Mark 4:35-41
For more than a year when we were not able to gather together we learned like never before that the Church is not a building, it’s people - God’s people united in the Spirit by faith and love. Which meant that even though we could be with each other in person, the Church still existed and carried on because we, the people, were still the Church. Even so, it’s a blessing that we are now entering into a time of transition back to being the Church in our church buildings. And as we go back inside to familiar places and spaces I’m wondering how many of us really know the names of the parts of the church that we’ve so dearly missed? So let’s have a pop quiz!
First, what do you call the little area before you enter the main worship space of the church? Answer: The narthex. What about the side areas of seating in the main church that are to the right and left of our altar? Those spaces are called the transepts. Now what about the main worship space? The place where most people sit? What is that called? Most people refer to it as the sanctuary, but technically that is incorrect. Incorrect, that is if you are in a Catholic or Episcopal church building. Granted, many Protestant churches do call the entire worship space the sanctuary. But in our church, the sanctuary is actually the space surrounding the altar distinguished by the altar rail. So what is the main body of the church called? The nave, which comes from the Latin word navis, meaning ship. That term “nave” harkens back to early Christianity when a key symbol for the Church was a ship with a cross as its mast. And as that symbol took hold and actual buildings were built so that the Church could gather it’s no coincidence that many church building ceilings were constructed to look like the bottom of a boat. For the Church, God’s people, was likened to a ship, sailing in a vast sea encountering stormy waters, much like our story from the gospel of Mark.
Jesus and the disciples are sailing across the Sea of Galilee when a great storm arises. The wind is fierce. The waves are high. The boat is taking on water and sinking. All seems lost. Now we may have never sailed across the Sea of Galilee during a storm, but we’ve all been in that boat. Because this is not just a story about bad weather and a boat trip. It’s a story about faith. It’s a story about fear. It’s a story about life.
Sometimes the sea of life can be mighty rough and threatening. We all know what that is like. Each of us could tell a storm story or two - or three or more. Because storms begin in all kinds of ways and take on all kinds of forms. Some begin with unwelcomed news. Others, the result of a careless mistake. Still others arise from great loss. There are storms of suffering. Storms of regret. Storms of violence. Storms of injustice. And we have all just experienced the intensity of the storm of Covid-19 and that one isn’t completely over yet. But no matter the storm, what they all have in common is that they are about changing conditions. And the forces that those changing conditions release become greater than anything we can control. Buffeted by winds of change and waters of chaos, we can be pushed to our limits and feel as if we are sinking into the deep.
“Do you not care that we are perishing?” shout the disciples. We’ve probably all echoed those words in some form or another. “Do something. Fix it. Make it better.” During a storm it can seem as if Jesus is absent or, at least passive. In the Sea of Galilee storm, Jesus is there, but he’s sleeping peacefully while the poor disciples are awake with panic. They have lost hope and their cry reveals that they think they know how this storm story will end - with their deaths.
But do they really know? Once roused, Jesus speaks to the storm, "Peace! Be still!" But I wonder which storm he is truly addressing. The one taking place outside of the boat or the one within - the storm raging in the hearts and minds and souls of the disciples. Because I think it’s safe to say that Jesus’ primary concern here isn’t about the weather. Once the easy task of calming the wind and the waves is accomplished, Jesus turns his attention to what truly matters. The interior storms we experience that have the power to blow us off course, beat against our faith, and threaten to drown us. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
“Peace! Be still!” is Jesus’ ongoing invitation to let go of our fear and to embrace our faith. To trust God in the midst of changing conditions. To know peace and stillness no matter the outward circumstances of our lives. To be calmed by the love of God that is stronger and deeper than any waters that may beat against us. Because storms happen - changing conditions are a natural part of life. They simply can’t be avoided. And faith does not save us from experiencing storm events. Rather, faith helps us in getting through them by enabling us to see and know in the deepest parts of ourselves that Jesus is with us even - or especially - in the storm. And because that is so, in the end, all will be well.
Now on most days I believe that with all of my heart - and I hope you do too. But there are some days, when we are in the midst of the storm, that the invitation to know God’s peace and stillness gets lost in the wind. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Jesus asks. Well, if you really want to know, Jesus, it’s because we’ve human. We will always struggle, to some degree, with our fears and our faith. And that is why God ordained that we do not go this alone. Remember we are the Church, God’s people united with one another in the Spirit by faith and by love. It is together that we navigate stormy seas - in the same boat, in the same nave. When some of us are overcome by fear others keep the faith. The faith that Christ is with us in all of our storms and that one day we will all be brought into safe harbor.
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