Sermon on Mark 6:45-56, 9th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Back in January I compared the size of the “Sea” of Galilee to our island of Maui. I estimate it would stretch roughly lengthwise from the base of West Maui mountains up to Makawao, and from Kahului Harbor to Maalaea Harbor—13 miles by 8 miles. Small, but big enough to get caught in a storm. Especially if you imagine crossing that distance on a small fishing boat against a driving wind, when you’re exhausted after rowing till 3-4 AM in the darkness. It was no joke. Today in the Gospel, we’re back at the Sea of Galilee for another of Jesus’ miracles, showing that He is God who rules over the storms.

You know how weathermen describe the “eye” of a hurricane? In the center of a massive spinning storm with high-speed winds circling for hundreds of miles, there’s a small pocket of calm. The “eye” of the storm. While no hurricanes hit the tiny Sea of Galilee, sudden windstorms from the surrounding landscape do make it treacherous to a small fishing boat. And in our Gospel, Jesus becomes but the calm “I AM” in the midst of the storm.

Crossing the Sea of Galilee was routine. They were experienced fishermen and Jesus had purposely sent them on their way. He knew of course that a storm would hit. We sometimes wish to believe that God wants to chart our life only through calm, tranquil waters, and that we should never face hardship. But that wishful thinking is not grounded in the Bible. God makes no such promises to keep us from hardship. Rather, we can count on hardship and danger in all walks of life. But God does always remain our calm “I AM” in the storm. He sends us into storms, but never alone, and never without His peace close at hand.

This was just after the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. They saw Jesus’ miraculous powers. A confidence booster that Jesus was master of creation, right? No need to fear a storm like this. But Mark records that “they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened”. Hard hearts couldn’t let the message sink in, that the Lord of all creation was with them, and cared even for their hunger, their weariness, their safety. Last week Jesus provided for their rest, food, and gave time for His Word and prayer. But life piles on and we bounce from crisis to crisis, demand to demand, and we are harried and tossed like the waves of the sea in a storm. And our hardened hearts don’t understand or perceive that Jesus is always there for us, and He always cares.

Even when we are worn out from heavy straining, overtired from lack of sleep, afraid in the darkness and the stormy chaos around us, with no safe landing in sight—Jesus is the calm “I AM” in the midst of the storm. In ordinary and extraordinary circumstances, when life’s routines have worn us down without rest, or when life throws curveballs and sucker punches at us, and our hearts harden and blame God…Jesus is still the calm “I AM” in the midst of the storm. When we are not seeking Him, He still seeks us, walking out in the midst of our storm. What harries you? What keeps you from the physical and spiritual rest the Lord so earnestly gives you in worship and a weekly break from your labors? What dangerous crossing are you making that puts fear in your heart, so that your eyes see darkness and ominous phantoms, instead of the friendly and familiar face of your Lord Jesus?

He walks to you in the storm. He walks to you in the storm He knew was coming your way. Hardened hearts fear and doubt. Frightened eyes see ghosts. But He calls out steady and calm, over the howling winds: “Take heart, I AM, do not be afraid.” You notice I translate His words as “I AM”, instead of “it is I”, because Jesus is using the Divine Title to identify Himself. Back in the Old Testament, when God met Moses in the burning bush, Moses asked who God was. God’s answer was: “I AM Who I AM.” Throughout the Gospels, when Jesus calls Himself “I AM”, He’s identifying as God. The same God who spoke to Moses from the bush all those years ago. The same God who controls the winds and the storms and led Israel safely through the Red Sea to escape the Egyptian armies. In short, Jesus walks on the water as God in the flesh. When He says “I AM”, it’s not just: “Hey guys, It’s me, Jesus of Nazareth”—He’s saying, “It’s me, the God of your forefathers, the God of Moses!”

The Great I AM commands awesome power over nature. Job describes God as the only one who “tramples the waves of the sea” (Job 9:8). This Great I AM tramples the waves of Galilee and stands before the frightened disciples declaring: I AM, and creating calm in the midst of the storm. He stands before you and I, in our fears, struggles, or hardships. He invites us the same: “Take heart, I AM, do not be afraid.” Zero in on that invitation: “Take heart; do not be afraid.” The Great I AM has courage for the taking. He knows our weakness, our weariness, our fears, and hardness of heart. He knew we’d be in the storm, and He knows we aren’t watching for Him. But He shows up, the calm “I AM” in the midst of the storm, and He gives courage for the taking. Take heart. Drink in His courage.

Psalm 27:14, a beloved verse in times of trouble, says: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Our heart is reaching for courage, it’s reaching for the Lord. Our hardened heart that quavers with exhaustion, fear, doubt, or uncertainty…it’s reaching out for One Whom we can trust without fail, Who walks with us in the storm, Who gives us rest when we’re on our last legs, needing renewal. Who invites us to drink deeply, not only of His courage, His strength, but even His blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. And He’s there. When our heart reaches for Him, He’s there, our calm “I AM” in the midst of the storm. Where can we find Him? In the Lord’s Supper we receive rest, we are refreshed, we are nourished and filled by His body and blood given on the cross for us. His very life fills us; our heart takes courage, we find new strength! Our heart reaches out for the One who can fill all our longing and need, and Jesus the Great I AM gives us exactly this.

What changes when we take Jesus’ words to heart? When we take courage and are not afraid? Our eyes open to see Jesus, the Great I AM, is with us. Jesus enters our boat, the calm in our storm. Our heart drinks in His courage and strength, and our weary soul is refreshed and renewed. Jesus’ calm and peace surrounds us as we trade fear for confident trust that Jesus is literally in the boat with us. We trade doubt for strengthened faith to face the new day. Whenever we’re focused on our own resources and our own strength, or at the fear or storm itself, we’ll continue in discouragement and fear. Whether 5 loaves seem too little, or a long night of rowing feels futile and exhausting, and danger is growing—it’s easy to lose heart. But to take heart is to look to Him, the Great I AM, and know that He is our continuing strength and supply. Only He who tramples the waves and calms the storm. Who makes His path on the sea and enters our storms without fear.

Think again about the source of exhaustion or fear or chaos in your life. Recenter your eyes on Jesus, your calm “I AM” in the midst of the storm. He’s not left your side. He’s not left you to flounder helplessly. Surrender your weariness to Him, and rest with His light and easy yoke. Surrender your fears to Him and walk with Him as you face them. Surrender your doubts to Him and receive His confidence that the One who rules the storms and all creation is in the boat with you.

To take heart, know Jesus as our Great “I AM” and not fear, is not to say that life becomes a cakewalk. It’s not to trivialize our storms, as many can be so intense and prolonged that we are ready to give up. But to take heart and know Jesus is real help in time of trouble. As verse two of “Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me” sings:

When life’s troubles rise to meet me,

Though their weight, may be great,

They will not defeat me.

God, my loving Savior sends them;

He who knows, all my woes,

Knows how best to end them. (LSB 756:2)

 

So, to believe in the Great I AM, we confess that He who sends our troubles and woes also knows how best to end them. They will not defeat us. Pure and simple. Our Savior who has risen from His death and the grave, is proof that even death and our grave is not the end, and Jesus will raise us up from death one day. So, life on this earth is filled with storms that come and that pass, with fears that harass and then fade, with doubts and worries that come and go—but our Lord is ever constant. Ever that calm “I AM” who speaks to us in the storm, quieting the chaos, inviting our eyes and our heart to Him, where we find our peace. Where we find our courage. Where we take heart and find our rest. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Hear our cry for help in time of need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.