Mark 4:35-41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other
side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves
broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping
on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we
drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind
died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the
waves obey him!”
I feel a touch guilty about this sermon. Ideally, I’d like to take you on a verbal journey then wrap it all up with a nice neat conclusion. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think we may well end up with unanswered questions. But sometimes life, and sermons, are like that. And at least it gives us something to ponder on over the coming week.
We’ve heard from Mark’s gospel the well known story of Jesus and his disciples
crossing the lake when a storm threatens to overwhelm them. Worried, the disciples wake the resting Jesus, and he calms the waves. The disciples are amazed, but Jesus ticks them off for a lack of faith. They were terrified. But terrified of what? The storm, or the awesome power that Jesus was revealing. Maybe both?
We go on to learn a little more about the power within Jesus, and the importance of
having faith in him.
And then comes the last line. They asked each other: “Who is This?” Who is This?”
Who is this Jesus?” And that really, for all of us, spells out our mission. To find out
who Jesus is. To get to know him. Because if we’re going to model our lives on
somebody, going to put our faith in somebody, and going to ask others to do that too, then we need to know that person really well.
Getting to know Jesus is our lifetime mission. All the other stuff we do, the worship,
the prayer, the story telling, the Bible Study, the caring for others, that we do in HIS
name, really only works properly, if we KNOW him.
And the Disciples in this nautical adventure, they realise that they don’t really know
Jesus.
It’s interesting to go through Mark’s gospel and find out, in those early days of Jesus’
ministry, who does know who Jesus is, and who doesn’t.
Here’s some people who DO know who Jesus really is:
John the Baptist
Any number of evil spirits or Demons. They know he was the Son of God. A Leper
cured in Galilee. The bleeding woman who touched Jesus’ cloak. Bartimaeus the
blind man.
They all knew who Jesus was.
And here’s some who didn’t:
Pharisees; Jewish Leaders. Maybe his brothers?
People in Nazareth when he returned there. Some of the Disciples?
And then when Jesus walked on water, the Disciples still showed that they didn’t
really know him or who he really was. Yet when they landed, the ordinary people
they met DID know him.
So there’s a pattern. The educated, the powerful, the capable; some of those
followers quite close to Jesus, don’t seem to know him or who he is.
Yet the most downtrodden, and even the downright evil, DO seem to know him.
Perhaps that not surprising. There’s a story where some disciples return from a
successful mission, and Jesus says “I praise you Father, because you have hidden
the things of heaven from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”
You can argue that many of those who didn’t understand who Jesus was had an
agenda; it wasn’t in their interest to see the truth.. And you’d be right. But I’d say, that despite the scriptures pointing unequivocally towards Jesus and who he was, many, including some of his Disciples, just didn’t know him.
So how well do WE know Jesus? It’s OUR Mission. It’s what our faith comes down
to. Coming to know the complete Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But it’s
Jesus who dies for us. Jesus who intercedes for us. Everything follows from Knowing
Jesus.
Now, we can KNOW OF Jesus. Even in these secular times most people know a
little bit about Jesus, even if they don’t know much. He’s at least still in the public
consciousness, if only at Christmas and Easter. But Knowing OF Jesus, isn’t
Knowing Jesus.
Nor is Knowing ABOUT Jesus. I hope, whether it be through Sunday School,
Sermons, Bible Study or whatever, that most of us know quite a bit about Jesus. But
again, that’s not the same as KNOWING Jesus. You could be a Doctor of Divinity
and spend a lifetime studying faith and religion, but that doesn’t mean that you
KNOW Jesus.
Because, to know someone, implies a two way relationship. That you know each
other. That you’ve spent time with each other. And there are different levels of
knowing.
I know a guy who works in one of the Coffee Shops I visit. I know his name, but only
because it’s on a badge. He knows how I like my coffee, and he knows I’ve got a
Loyalty Card, in case I forget to present it. But is that KNOWING somebody? Not
really. No.
I know my nextdoor neighbours. I speak to one or other of them at least once a
week. I know they’re not too badly off because they’ve got two newish BMWs. I know they’ve got two dogs that get three walks a day. I even know a bit about their family, I watched the kids grow up and eventually have their own kids. But there’s still an awful lot about them that I don’t know. But then again, I don’t need to.
But imagine that you’re thinking of going into business with somebody, maybe
investing a lot of money together. You’d want to get to know each other quite well
then wouldn’t you? Or say your going to get married. Wouldn’t you want to have a
really good knowledge and understanding between you? Wouldn’t you want to invest quite a bit of time getting to know each other? So shouldn’t it be the same with knowing Jesus?
The good news is that with Jesus we already have a start. Because he already
knows us; he has from the day we were made. But how well do we know him? How
well do we think we should know him? As well as you know your Barista? As well as
you know your neighbours? As well as you know your own family? It’s open for
debate.
As I said, I’m posing questions that I can’t necessarily answer. You decide. And as
for HOW we get to know him. Well that would require a whole other sermon. But one thing that I AM sure about, is that we really DO need to get to know Jesus very well indeed.
I’m reminded of Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary. And Martha’s very busy. Distracted
by performing many tasks, much like we can be in our daily lives. But Mary simply
sits in Jesus’ presence and listens. Mary spends time with him with no distractions.
And Jesus says – “Mary has chosen what is better”.
Jesus is waiting to show us just who he is. The question is, unlike the disciples in the
storm tossed boat, will we put aside our preconceptions and earthly concerns, and
make time to really get to know him?
St Peter's Church 