What's Up?

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is titled What’s Up? My focus is our Gospel (Mark 6:45-56). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

If you search the phrase What’s Up? on the web, you will discover a mental health app, a half dozen short-lived tv programs, a forgettable Lerner and Lowe musical, a song by 4 Non Blondes, and finally – and thankfully – an explanation of the phrase by a dictionary website. The phrase generally means to ask how one is doing. For instance, as in, "Hi, Chuck, what’s up?" "Nothing much." Furthermore, Merriam-Webster defines the phrase as “What is the reason for,” as in, “What's up with that?” or What is wrong with that? Therefore, I ask, what’s up with the disciples? What’s up with Jesus? What’s up with you?

Now, to stay with the flow of Mark’s account, I will move back and forth between the disciples and Jesus.

First, what’s up with the disciples? If memory serves you well, you remember that several weeks ago I preached on the disciples crossing over to the other side after Jesus fed the crowds.[1] In this passage, Jesus makes his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side.[2] You may also remember that I said that in the gospel parallels, John complements the synoptic gospels. In the parallels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus feeds 5000 and then walks on water. We find the same in John. Yet, in John, after Jesus fed the thousands, we read, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”[3]

Neither Mark nor Matthew mention this. So, several scholars have surmised that if thousands of people were about to make Jesus king, this might have had an impact on his disciples. I mean, think of it. If you were party to a team that was about to claim a championship … If you were on the ground floor of a dot com company that was about to explode …. If you worked for a candidate who was on the verge of being elected … you could benefit. People’s view of you would change in the blink of an eye. They would come to you requesting favors. They may even reward you financially. It happens all the time.

So, what’s up with the disciples? Perhaps they too perceived that the people were about to crown Jesus king. Of course, Scripture is silent on the matter, but we do know that not only did the disciples argue which of them is the greatest, but two of them also petitioned Jesus for positions while the ten fumed about their forward approach.[4] The disciples were, after all, human. Sinfully human like you and me.

The reason Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd, was to avoid the contagious situation. The crowd in John has an insurrectionary aim for they were going to force Jesus to be king. At that point, John tells us that Jesus fled the scene, but in Mark, Jesus is in charge, and he does not flee. He remains steadfast and dismisses the crowds himself.

To ask what’s up with Jesus, we see that he just fed 5,000 men. The only other person to accomplish such a feat was Moses. And like the feeding of the people in Mark, the people in Exodus ate as much as they could.[5] This is a revelation, a renewal of Israel’s experience of God’s tender care for her in the desert. It was meant to evoke the question in the disciples’ minds – Who is this? – and to give them a deeper glimpse into the meaning of Jesus’ mission. But we see that they did not yet grasp the significance of the miracle of loaves.[6]

The second thing that Jesus does that compares him to Moses comes in v. 46: Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. This is a resumption of what Jesus intended to do when the apostles returned from their teaching mission in verses 30-31 before they were interrupted by the crowds. Now, Mark mentions Jesus at prayer three times. Here, as well as in chapter one when he rose very early in the morning, while it was still dark, and went to a desolate place to pray.[7] The last place is the Garden of Gethsemane.

In each case Jesus is at a defining point in his ministry, where the underlying question is: What is the true nature of his messiahship as willed by the Father? Here he has just done a miracle that reveals something essential about his messianic role, and is about to do another.[8] He spent most of the night in prayer, seeking to confirm his understanding of and total obedience to the Father’s will.

The mountain is privileged place for an encounter with God. It’s where Abrahma took his son Isaac. It’s where the Psalmist cried aloud to the Lord, who answered me from his holy hill.[9] It is also where Moses first met God and later received His Law.[10] In Mark, key events took place on a mountain: the commissioning of the apostles, the Transfiguration, the teaching about the end times and the agony in Gethsemane.[11] So, at this point when we ask what’s up with Jesus, we see that like Abraham, Moses the Psalmist and the Prophets, he was returning to his Father to confirm His identity and will.

And now, back to the disciples. When Jesus sent away his disciples, it was late evening, but when Mark returns to them rowing, it is three o’clock in the morning. Mark mentions that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.[12] Other translations tell us that the disciples were straining at the oars, because the wind was against them or that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. But even against the wind, it is not likely that the disciples rowing took ten hours. They were no crossing the entire width or length of Lake Galilee, but only the norther portion of it.

In chapter four, Mark narrated that a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.[13] Our passage today is not about the disciples facing a great storm, but more about their inability to make progress. And their inability to make progress extends far beyond rowing or running against the wind.

Bouncing back to Jesus, Mark tells us that Jesus was walking on the sea or the lake, not once but twice. What was Jesus’ purpose in walking across the sea? I mean, what’s up with that? Was it simply faster or easier? Or was he looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when the found him already sitting on the other shore?

