Mark 4:35-41     When a Cow Falls into Your Boat          E/GR     June 25/06

1)      A few years ago a crew from a Japanese fishing trawler was rescued in the Sea of Japan.  The crew members were immediately put in jail.  They claimed that a cow fell out of the sky, struck the boat, causing it to sink. The authorities figured they must have been under the influence.  About 2 weeks later the Russian Air Force informed the Japanese authorities that the crew of one of its cargo planes had stolen a cow thinking they would have beef for some time.  Of course the cow was not fond of its close surroundings and began to thrash about.  To save the aircraft and themselves, at about 30,000 feet, the crew shoved the animal out of the cargo hold as they were flying over the sea of Japan.

2)      It seems when you go to sea you never know exactly what to expect!  That?s what the disciples found as they took a night boat trip across the Sea of Galilee.  Now no cow fell on them that night.  But a very severe storm began to thrash about.  It was a very common occurrence on the tiny Sea.  The wind began to blow.  The waves began to crash over the sides of the boat.  The seasoned sailors got the buckets out, but they were making no headway.  They began to panic.  There was no coast guard to rescue them.  They were in big trouble and they knew it.  So the disciples did what we?re often tempted to do when there?s a big problem.  They found someone to blame.  Jesus.  It was his idea to go across the lake at night.  Why didn?t he check the forecast?

3)      In the night time of our fear, what sets off our terror?  We likely don?t have a cow swamping our boat, but it surely seems like it.  Fear of change, fear of criticism, fear of failure, fear of being hurt, fear of loss - of control, of loved ones, of possessions, of power, of self.  What is it you fear, and more importantly, how do you overcome it?

4)      Let?s see what the disciples did?  They wake Jesus and start yelling over the thundering waves, ?Don?t you care we?re perishing??  Well apparently he did!  He said, ?Peace, be still.?   And as often happened in those waters, the winds just as suddenly dropped as they had begun and there followed a great calm.  At least until he said, ? Why are you so frightened?  Have you still no faith??  I?m sure that stirred things up a bit!  Here they had just about drowned and he?s anything but comforting!

5)      Clearly there was something Jesus wanted from the disciples that?s missing.  He knows he won?t always be with them.  He wants them to keep living abundantly when he?s gone.  He sums it up in the word, ?Faith?.  That?s what he?s been doing isn?t it?  Having faith.   The one non-sailor in the boat, fast asleep, totally trusting the ones who know what they?re doing.  They?re fishermen ? sailors.  That?s what Jesus wanted of them.  Faith.  Trust. First of all in themselves.  To do what they?ve been trained to do. 

6)      When we are afraid, or in crisis, can we hear the Risen One?s call to trust ourselves?  ?You?ve got the resources within yourself.  You are created in God?s image.  God is within you.?  Which is of course not to say we are alone or rely totally on ourselves.  Sometimes when we are in crisis, we may need another to help us hear our own wisdom into speech.  To be re-minded of what we already know.  We need to talk out loud and have someone mirror back what we say.  It may be what gets us out of the rut. Gets us unblocked.  We may see options we couldn?t before we were challenged.  But if we believe we have the resources, we will be able to participate in bringing healthy change. 

7)      Secondly, Jesus knew they had realistic cause to be afraid.  Jesus didn?t criticize the disciples for their fear, but that they let it overwhelm them.  When we?re faced with the realities of fear, how do we respond?  We have at least 3 choices.  Paralysis.  Check out.  Or check it out. Paralysis is when we?re absolutely stuck.  Check out.  That?s when we throw up our hands, and say, ?There?s nothing I can do!?  We might blame, like the disciples.  Or we could check it out.  Figure out some creative way to respond.  Brainstorm two or three choices.  Even if they?re not choices we like, at least we?re choosing.

8)      So into this situation where the disciples have a very real reason to fear, Jesus says, ?Peace,? the rich Hebrew word shalom that means harmonious community, agreement, the place the soul can grow, the fullness of life that God brings in which all relationships are healthy and whole ? to self, God, others.  Fear is the opposite of this peace.  When we are afraid ? of God, of others, of what will happen, of what the new situation will bring, or of death, which is often the fear of life itself ? we cannot live at peace or be at peace.

9)      I talked to a young man who is living into this truth.  He learned his company might move where he and his family would not choose to live.  The decision will not be made for 4-5 months.  He?s the major wage earner in his family, so he must work.  Without a decent salary, they would lose their house.  He could be very stressed!  Blame sales personnel who are not getting the work coming in.  Angry. Overwhelmed.  He?s choosing to wait for the decision.  To make plans for the summer and enjoy them.  In the midst of a very real reason to feel there?s at least an unruly calf in his boat, he?s choosing to not be overwhelmed and to approach it in a healthy way.  The company by the way didn?t move!

10)  There?s one more astonishing part of this.  Jesus marvels at the disciple?s lack of faith.  He seems to be expecting his disciples to share the peace and power that he has, to dwell with God and in God as he does.  And he seems to assume that eventually they will: ?Why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith??  By this he seems to mean the kind of faith he has which he believes can and will be theirs too.  This is huge.  Imagine. We are made to have faith like Christ?s!  To still the storm and calm the wave! This is a story of what we yet shall be - human beings fully alive and living in the wisdom and power of God.  Remember what John records Jesus saying (Jn14:12a) ?Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these??   That?s us he?s talking to!

11)  In the storms of our lives, when our boat seems swamped, maybe not with a cow but with something just as difficult to deal with, can we dare to trust that we are made in God?s image, that God dwells within, that wisdom is available for us to get unstuck, to find out how to solve the problem.  Can we dare to believe that God is much larger than us as well, and totally to be trusted?  That the kind of peace available in our life in God will get us through, even if the storm doesn?t abate, and we?re left bailing ? or swimming for shore.  Peace right within the midst of the worst possible storm.  We need not be afraid.  Thanks be to God.