Struggle and Strain 29 February 2008

Mark 6:47-56
Friday, 29 February 2008

It is a truism that people do not like to confront the unfamiliar. And I think that it is particularly difficult for us to be faced with the unfamiliar in the midst of a space that we think we know well. It's one of the reasons that church people have such difficulty with any change in the worship liturgy; it's a struggle and strain to acclimate oneself in a familiar space with what feels like a foreign experience.

Much of Jesus' activities thus far in the Gospel of Mark have taken place on or near the lake. Several of Jesus' disciples are fishers by trade. As today's scene opens, the disciples are crossing the lake with great difficulty, straining and struggling against an adverse wind. Jesus, though taking time for his own communion with God and solitude, has been keeping an eye on them, and when he sees their strain he approaches for a closer look. He intends to pass by, but they spot him. Jesus is familiar; the seas is familiar; even the adverse wind is familiar. But when you put all of them together, it all seems foreign. The disciples are afraid and they cry out. Jesus enters the boat and the adversity clears.

We have the advantage over the disciples in the text, since as Jesus' people we should always be expecting Jesus to show up. In fact, rather than being surprised at his arrival, we ought to be keeping our eyes open to see how and where he will make his appearance. Especially when we are struggling and strain against inevitable adverse winds, we can cry out for his help, not in fear but in faith.

Sing "Jesus Savior Pilot Me"

Pray Psalm 25