Folks, the purpose of Jesus walking on water had nothing to do with getting across the sea and everything to do with Mark’s audience. They lived in a culture where there were many claims about various figures’ divinity, and a common feature of having divine powers was the ability to walk on water. Egyptians believed that a god named Horus walked on water. The Greeks believed that Orion walked on Water. Hence, Jesus walked on water because He had to walk on water, otherwise, it would have been difficult for the early Christians to insist that their god-man was as powerful as others.

The disciples were a superstitious bunch. They saw Jesus work miracles and expel unclean spirits from the possessed. They were given the authority to do similar things, and had their own experiences of healing and expelling unclean spirits. Yet despite all of this, as soon as they saw what they think might be a spirit on the water, they went into conniptions.[14]

The disciples saw a ghost, but Mark did not say it was Jesus’ ghost. As soon as Jesus identified himself the ghost theory disappeared and was replaced by amazement. Yet, Jesus took seriously their alarm and responded with appropriate assurance.

As soon as Jesus steps into the boat there is a calm. They are astonished. But by this time the disciples should have gone beyond their instinctive astonishment to understand who Jesus was. They did not understand what happened during the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus brought this up again in chapter eight.[15] He rebuked them for their failure to grasp the significance of his identity and mission. They saw the miraculous multiplication, and missed the deeper meaning of the event as a tangible expression of God’s love and care for his people. The same care was at work in the boat. And the message is clear for every Christian community today.

So, there we have it. We see what was up with Jesus and his disciples. Now, the question now is, What’s up with you? What grips your heart and mind when adversity strikes? Is it fear or panic?  While panic may seem like the most natural reaction, Jesus expected more from his disciples. He expects more from you and me.

In the First Letter of John we read, “Perfect love casts out fear.”[16] It was at Jesus' initiative that the disciples sailed across the lake, only to find themselves rowing against the wind. While Jesus was not with them in the boat, he watched for them in prayer. When he perceived their trouble, he came to them on the sea and startled them with his sudden appearance.

Does the Lord seem distant when trials or adversity come your way? The Lord keeps watch over us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Do you rely on the Lord for his strength and help? Jesus assures us that we have no need of fear if we trust in Him and in his great love for us. When calamities or trials threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With faith and hope in God's love, care and presence with you?[17]

Think about that as I tell you this true story about Walter.[18] Walter Ciszek was a Polish-American missionary who went to Russia in 1940 to minister to people suffering persecution under the Communists. In case you don’t know it, there were more Christian martyrs in the 20^th century than any century in history.[19] A few months after his arrival, Ciszek was arrested as a spy and sent to Lubyanka Prison where he endured endless hours of interrogations and beatings. Worn down, he signed a false confession and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

Ciszek was devastated. This was not what he intended when he set off for Russia. But in the midst of his depression, he had an epiphany. He wrote this in his book, He Leadeth Me: “I realized God’s will was not hidden “somewhere out there” but that the situations in which I found myself were His will for me. He wanted me to accept those situations as from His hands, to let go of the reins and place myself entirely at his disposal. He was asking of me an act of total trust, … a complete gift of self, nothing held back.”

Ciszek was freed from his anxiety and worry. He found opportunities to pray and worship secretly with the prisoners, something that brought him great joy. After his release, he ministered to people in a nearby Russian town. Finally, in 1963, the Soviets sent him back to the United States.

Friends, we will probably never have to live through the harsh conditions that Walter Ciszek faced, but we will all have to cope with various trials and difficulties. Some of you may be enduring them right now. If we try our best to surrender to God’s will, we will find his grace. Remember, surrendering doesn’t mean giving up, but allowing God to work out his purposes and plans for us to follow and trusting that He will bring something good from the situation, even when we – like the disciples – can’t see it. And that, my friends, is the secret to peace.

I ask you today to take some time and reflect on our Gospel passage again. Try to see how God was carrying out His mission through Jesus when he fed the thousands and calmed the disciples’ fears. Then, take some time to reflect upon the last time you experienced fear or anxiety and ask God to help you see how He has the power to nourish you and calm you with the presence of the Holy Spirit. When you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your minds and hearts in Christ Jesus, Amen.

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[1] Mark 4:33ff.

[2] Mark 6:45; Matthew 14:22.

[3] John 6:15.

[4] Mark 9:33ff; 10:35ff and parallels.

[5] Exodus 16:18.

[6] Healy, 130.

[7] Mark 1:35; 14:32-42.

[8] Healy, 130.

[9] Psalm 3:4.

[10] Exodus 3:1; 19:3.

[11] Mark 3:13; 9:2; 13:3; 14:26.

[12] Mark 6:48.

[13] Mark 4:37.

[14] Cline, Austin. "Jesus Walks on Water: Faith During a Storm (Mark 6:45-52)." Learn Religions, Feb. 16, 2021, learnreligions.com/jesus-walks-on-water-faith-during-a-storm-248698.

[15] Mark 8:14-21.

[16] 1 John 4:18.

[17] https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/mark6v45.htm

[18] “Come, Follow Me: Surrendering to God’s Call and Will,” The Word Among Us, June 2021, 10-15.

[19] See Robert Royal’s Catholic Martyrs of the 20^th Century.