June 23 | Pentecost 5, Year B
1 Sam. 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49
or 1 Sam. 17:57-18:5, 10-16
or Job 38:1-11
Ps. 9:9-20 or Ps. 133 or Ps. 107:1-3, 23-32
2 Cor. 6:1-13 • Mark 4:35-41
Mark writes: “As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake — for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in the boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him” (1:16-20). There is much to mine from this brief text. Jesus searches for his elect disciples; they respond immediately, leaving aside their livelihood and their families in pursuit of a messianic hope and a new humanity.
Consider, now, what these men are doing when Jesus calls them. They are fishermen. Relying upon the sea for their livelihood, they are undoubtedly all too familiar with its dangers. Day after day, they engage in taxing and, at times, dangerous work. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). Men who ply their trade in deep waters know that wisdom includes a prudent dose of fear. Moreover, as pious Jews, these men know only one God, who makes the storm and subdues it.
“Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose, which tossed high the waves of the sea. They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths; their hearts melted because of their peril. They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper and quieted the waves of the sea. Then they were glad because of the calm, and he brought them to the harbor they were bound for” (Ps. 107:25-30).
A disciple of Jesus Christ lives in the Church, in the nave, a navis — a ship. Storms arise. St. Paul, though not a fisherman, learned and endured many dangers in the cause of Christ. “[A]s servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger” (2 Cor. 6:4-5). Amid these trials, St. Paul also mentions “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God” (2 Cor. 6:6-7). The burial rite puts it succinctly: “In the midst of life we are in death” (BCP, p. 484). We are, therefore, to expect storms and trust that adequate protection will bring us to the harbor we are bound for.
“A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm” (Mark 4:37-39). Have we not endured such storms?
Jesus asks a question. “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mark 4:40) Perhaps we will always be those of little faith, little of our own to rely on. In the end, we do much better to rely on the One whom the wind and sea obey.
Look It Up: Isaiah 27:1
Think About It: Not in this life, but in the end, the storm dragon will finally die.