The Peace of Christ

But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”  Mark 4:38-40

How do we read this story in a time like the present, when events have made us aware of our vulnerabilities, weaknesses that we would rather pretend do not exist? We are not facing greater calamity now than ever before, but instead, despite all our apparent strength, ingenuity, and technology, our true frailties are laid bare. Naturally, we are afraid of our susceptibility to disease and economic calamity.

Matthew and Mark (who is actually giving us Peter’s version) tell us this story from hindsight, many years after that fearful night. I believe they are sharing this because it was an event which formed them, enabling them to live through many trying times that followed. If this is the case, what is the peace that they gained from the experience?

I do not believe that they are telling us to rest assured that Jesus will calm every storm that arises in our lives. Nearly everyone who was in that boat died as martyrs. Jesus himself was the first. By the time they are writing their accounts, storms had arisen and they were not instantly stilled. Reading this as a promise that God will command all the waves and winds to cease is to have a false hope, and one at odds with the lives of the ones who are relaying the story.

I believe the disciples retold what happened that night on the sea, in the middle of a violent squall, because they learned something that enabled them to face and live through all the trials and difficulties that would come. What they are teaching us centers on the question which they asked fearfully, “Don’t you care if we are perishing?” The point was not that Jesus calmed that storm, and could command the waves and winds to stop. They did not conclude that Jesus would cause every problem to disappear. Instead, that night they learned that God does care when we are perishing. Jesus stilling the storm showed that God does care, not that every trial would be removed. 

Notice how Jesus asks why they doubted and did not have faith. What were they doubting? Jesus had not told them, as far as we know, that he could calm storms. If he had told them he could command the wind and waves, then they would have been doubting his claim to be able to exercise power over the natural world. I think what they were doubting at that moment was that he cared. Jesus had told them he loved them, that his Father loved them, and this was what they were not trusting. They did not have faith in the ever-present love of God. Jesus is not saying ‘why did you doubt that I could stop a storm’, but ‘why did you doubt that I care when you are perishing?’

If that night taught them to not lose hope in the love and care of Jesus, which is the love and care of his Father, then this is the peace of Christ that they in turn share with us. I believe they were able to live through all the difficulties that lay ahead and ultimately go to their deaths because they knew they were loved. In all circumstances, and certainly in the current situation, the knowledge of the steadfast and unending love of God is the strength of the body of Christ. 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid . . .the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. John 14:27 & 16:27