Belonging (S2) : WK 2 - FRI
(Mark 4:38b-41 NLT) The disciples woke him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown?” [39] When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. [40] Then he asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" [41] The disciples were absolutely terrified. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "Even the wind and waves obey him!”
We now enter the scene where Jesus wakes up to His disciples shouting at Him. Imagine, for a moment, being Jesus and being sound asleep. I love how Mark, in a subtle way, gives his readers some insight as to how comfortable Jesus was as he makes the extra effort to include this little extra detail, “with His head on a cushion.” It is clear that the Spirit writing through Mark is emphasizing how comfortable Jesus is in His deeply peaceful sleep on His Father’s lap.
I don’t get the sense from the text that Jesus was startled when He woke up to their shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” But, I’m glad He woke up. Maybe their life did depend on Him waking up. We don’t know. Or could they have ridden the storm out with Jesus sleeping through the entire episode? Now that would have been an interesting conversation with the disciples telling Jesus all about what happened and Jesus, their Rabbi, asking all sorts of profoundly curious questions, pulling out profound theological truths about living in God’s Kingdom now on earth as it is in heaven.
What we do know is that Jesus did wake up, and when He did, He rebuked the wind and the waves by telling them to be quiet and to be still. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and there was great calm. I love that Mark used the word calm. It says more than just that everything became still. Jesus then asked them two questions. “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” I believe these two questions are steeped in our reality of belonging to God and His Kingdom. I think our unhealthy fears (yes, I believe there are healthy ones) are critically connected to our understanding and acceptance of our belonging to God. And when Jesus talks about faith, I don’t believe He is referring to a personal power to do incredible things, but rather the faith that is based on actions stemming from a genuine belief. In this case, acting like I belong to Jesus because I do. And if I believe I belong to Jesus, my faith is the day-to-day way I live that out naturally as I live this life with God, self, and others. What I hear in Jesus' question for His disciples when He asks, “Do you still have no faith?” is, do you still question your belonging?
We now enter the scene where Jesus wakes up to His disciples shouting at Him. Imagine, for a moment, being Jesus and being sound asleep. I love how Mark, in a subtle way, gives his readers some insight as to how comfortable Jesus was as he makes the extra effort to include this little extra detail, “with His head on a cushion.” It is clear that the Spirit writing through Mark is emphasizing how comfortable Jesus is in His deeply peaceful sleep on His Father’s lap.
I don’t get the sense from the text that Jesus was startled when He woke up to their shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” But, I’m glad He woke up. Maybe their life did depend on Him waking up. We don’t know. Or could they have ridden the storm out with Jesus sleeping through the entire episode? Now that would have been an interesting conversation with the disciples telling Jesus all about what happened and Jesus, their Rabbi, asking all sorts of profoundly curious questions, pulling out profound theological truths about living in God’s Kingdom now on earth as it is in heaven.
What we do know is that Jesus did wake up, and when He did, He rebuked the wind and the waves by telling them to be quiet and to be still. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and there was great calm. I love that Mark used the word calm. It says more than just that everything became still. Jesus then asked them two questions. “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” I believe these two questions are steeped in our reality of belonging to God and His Kingdom. I think our unhealthy fears (yes, I believe there are healthy ones) are critically connected to our understanding and acceptance of our belonging to God. And when Jesus talks about faith, I don’t believe He is referring to a personal power to do incredible things, but rather the faith that is based on actions stemming from a genuine belief. In this case, acting like I belong to Jesus because I do. And if I believe I belong to Jesus, my faith is the day-to-day way I live that out naturally as I live this life with God, self, and others. What I hear in Jesus' question for His disciples when He asks, “Do you still have no faith?” is, do you still question your belonging?
- Can you imagine yourself resting with your head on Jesus’s lap? If so, what does it feel like? What do you notice?
- How might you be struggling with allowing yourself to accept your belonging to Jesus?
- For a fun spiritual exercise, search for Rembrandt’s painting of Jesus calming the storm and spend some time reflecting on Jesus in the boat, and pick a disciple or two you can relate to based on how they are interacting with Jesus in the storm.
No Comments