“On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” After leaving the crowd behind, the disciples took him along in the boat, just as he was. Other small boats also followed him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves were splashing into the boat, so that the boat was quickly filling up. Jesus himself was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to drown?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stopped, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still lack faith?” They were filled with awe and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” (Mark 4:35-41)

I love this account, probably because I see myself in Jesus’ disciples more often than I would like to admit. Jesus had spent the day preaching and teaching, now mentally and physically exhausted from being “switched on” all day, so he asked his disciples to enable him to get some rest. So Jesus’ disciples sailed off by boat across the Sea of Galilee to the less populated shores on the other side. A windstorm arose making the water so choppy that the waves were splashing over the sides of the boat and quickly filling it with water. At this point in the story, we see the great contrasts. Jesus was peacefully sleeping on a cushion, but the experienced fishermen who knew the waters of the Sea of Galilee jolt Jesus awake by asking the question that was simultaneously obvious and crazy, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to drown?”

Like the disciples, I find myself in life circumstances that don’t go according to my plan. Do you find yourself in those situations too? Like the disciples, I panic and lose sight of the bigger picture that is always at play in my life as God’s child. Do you panic sometimes too, even if on the outside you present a cool and calm exterior? Like the disciples, I ask God questions that wouldn’t make sense if I would just remember his promises and the blessings that he has already given to me. Do you ask God crazy questions too?

Clearly, the disciples did not see this storm as part of their plan for the day. Clearly, the disciples had lost sight of the bigger picture. Clearly, the disciples asked Jesus a crazy question that didn’t make any sense when we consider the deep love Jesus had – not just for the disciples but for all the world.

What would be the worst thing that could happen? They could all drown as believers in the presence of their Savior, and immediately they would be in the glories of heaven. Had they forgotten that the Son of God was in their boat? Had they forgotten all that Jesus had told them about his ministry and mission? Had they forgotten that Jesus had come to win the victory over sin, death, and the Devil’s power, so they could have eternity with the Lord forever? They had Jesus in their boat…

Jesus responded so lovingly in word and action. Immediately, he got up from this cushion in the back of the boat and said to the raging sea, “Peace! Be still!” Immediately, the wind stopped, and the sea was calm. Of course, the wind and the waves had to obey Jesus, just like every disease had to leave the bodies Jesus healed with a word or a touch. Then Jesus turned to his disciples saying, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still lack faith?” I don’t see Jesus’ words as being harsh, but rather lovingly turning their hearts back towards him. Jesus reminded them, “You have Jesus in your boat!”

I think the disciples got the message, for our lesson ends with their words, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” So, the next time things don’t go according to your plan, the next time you forget the bigger picture, the Lord’s eternal plans for your life, or the next time you want to ask God a question that’s simultaneously obvious and crazy, I want you to remember this account from God’s Word, and I want you to remember that Jesus is in your boat. Perhaps the church you attend is like the church that I serve. When I look up at the ceiling of the church I see huge wood beams that span from the edge of the sanctuary to the peak of the ceiling. It looks like the inside of a boat with its wooden ribs and planks of wood forming the bottom of the boat. When God’s people gather in church, we have Jesus present with us in Word and Sacrament too. Jesus is in our boat.

Know this: Jesus promises you that wherever you find yourself and your boat, even on those days when the waves are pilling up and splashing over the sides, Jesus is there with you, for he promises to never leave us or forsake us.

Amen.