This coming Sunday is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Meanwhile in the gospel account: 38 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  39 He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm.

It is such a sparse telling of the story that it is not hard to imagine Jesus awaking, being somewhat chagrined (a good night’s sleep is hard to come by), glancing at the storm, wondering what all the commotion is about, and directing the sea to “Quiet! Be still!” (literally: “be muzzled”) As suddenly as the storm had come it had subsided, subdued by Jesus’ sovereign command.

However one imagines the scene, the question of what was involved in the stilling of the storm cannot be avoided. Jesus’ power and sovereignty was demonstrated in the stilling of the roaring sea and the silencing of the howling wind, strongly echoing God’s intervention into history with the parting of the Red Sea. And at the same time the cosmic overtones should also be attended to. The same language used when Jesus rebuked and silenced the demons is repeated here with respect to the sea. When Jesus calms the storm, he speaks to the wind as though to a demon (cf. 1:24). Just as the sea monster in ancient mythology represents the powers of evil, so also the raging storm here reflects all the powers of chaos and evil. Jesus’ power and sovereignty are evidence that he is stronger than the inherent evil represented.

 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” 41  They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

After quieting the violent storm with a word, Jesus turns to his disciples (and Mark’s readers) and asks: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” (v. 40). The word used for terrified, deiloi, indicates cowardice or lack of courage (Deut 20:8; Judg 7:3; 1 Macc 3:56). For Mark, fear is the opposite of faith. This idea of fear continues in the disciple’s response as they are “filled with great awe.” The more literal translation retains the Semitic idiom in the Greek. “feared with great fear”

The first disciples’ only response is: “Who then is this?” (v. 41). This passage continues to reveal Mark’s theology of discipleship. These very same disciples who have been chosen in 3:7-12, who have been given the mystery of the kingdom of God (4:10-12), and who are privileged to hear Jesus’ teachings and explanation (4:34) are here chided for their timidity and lack of trust, their lack of a deepening faith. The question of their faith is abrupt at this point in Mark’s gospel. Increasingly as Mark’s gospel continues this question of faith continues to arise.

With all they have seen and heard to this point and given their understanding that only God can command obedience from the power of nature, they still ask: “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” They are at the cusp of making the connection about the true nature of Jesus, but perhaps that “next step” is a bridge too far at this point in time.

Later generations of disciples have the advantage of knowing how “the story” ends. The commonly accepted date for the authorship of this gospel is 69-70 AD. It is easy to see how the Markan community’s suffering under Nero’s persecutions, needs to be assured with the story of Jesus’ entire life, death, and resurrection, and thus assured of his protection in their times of stress and confusion. Jesus asks for more than “great awe” (v. 41) in response to the Gospel. Mark asks for deep here-and-now faith from all who struggle to understand the meaning of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in their own daily experience of Christian living.

Image credit: Christ stilling the storm on the Sea of Galilee | Ludolf Bakhuizen | 1695 | Indianapolis Museum of Art | PD