Dear God, I was looking at a list of upcoming retreats at Laity Lodge this evening and I came across this description of a retreat

Water is one of the most important of scripture’s recurring symbols. As we work our way through the beginning of the Bible and read about the watery chaos depths of creation, the flood of judgment, and Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea, we begin to see that water is associated with chaos as well as cleansing, death as well as deliverance. Mark’s gospel takes up this symbol-theme in creative and sometimes astounding ways. This weekend retreat will undertake a close reading of three different scenes of Jesus and the disciples in a boat on the sea (Mark 4, 6, and 8) to see what they might teach us about following Jesus through the storms of life.

https://www.laitylodge.org/retreats/summer-2023-2/

It made me want to look at the stories in Mark 4, 6, and 8 to see what they were.

The first is Mark 4:1-2,35-41:

¹ Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. ² He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one…

³⁵ As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

³⁸ Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. 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!”

The second story is Mark 6:45-56:

⁴⁵ Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. ⁴⁶ After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

⁴⁷ Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. ⁵⁰ They were all terrified when they saw him.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, ⁵² for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.

⁵³ After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore ⁵⁴ and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once, ⁵⁵ and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

The third is Mark 8:1-21, although this one is just a brief mention of being in the boat:

¹ About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, ² “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. ³ If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”

⁵ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they replied.

⁶ So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. ⁷ A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.

⁸ They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. ⁹ There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. ¹⁰ Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹ When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

¹² When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” ¹³ So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake.

¹⁴ But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. ¹⁵ As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

¹⁶ At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. ¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ¹⁸ ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? ¹⁹ When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”

“Twelve,” they said.

²⁰ “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”

“Seven,” they said.

²¹ “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

As I look at these–especially the first two–I want to think about “following Jesus through the storms of life,” as the description of the retreat said. The first story is interesting because I’m not sure what the disciples should have done differently. If they had done it right, what would they have done? I’m not sure I’ve ever asked myself this question before. I’ve accepted their correction by Jesus for doing it incorrectly, but what would doing it correctly have looked like? I suppose they should have just sat and prayed. Maybe together. Maybe separately. Maybe holding hands. But I guess, in an ideal world, they would have simply let Jesus sleep and prayed. I suppose they could have sat and talked among themselves during the storm, assuming that as long as Jesus was with them they probably weren’t going to sink, but simple prayer would probably have sufficed. I guess the thing that made what they did really wrong was that they seemed to blame Jesus for their danger. They accused him of not caring.

I have a situation I need to deal with, and my first reaction was to sit and reason through the solution. I was fretting a bit. What will I do? How will I handle this? Will I survive it? Then I mentioned it to a friend and they reminded me that I needed to start with prayer. Wow! One of my biggest failings is that my first response is almost never to come to you in prayer. To bring my situation to you and ask for your Holy Spirit to guide me through it. I lean upon my own “wisdom,” such that it is, and I don’t lean on you.

The second story from Mark 6 is interesting because it does not include a rebuke from Jesus, but comfort. He was going to walk past them, but he saw they needed to know they were safe. I have to admit I’ve never really understood what the plan was here. How did they think he would catch up to them at Bethsaida? Would another group of disciples bring him in a boat? But as they were struggling, they saw him. They didn’t understand and they were scared, but he comforted them and told them to not be afraid and take courage. “I am here.” You are here. Yes, you are here. I can take courage. You are here.

The third story from Mark 8:1-21 isn’t like the other boat stories because the disciples aren’t in crisis. They just don’t understand what Jesus is telling them. I think it’s that I need to stop looking for new signs and just accept that Jesus is already at work all around me. You, Father, are at work all around me. You, Holy Spirit, are at work all around me. You, my Triune God, are at work all around me.

Father, I suppose when I combine the stories, that is the answer. You are here working whether I can see you at work or not. It’s amazing that the God of the universe (which seemingly is getting bigger and bigger than our minds can comprehend) is interested in my puny little life. My role is to worship you with all my heart and love my neighbor as myself. Seek you first and your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and then I will find the fruits of your Spirit growing in me. Sometimes you calm the storm, but other times you calm me. Either way, I have nothing to fear. Thank you.

I pray all of this under your authority and with so much gratitude,

Amen