35 That day when evening came, he said to
his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took
him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with
him. 37 A great squall
came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly
swamped. 38 Jesus was
in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him,
"Teacher, don't you care that we're perishing?" 39 He got up, rebuked the wind
and said to the waves, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind
died down and there was a great calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so
afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They were greatly terrified and asked each other,
"Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Every
week I reserve the right to choose what I feel is the most helpful of the
various English translations available for our Sunday readings--and trust me,
the list of options continues to grow with each passing year. For the most part
I've discovered that I like the clarity of the "TNIV" (Today's New
International Version). That said, I'll quickly add that frequently NO
translation fully hits the nail on the head every week. This week I've gone
with the TNIV, but I've taken the liberty of 'fixing' a few things.
For
instance, in the span of 7 very short verses, the original Greek uses the word
"mega" 3 times. Mega in Greek means the same thing it does in
English. It means **GREAT, and/or great-big... and we're supposed to sit up and
take notice at the word. I was, therefore, quite disappointed that almost every
English translation glossed over one or more of the "megas" of the
text. Why? I assume they were there... originally... to grab attention. So
let's LET THEM GRAB our attention. It was a MEGA SQUALL (vs 37). And yet as
great/mega as that squall was, after the word spoken by Jesus there was a MEGA
CALM (vs 39). Then...ironically, when it's all over the disciples are gripped
with a MEGA FEAR in the presence of Jesus (vs 41).
Why
fear? Shouldn't they be thrilled that they're not drowning? Mark here captures
the truth that encountering a presence that is GREATER than the worst storms of
life can indeed be disconcerting. Fear is a very natural reaction. In order to
track with this, all we have to do is transfer it to our setting. What
Midwesterner isn't absolutely TERRIFIED at the thought of a tornado--especially
one of those category F5 monsters? Viewing the footage of such a storm in the
comfort of our own living rooms is enough to send chills up our spine. But
then.... imagine encountering a power MORE POWERFUL THAN THAT.... a power that,
with a word, could cause the tornado to evaporate. Whatever fear we may have
had of the ominous threat would be quickly transferred to the power greater
than that threat. Mark captures a very normal/natural reaction on the part of
the disciples. Our God is indeed an "awesome God" as the praise tune
says, but it's a good reminder for us that ENCOUNTERS with the awesomeness of
God drive us to our knees in respect....and, yes, fear.
The
big picture that St. Mark would have us see, however, is that the story doesn't
end there. The story doesn't end with the disciples cowering in the presence of
the awesome/fearful power of God on the lips of Jesus. This one they call
"Teacher," this one who is present with them and who is greater than
any storm that life can dish out, will go on to do something even MORE MEGA....something
of ultimate greatness; he will sacrifice himself for all humanity,...and in so
doing, he will once and for all calm the stormy rift between The Creator and
all of His Creation.
Cheers,
TM
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