A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 20, 2021 at St. Peter–Immanuel Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, WI, on Mark 4:25-41. You may play the audio of the sermon here.
A mostly unedited transcript of the sermon follows the jump:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel according to St. Mark, the fourth chapter:
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Who is this, then that even wind and sea obey him? Well, we know the answer to this, don't we. We know the end of the story. We know that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, begotten before all creation, always existing and always shall exist, the one who took on human flesh to bear your sins and to be your savior. We know that this is the end of the story. Of course, all things would obey him. He created all things. Why wouldn't they obey him? In fact, God, who I believe is the second person of the Trinity, speaks to Job in the Old Testament lesson and we find that God has some very harsh words for Job, relying on this very creative act.
You know, I always ask the question: is there any false doctrine found in holy scripture? And of course the answer that everybody gives is, No, except of course there is. If you you were to read Job, you would know that not only Job's friends have really bad doctrine, but his false friends lead him into bad doctrine, as well. And so, as Job begins to think, well, there must be something that I did to deserve all this punishment that God has wrought on me, to take away all my possessions, to take away my children, to make me suffer in the flesh. There must be something that God is punishing me for. And of course we know that the thing that Job is suffering through is, of course, called sin, but Job here presumes to speak for God. And so God, Jesus, comes down out of heaven and speaks to him and basically says, Stand up, gird yourselves like the warrior that you should be and take what's coming to you. Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, you should know this who laid the foundations there, who laid the plumb line, who put all the cornerstones in. And Job's answer, of course would be, I do not know, except that it is you, Lord.
Now, we see then that God is the one who created all things. He is the one who set all things into motion, all things into order. And he is the one who still preserves them. So we know that the question the apostles ask, Who is this, then that even the wind and the sea obey him. The answer is the very God who created all things. But they didn't know. You have to remember, they didn't know, not fully. Perhaps hey have an inkling. And if they had listened to Jesus' teaching, and if they knew the scriptures as well as Christ himself did, they would know that he was the Messiah. They would know that he was God sent to them But they don't know that yet. It wouldn't be until after the resurrection that they fully realized everything that was going on. They should have known, but they didn’t. They should have known that Jesus could do these things. But they didn’t. They should've known that Jesus would not be as concerned with what was happening around them as with what was happening in them. But they didn’t.
You see, the disciples really were in no danger. Mark is the only gospel writer who tells us in this account that Jesus was asleep on a cushion. It’s kind of a funny little thing. Why would that be anywhere near important to mention? Well, the fact that Jesus was asleep, of course we know that means that Jesus was pretty secure in what would happen to him. The fact that he's asleep on a cushion, well, that means he's going to sleep even harder than the rest. He's not going to be lulled into a sense of insecurity. He's not going to be struggling against the night, but instead he curls up on the cushion of the boat and falls asleep. Jesus knows nothing is going to happen to him. And nothing's going to happen to the apostles who are with him, not even all those who are in other boats.
Why? Because when Jesus is present, we are safe and secure. When the God who created all things and controls all things is present, we are safe and secure. And the apostles should have known this. After all, how many times did the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the chief priests come down out of Jerusalem to confront all of them and they walk away, being turned back by Jesus's words and teaching? How often did they face danger from demons and from all the people who would do Jesus ill and they still found their safety? Jesus well provides a measure of safety and security that no one can really anticipate. And this is true for us.
We don't want to make too much of an analogy out of this, but when the wind and the waves of this world struggle against us, and when we find ourselves hurting and fearing, we know that our Jesus is with us. We are safe and secure. It doesn't mean that the water doesn't splash into the boat, the wind doesn't struggle against us, the storm doesn't make it hard, but that Jesus being with us tells us we are always in his hands.
And so it is that even as we are gathered together, we know that we are safe and secure in the hands of God. There is in fact nothing now that will happen to us that we should fear. Even if the roof should cave in on us, even if a fire should surround this building, even if riots and tumult take over our entire area, if we were to die today, we would know that we are safe and secure in the arms of Jesus.
There's something interesting that happens in this, when Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, it says that the wind ceased and there was a great calm. If you were to take a glass of water and shake it back and forth, real hard, of course the water would splash out, right? What happens if you stop and you just set that glass down? Does the water stop shaking right then? No, the water keeps going, doesn't it? It goes back and forth. Eventually it finds its equilibrium. But as soon as Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, it says the winds ceased, there was no more blowing, and there was a great calm, meaning that the water became perfectly still in that moment. Now, this is in the Sea of Galilee. And if you know anything about the Sea of Galilee, it is a lake that is surrounded by high hills. And when storms would move in, the storm would move the water back and forth, causing huge waves that would rock from one side of the lake to the other. It still does this today, actually. Even if the storm were to pass, the lake would shake for hours on end. But Jesus speaking out to the wind and the waves said, Peace, which really means be quiet, Be still. And they immediately obey. Who is this then that the wind and the waves obey Him?
What are the wind and the waves for you? The tumult that goes on in our nation today? Is it the tumult that goes on in your own family? Weakness, death, disease? Is it the things that bother us in terms of life and living? Your finances, your house? Are you going to make ends meet? How are you going to keep things up? Where are you going to go when you finally get old enough that you need help? There are so many things that can bother us. Know then that your Jesus can speak even to these things. And He speaks Peace. Yet, even if he were to allow the storms of life to continue around us, he speaks this peace into your hearts. He speaks that you should have faith in him, that you should have peace.
You may stand before God, like Job, making accusations. Lord, you promised to take care of me. Lord, you promised to take care of her. Lord, you promised to be with me always. And your Lord stands in front of you and says, Be quiet, be still, have peace, have security. And when your Lord speaks to you from his Word, this is exactly what you should have. And when our Lord fills you with his Supper, this piece is exactly what you should have. And when the Lord reminds you of your Baptism, this peace is what you should should have.
Have you no faith? Of course you have faith. It has been granted to you as a gift by the Holy Spirit to believe in your Jesus unto everlasting life. Have faith in him that when he speaks peace to you, you have it. That is why that word is so important all throughout our liturgy. Have you ever noticed that the many times that Jesus speaks peace to you in our divine service? Have you noticed the many times that he speaks his comfort to you? It comes in his invocation. It comes even as I elevate the host and elevate the cup, and I would say, The peace of the Lord be with you always. And it comes even in his benediction, that here is the peace and comfort of God. And if you leave this place not quieted, not in peace, perhaps it is that your faith is placed in things that are not God, but of yourself.
You do have the faith to receive his word, the faith, to receive his peace. Trust in his peace, trust in his comfort. Trust that even he who created the wind and the waves and can cause them to stop can do this even for you, not just with the things of this world, but with all the desires of your heart, he can speak peace to you. And he does speak it today. And he speaks it to you.
Every time we gather together, every time we hear his word, every time we gather around the sacraments, that peace is yours because your Jesus speaks it to you. And you know He is the one who can do all these things for you because you’ve seen that he is the man who said that he will murdered and that he will raise himself up on the third day. And so he has, if he can do this, imagine what he will do for you in the resurrection of the dead. Our Lord speaks peace to you this day Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? He is the Son of God, crucified and risen for you, the one who has forgiven your sins and rescued you from death, and he brings you his peace. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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