From the Lectionary for 23 June 2024 (Proper 7B)

Psalm 107:23-30 (NRSV)

Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
    and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.

Mark 4:33-41 (NRSV)

With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the 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. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

~

"The fact that the disciples need special instruction (4:34) shows that they cannot spontaneously grasp the revelation in the parables. Their inability to understand becomes clearer in the subsequent miracle story which leaves them puzzling “Who then is this, because even the wind and the sea obey him?” (4:41). The miracle of the stilling of the storm introduces a series of portentous actions that disclose the mysterious power of Jesus and the essential incomprehension of even those closest to him. In the previous set of such miracle stories in the Gospel (the “conflict stories” in 2:1-3:6), the opposition is the religio-political vested interests; here, it is incomprehension and misunderstanding on the part of the disciples themselves. We are being shown how it is possible that three quarters of the hearers of the word could prove unfruitful, as well as the crucial fact that the insiders are in no better case than the outsiders... Those who go into the house with Jesus for private instruction are no better off than those who remain outside because they do not yet understand the cross."

- Robert Hamerton-Kelly, The Gospel and the Sacred, pg. 92

~

"[O]ur translation says: “a great gale arose.” This is in Greek 'lilaps animal' and that's not proper Greek, it's a direct translation from Hebrew: “a storm of wind.” And this is the key point: it's exactly the phrase that is used in a couple of key places in Scripture. First of all in the Psalm which is our Psalm for today, where it says: “Some sail to the sea and ships to trade on the mighty waters.” - this is why it's important that there was more than one boat on the sea at this time [cf. Mark 4:36)] - “These men have seen the Lord's deeds, the wonders he does in the deep” - so we're going to see a wonder of the Lord - “For he spoke, he summoned the gale” - that's what it says in our translation, but in fact the Hebrew behind it is “the storm of wind,” which has been translated by Mark into 'lilaps animal' - so “For he spoke the storm of wind, tossing the waves of the sea up to heaven and back into the deep, their souls melted away in their distress.” So the Psalm is a very good description of what the disciples are then going to live out.

"It's also exactly the same phrase in Psalm 148: “Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, storm of wind fulfilling his command.” It's a stormy wind, a storm of wind - it's exactly the same phrase. But notice that in both cases the stormy wind is fulfilling his command. And I want to suggest to you that the relationship between word and what is going on here is very important. This is all to do with the One who is speaking and whose word can be relied on and trusted. And that this is in a sense what's the difficult learning thing here.

[...]

"A little thought back: had he not just told them a parable about someone who planted a seed - that's to say, put out the Word - and then went to sleep and got up again, imagining that the seed would be growing. He knew it how - 'automate', automatically [(reference to Mark 4:28, "The earth produces of itself" where the Greek word translated 'of itself' is 'automate')]. And has not Jesus just actually done that with his disciples - just going to sleep? And seeing whether the seed has been sprouting?

[...]

"So he's asking them, “Has the seed spread?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” So the Master, even more than Moses, and the Word. And here I'd like to end by stressing something: the power of the Word is what brings things into creation.

"If you thought Jesus was a magician, you think of someone who has power over things - that's the 'magician' picture of Jesus, and that's absolutely not what's at work here. What is at work here is the Lord, who's Word speaks the storm into being. It's not that he just controls it when it's convenient or inconvenient. He's actually the Creator, it's his Word that can take the form of a storm. His Word produces things 'automatically'.

"His Word is behind all these things, so of course Jesus can go to sleep: the Word is at work. The disciples who are frightened and scared have at their disposal, and are part of the spreading of, the Word. Behind them, in their midst, impelling them onwards, compelling us onwards, is a power far greater than we can imagine. Not a magical power, but a power that stunningly is bringing things into being in unexpected places. And he's continually pushing us on, saying, “Has the seed sprouted a little bit? Are you able to see that the Word is at work? My Word? That this is the Word of God and of course it accomplishes whatever it purposes?”"

- James Alison, from video "Homily for Sunday 12 in Ordinary Time 2021" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3WA2VZyc3s)

[Source of the Robert Hamerton-Kelly quote, and for further discussion and reflections on all this week's lectionary texts: https://girardianlectionary.net/reflections/year-b/proper_7b/]