the peace I feel. The sense of fear and hopelessness lessens. I have even found that I often see a solution or at least reconcile the situation in my mind or come to accept it instead of fighting it. The problem is still there but isn’t as big a part of my life. It isn’t controlling me. It’s not as overwhelming. I don’t feel as alone.
The phrase "do not be afraid" appears often in the Bible. Some sources say you can find it 365 times in the Bible, which is one for each day of the year. Some say that this is a daily reminder from God to live fearlessly and to focus on him and trust him.
But other sources say it’s much less – which I think are more accurate - say the actual phrase “Do not be afraid” is in Scripture 71 times. They say all the others are about fear but do not specially say “Do not be afraid.” I have not counted them myself. But, even if it’s only 71 times, that is enough to see that it is an important message. We can be afraid or nervous walking into a new chapter of our lives because of the unknown or we may fear certain things, places and situations. But amidst the fear, God promises to never leave us or forsake us.
The Psalms prove we don’t even have to be nice! We don’t have to choose our words carefully or be a master at prayer. We can completely bear our soul. We can be angry, we can be hopeless – God doesn’t care. He can take it. He already knows our hearts anyway. Our prayer can be as simple as “help me.” Honestly, we don’t even have to speak. We can just sit and focus on God’s presence. It’s enough. God knows.
We don’t have to sink on our own. Something happens when we give it to God in prayer. God is there. He says, “Do not be afraid. It is I.” Amen.
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