[AI translation] "Who is this, that both the wind and the sea yield to him?" Yes, if we read this little story, the question of wondering arises in our hearts: who is this Jesus? And even the disciples, who lived through this stormy scene, could not help gazing at each other and at Jesus with astonished wonder: who is this Jesus among us?! Even modern man, the believer, is a little incredulous about this scene, secretly thinking to himself: well, it is a bit much, too legendary, perhaps the apostles exaggerated when they later told how he was there in that storm! In any case, it's hard to believe that it really happened.And let me say at the outset that I am glad that the story is so incredible. For here again we have before us the Jesus before whom all human imagination and reasoning is stymied, the Jesus who cannot be confined to our human categories and standards. If this story were to stand on its own, without us knowing anything else about Jesus, I would not believe it either. There is no other way to look at this event except in the context of the whole Bible - only if we look at all that the Bible says about the promised and revealed Christ, from virgin birth to death to resurrection to ascension, together, do we have any idea who this is to whom both winds and sea yield? Because then this miraculous story fits perfectly into the picture of Jesus given in Scripture. In the context of Jesus' other actions, it is no longer incredible that even the forces of nature obey him, that the laws of nature that we have discovered are in no way an insurmountable obstacle to him. For all the evangelists, prophets and apostles speak of him as one to whom all power in heaven and earth has been given, as one in whom dwells the power and divinity of the Creator himself, as one in whom God manifests his power, greatness and love on earth. It is precisely to show that nothing is impossible with God that Jesus came, that God is Lord over all sin, sickness, devils and death, even the powers of nature. God would not be truly God if he were to break his power over the waves of the sea and the roar of the wind. And if God is willing to plant His kingdom in this earthly world like a mustard seed, then we can believe His all-powerful earthly agent, His representative, can calm a whirlwind. There is no other purpose of this sermon today than that we may know more of Jesus' greatness and trust Him more!
We need Him! For this scene is precisely an example of how the living presence of Jesus among His disciples does not exclude storms, life-threatening situations, desperate circumstances from their lives. Nowhere in the Bible is there a promise that Christ's followers will not find themselves in such a situation. Our Christian faith and religion do not draw around us high, strong walls that are broken by the wind and the swell. Troubles of all kinds come, storms tear at the Christian man just as much as at any other. Sometimes the tempest of temptations strikes us with as sudden and terrifying a sweeping force from the mountains of the world around us as that gale there on the lake from the surrounding hills. And at other times the storm of some sickness, disappointment, hurt, sorrow, raises great waves, and threatens to plunge the frightened soul into immersion. On the Lake of Galilee, the storm comes as suddenly and unexpectedly as on Lake Balaton, crashing on the water and breaking the previously smooth mirror in angry, crashing waves. Woe to him who is caught out on the water! This is how the storms of life come. The power of temptation surprises us when we had not thought of it. And so sadness comes. One lives in unsuspecting peace in a happy home, and an hour later may be weeping over the dead body of his dearest loved one. Or a good friend we trusted, who we never thought would abuse that trust, let us down. Or some hope of ours withers in a single night like a flower in our hands when frost strikes. On Lake Balaton, the approach of a storm is warned by a storm cannon, or a signal fire at night. Sometimes the storms of life are not ushered in by any warning or alarm. It can surprise you without knocking, without warning, at the most unexpected time. So it is best to be ready for such an eventuality at any moment.
So the storm will come upon the man who walks with Christ as well as anyone else. What is striking in this story is that before they left in the little boat for the other shore, the water was calm and the weather was clear. And it was as if the wind and the waves were angry with the little party, for as soon as they were well away from the shore, the storm came upon them. And there is a symbolic significance to this, namely that anyone who takes Jesus into the boat of their life and starts to sail towards the other shore at His command can be prepared for the fact that, if not before, then afterwards the waters will not be smooth around them.
"Let's go over to the other shore," Jesus tells the disciples. And so he calls us today. The Christian life is nothing other than a journey with Jesus to the other shore, to eternity. And in doing so, we can very rarely row in peaceful waters. The apostle Paul also exhorted the churches in Asia Minor to persevere in the faith, for "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). The rich young man in the Bible was so peaceful and content with himself until he met Jesus. And at the single word of Jesus that hit his heart, everything in him was suddenly turned upside down, a storm arose within him. Anyone who wants to be serious about following Jesus - about denying himself - suddenly feels as if he is constantly rowing against the wind, in a flapping wave, constantly struggling with his old, stubborn nature. And he who dares to represent the kingdom of God and its truth in a non-believing world in a non-compliant way: sooner or later he will see the storm that will break out around him! If you are a Christian and have never been caught in this storm, you should urgently check whether Jesus Christ is in the boat of your life!
