Download Luke 20:35 – 43 - Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran

Mark 4:35 – 41
5 July, 2009
The disciples were leaving the crowd behind and ready to cross over to
the other side of the lake. It was exhausting for them to keep crowd-control
around Jesus all day long. All the while, it was a mental workout to pay attention
and apply Jesus’ parables to themselves, let alone whisper explanations to those
around them who didn’t quite get it. But the evening had come, and that meant
the end of their labor and escape from the crowd.
The long day was over, but not the lesson for the disciples: “A furious
squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly
swamped” (Mk 4:37). Many of these men had previously worked as fishermen.
They had roughed the waves. They had put in long hours. They knew how to
handle a boat. But this storm seemed unusual. Even more unusual was that Jesus
was sound asleep during it all! Sure, he had a hard day at work, but this was lifethreatening! So, “the disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you
care if we drown?’” (Mk 4:38). They skipped any preliminary questions as:
Why did you have us cross the lake, when you knew the storm was coming? or
Why are you sleeping, when we’re in such grave danger? They went right to the
heart: Why don’t you do something, if you love us as you say you do?
Enough was enough. Wasn’t the Lord going to step in and take over?
Jesus got up and faced the storm raging on the sea: “Quiet! Be still!”
(Mk 4:39). And immediately a silent calm greeted the boat. The disciples were
awed to see nature in sudden, complete submission. Jesus had made her quiet by
the authority of his voice.
Then, he turned around to work the same calmness in them by the same
power. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mk 4:40).
Real or imagined fear is a basic emotion for us. And in some cases fear
can be a good thing. It can keep you out of a lot of trouble. Even the Bible tells
us to fear certain circumstances. Joseph, e.g., had a healthy fear of disobeying
God and did not commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife.
But for us as Christians there is another kind of fear that’s not good, not
healthy. Some apprehension, all right. A little concern, sure. Caution, that’s
good. But outright fear? Jesus calls that kind of fear a lack of faith. But how do
you and I overcome fear that paralyzes our faith?
Well, we become afraid, when we feel that we have no control over
what’s happening, and the result, we know, may very well be sorrow, pain, loss,
or even death. It may be a fear of failure or poverty or the break up of a
marriage. The loss of health or friendship or life as we know it. And the
symptoms are real and noticeable: You can’t stop thinking about it. You’re
agitated or irritable. Can’t sleep at night. Have no appetite. You find it hard to
laugh. You feel helpless and/or hopeless. You can actually see fear in people’s
faces. And when that fear extends over a period of time, we call it “worry.” And
that, too, is contrary to faith. Jesus once said, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What
shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink? or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the
pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you
need them” (Mt 6:31).
Oh, it’s understandable when people without faith tremble in fear, after
all, they have no one to turn to when things get out of their control. But that’s
not true for the Christian. We have a Father in heaven who knows and cares for
us. So, when you and I become afraid and start losing faith it is, first of all,
because we question God’s love for us. “Leaving the crowd behind, they took
him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was
nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples
woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ (Mk 4:36 –
38). Fear overtook them, because the disciples began to question Jesus’ concern,
his interest, his very love for them.
We say the same, don’t we? “Lord, don’t you care about what I’m
going through?” “Don’t you care that I’m struggling?” “Don’t you care that I’m
afraid of what might happen?” These questions have two sides to them, though.
One is the side of faith. We still acknowledge that Jesus is aware of the situation
and that he has the power to help. That’s good. At least, the disciples didn’t say,
“Don’t bother waking Jesus, he can’t do anything about it.” No, they believed he
could. But where they went wrong, what led directly to their fear, was that they
believed Jesus stopped loving them: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
Adam made the same mistake in the Garden of Eden. After Adam fell
into sin his first reaction was fear. He was afraid of God. He was afraid of
God’s punishment for what he had just done. And we may say that he had every
reason to fear, after all, God did say that the day he ate of that fruit he would die.
There are consequences to disobeying God. But Adam showed that he had lost
his trust in God entirely, because he thought his sin meant that God would never
again love him. That was not the case, as Adam found out later when God gently
approached him with the question “Where are you?” and then promised him a
Savior.
Fellow believers, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Savior. Our disobedience, our troubles, our storms of life can
never drive out God’s love. And that’s because God is love. I mean, if God were
to stop loving, then he would have to stop existing. Because love is the essence
of who he is. And he cannot change.
For you and me, then, who trust in the Lord, there is never a cause for
fear. Paul wrote to the Romans, “You did not receive a spirit that makes you a
slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we
cry, “Abba, Father” (Ro 8:5). In times of fear we just need to call on the Holy
Spirit to confirm in our minds that we have a Father in heaven who loves us with
infinite love. And knowing that drives out fear, because as John writes in his first
letter, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear
has to do with punishment. The man who fears is not made perfect in love”
(1 Jn 4:18). John’s saying that the ultimate cause of all fear is God’s punishment.
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But God’s perfect love for us – his grace and forgiveness – removes any idea of
punishment for our sin. And, if punishment is removed, then fear is gone: “This
is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the
world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1
Jn 4:7 – 10). The reason there is no punishment, and the reason we have no fear,
is that God sent his one and only Son to die on the cross so that we might live
through him. What kind of life? Life without fear of punishment, without worry
about his care, without uncertainty of his love. But instead, to live in peace and
joy and hope. God loves us in Christ and that perfect love is all we need to know
to overcome any fear.
But God gives you and me another reason not to be afraid.
Fear blinds us to the fact that, although things are all out of our control,
there is one who always controls all things. “Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and
said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still.’ Then the wind died down and it was
completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you
still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mk 4:39 – 41).
What we forget sometimes in the storms of life is that there is one who
controls not only this physical world – the universe – but also personally watches
over our soul and body. And he is the master over all manner of disease and
pestilence and draught and fires – whatever disaster may occur in this sinful
world. Because he is the one who created the heavens and the earth by the word
of his mouth and will someday bring it to an end with his declaration and
judgment. He is the Lord Jesus, whom the wind and the waves obey, of course,
because they recognize and respect the voice of their Creator.
But will we still get hurt? Can we get sick? May death someday set in
our bodies? All of it is possible. Yet, it will happen under God’s direction and
according to his gracious will, that none of us can fully comprehend but may be
revealed to us in due time. Yet, recognize what the Lord is doing. The lesson of
humbleness and patience before him, to take comfort from and put hope in his
love and wisdom – those are the fruits of faith – wasn’t something only the
disciples needed to learn. The prophet Isaiah wrote seven centuries beforehand:
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his
understanding no one can fathom” (Is 40:28). And maybe that’s why the
disciples were even more terrified of Jesus than they were of the storm for those
few moments afterwards, because they suddenly realized again that they were in
the same boat – face to face with – the eternal God. But they didn’t jump out of
the boat and swim to shore. They sat and marveled at the revelation of Jesus’
power, but much more at the demonstration of his love for them.
Of course, Jesus cared.
And day by day in the school of life and experience our Lord patiently
teaches us the same lessons of faith, that he has taught his people from the
beginning. To encourage and to strengthen our trust in him.
The Lord has given you and me the cure for all fear in life, no matter
what the situation is. He’s given us the Spirit-filled assurance that our Father in
heaven loves us with an undying love, just as our Savior does. And it’s Jesus’
love for us that leads you and me to trust unwaveringly in his will and
providence. To say from our heart along with the psalm writer: “When I am
afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will
not be afraid” (Ps 56:3, 4).
For us there is …
No Fear in Faith!
Amen.
“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”
(Php 4:7).
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