Yesterday evening, as Rebecca and I walked in our neighborhood, comparing notes on how global events were impacting our day-to-day lives, Rebecca brought up the passage that I preached upon this past Sunday.
You may recall that we were looking at the familiar tale of Jesus quieting the storm. Astute observers of the New Testament will know that this story appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospels. There are several minor differences among the versions of the story, but in my opinion, nothing to write home about.
“Did you know that there were other boats on the water beside Jesus and the disciples?” Rebecca pointed out as we walked.
Feeling a bit rebuffed, I naturally protested.
“What? Well, not in the Lukan version,” I stated proudly.
I pulled the passage up on my device. Sure enough, there wasn’t any detail of ‘other boats’ in Luke’s story of Jesus quieting the storm. Whew. I looked at the account in Matthew’s version. Again, no reference to ‘other boats.’ I was feeling better and better. But then I looked at the version from Mark and bam! There it was.
“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.” Mark 4:35-36
Shasta. She was right (as usual).
What does it mean, though? What does this detail of other boats have to do with the broader point of the story that Jesus quiets the storm and saves the lives of his fellow crewmen?
One commentator has pointed out that this detail proves that God’s provision and work extend to those beyond Jesus’ immediate reach. You may recall the strange detail from Jonah, where God says: “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
By this token, God is interested in saving “other boats” and other “animals.”
Another academic has suggested that the addition of other boats reveals the presence of eyewitnesses to verify what had happened. So yea, that will preach, also.
Upon further reflection on this passage, I agree with my wife’s assessment that the disciples were not alone and that there were others nearby. I think this is a good word for us in our current context.
If it was true on Sunday, then it’s definitely true at midweek: We are in a storm. The waves have grown in their enormity, and the winds of change threaten to topple us. With each news cycle, we feel further and further from the shores of normalcy. We are crying out for God to act and to silence the storm. In the meantime, we steady ourselves and try to keep our heads about us as the boat fills with water.
But here’s the Good News. We are not alone. There are other boats alongside us. Jesus is with us. Jesus is nearby. The storm will end.
I find great comfort in knowing this. When I dropped by Scotts Creek School this afternoon to pick up assignments for Zeb and Ellen, I was heartened by the faculty’s efforts to make sure children are getting proper nutrition during the school closure. I find it encouraging to hear from other churches, their leaders, and their pastors, and to hear how they are responding to the storm. We are not alone on the water, y’all. We are a gift to those in the boats around us.
This evening, I will gather with many of you at a Zoom Meeting online to have our weekly prayer meeting. If all goes well—and the storm doesn’t overwhelm the internet! —we will be able to see one another at a time when it feels impossible to do so. At present, we can’t come to church like we once could. However, we are striving to make it possible for the church to come to you.
Yes, that will extend into Sunday morning, as well. Our church’s leadership has elected to follow the instruction of our local and regional leaders and to minimize our contact with one another. To that end, we will not be having Sunday School. We will offer a Sunday Morning Worship experience via Facebook Live at 10:30 AM and then later on YouTube. We hope that you will join us at our ‘virtual service’ on a device or computer from the comforts of your home or porch swing. Our worship leaders will miss your presence in our sanctuary but agree that this is what needs to be done to minimize the spread of the storm that we are seeking to ride out.
We are not alone, and that will help us to recall that Jesus is nearby.
A good friend of mine described a scene from a recent movie where a global crisis has upended the normal rhythms of life and has put everyone in danger. The viewer, and the protagonist, is led to believe that they are the only ones who have survived; that they are alone. But when the lead character lights a fire one night and then sees the lights of countless other lamps illuminate the horizon, a sense of relief floods the moment.
Why? It’s because they realize that they’re not alone.
Indeed, there are other boats out there beside us. Jesus, and our families of faith and friendship, are close by.