The lesson of fear

Mark 4:35-41
What a strange and marvelous passage. On the one had it's a terrible idea to tell people to ignore their bodies and their fears. As humans living in a time when all we have to rely on is our intuition and our need to protect ourselves, we must listen to those voices of fear. Of course, they are not always rational. Sometimes the voices of fear are telling us to take a closer look at ourselves, that we need care, that we are racist and that we have more to learn. Regardless of whether our fear is rooted in truth or bias, we need to listen to them in order to keep ourselves safe and to grow.

In this week's text we have a story of fishermen afraid at sea. They knew when a storm was bad. And anyone who has feared a teacher can imagine the dread and pacing that probably happened for an hour before they had the guts to wake up Jesus, until they were pushed past the point of fear to necessity. At the point that they wake him up, there was nothing else they could have done. And yet, knowing he was their only hope they are still amazing when they get the calm they were seeking.

The sea represents the unfathomable uncontrollable chaos. And for the uncontrollable to be controlled means that sometime extraordinary is happening. Yet, there are moments in our lives when things grow calm unexpectedly, when the person who always lets us down finally gets it right, when we suddenly understand the thing that made no sense for so long.

Today's text is a prayer for those who have a hard time asking for help, for those who have waited too long to transition into the healthier life that has been long waiting, for those who have lived in chaos for too long and for those who are desperately longing for peace and stillness in their lives.

Proper 7B/Ordinary 12B/Pentecost 3