Real Power (Part 1)

Over the next four weeks, I will share some thoughts about a section of the Gospel of Mark that has become for me a very meaningful portion of Scripture.

In Mark's gospel, Jesus reveals His divine identity more by what He does than by what He says about Himself.  In Mark 4:35-5:43, His divinity is on full display through four acts of unique power.

The first incident is described in 4:35-41.  It is a well-known story.  One evening, Jesus convinced His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee in their small fishing boats.  In their crossing, a great windstorm arose, bringing with it violent waves that began to fill the boats.  While the disciples immediately catastrophized, believing that they were "perishing," Jesus slept soundly on a pillow in the stern of the boat.  When the disciples woke Him to the danger, Jesus simply spoke His words, "Peace!  Be still!" and the wind and the waves were calmed.

Full disclosure: I affirm the historical veracity of the Gospel narratives, including incidents of the miraculous like this one.  But I don't think it's necessary to believe as I do in order to benefit from the narrative, and rather than picking apart the details of this story, I'd like to look at the broader principle that I believe it teaches.

In the ancient world, the sea was the symbol of chaos.  Unlike the firmness and stability of land, the sea was often unpredictable, temperamental, and turbulent.  At night, many people believed the sea was haunted by ghosts and demons hovering just above the surface. 

In the midst of the windstorm, surely the disciples' fear was exacerbated by their belief that demons and ghosts might be lingering about their ship, waiting to steal them away to the underworld.  And even though these guys were professional fishermen who knew how to navigate in the sea, the chaos of the moment caused them to doubt their own skills and their own judgment.

We should have empathy with them.  I'm sure each of us can remember a time when we allowed our own irrational beliefs--our own false narratives--to create additional stress, to bring greater turmoil to our lives?  I'm sure we all can remember a time when the unexpected chaos of life caused us to doubt our own abilities and our own judgment?

Yet there was Jesus, utterly calm in the midst of the chaos, to the point that He was able to sleep through it.  He had no fear of demonic forces haunting the waters.  He was unshaken by the turbid sea and the ferocious winds.  And to calm the fears of His friends, He exhibited His power to transform chaos into order.  That is indeed real power.

On a smaller (but no less real) scale, I believe we human beings possess that same power to transform chaos into order.  We can bring peace into situations of discord and disharmony.  But we can do it only when we, like Jesus, do two things:

We must first challenge all the irrational beliefs that immobilize us.

And we must learn to stand in the chaos of life without being shaken. 

I'm still learning this.  And I won't have it mastered this side of heaven.  But I am grateful that occasionally I am graced to be able to speak those words with authentic conviction:  "Peace!  Be still!"