But still further: what worries people today most is not the inner spiritual storms of sin and temptation, nor the outer storms of the non-conformist Christian life, but the existential insecurity and danger in which the whole of humanity on earth finds itself. Human existence itself has been swept up in a universal storm that threatens to become the ultimate catastrophe. What will become of this world?" ask scientists, politicians, mothers, thousands of ordinary people. In the maelstrom of a world crisis, human life is being tossed between high-speed waves. Everything in the world is shaken and loose, like a ship whose mast and rudder have been blown away by a storm, and whose crew is almost out of control. Humanity today is looking for a way out, an escape, in an existential storm cloud - our hearts are simply crushed by the fear of life. Is it any wonder that sometimes the faith of the disciples is shaken? If they become small-minded?
In fact, this is the existential peril that the disciples on the Lake of Galilee were in. Their very existence was at stake. They were overcome with the terror of "We are lost!" And so they said, almost reproachfully, to Jesus, "Master, don't you care that we are lost?!" Yes, it was then that their fear increased even more, that Jesus seemed not to care! He is sleeping! Resting peacefully as if nothing was wrong! He doesn't move a muscle. He does nothing! The storm rages on and on, more and more frightening. Oh, how well I know this reproachful, petty complaint against the Lord of the world and history! For indeed, it sometimes seems as if Jesus were sleeping peacefully while the all-consuming whirlwinds of life's storms threaten the ship. He makes man suffer! He tolerates the agony, the toil of the waves! The other day, in a hospital bed, someone groaned in the midst of his painful suffering: 'If God were in heaven, if God had a truly loving heart, he would not allow me to suffer like this!' Rather, he is waiting for us, in the midst of our own misery, to care for him, to turn to him, to cry out to him!
Here, too, in the story, the disciples, when they could no longer struggle, raised Jesus. Not very politely and harshly, not even with great faith and trust, but they turned to Him for help! And Jesus rose! It is interesting: the roar of the storm did not disturb His sleep, He did not wake up, but as soon as His people called out to Him, He was on His feet! Believe me, it's the same today: even in the midst of the world's terrible turmoil and wild noise, He hears immediately if someone really begins to pray to Him! Remember: it was the same on the cross: he was almost bleeding to death, dying in indescribable agony. All around him, the curses, taunts and jeers of the frenzied people were waving. He did not answer them with a single word. And suddenly, through the tumult of the crowd, a low, prayerful voice filtered through to him: from the cross beside him came the dying sound. It was the cry of a penitent soul: 'Lord, remember me! And Jesus, in that dreadful hour, heard this question at once, answered it at once.
Then followed a sublime scene: "And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Silence, be silent! And the wind ceased, and there was great calm." (verse 39) He spoke to the storm and the raging swirl of waves as if they were beings of intellect - as a Lord to his servant! His divine calm had mastered the storm! He is Lord Almighty even over nature. Even the elements recognize His word, and obey Him in the midst of their wildest fury! How comforting this is! No storm can escape the control of Jesus, Lord and Saviour of the world. No wave can crash higher than He allows! There is nothing and no one in this world that is not under the control of that blessed hand nailed through there on the cross!
However humanly justified fear and terror may be in the raging storm, still more justified is Jesus' reproach, "Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?" Fear is obviously a sign that man does not trust God enough, that he does not "see" in Jesus even the impossible! So fear is always a weakness of faith. Faith excludes fear. And from this story we see what Jesus meant by faith. Not a religious emotion that haunts our lives like the tolling of the evening bell. Not a healthy optimism that tries to see things in a non-tragic way. Here, faith is the certainty that God will bring his kingdom and its righteousness to triumph through all kinds of hopeless situations. It is the certainty that Jesus Christ will triumph absolutely and definitively, and we can count on that tiny little mustard seed to grow into a huge tree! The certainty that no storm, no force of nature, in you or around you, can stop the kingdom of God from unfolding and coming to pass in this world! Behold, Jesus has power over all! He has a word to which the wind and the sea yield. And He will exercise that power and speak that word if we truly believe in His power and His word.
Imagine what would be in this world if Christians on this earth, we here, really began to believe, but really believe in the power and word of Jesus! We would really begin to pray to Him, "Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, on earth as it is in heaven."
Amen
Date: 2 June 1957.
Lesson
Ef 1,17-23