DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Mark 4:35-41
(9/14-9/27)
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week after Pentecost
Fright and Fear: Saint Mark 4:35-41, especially vss. 40,
41: “But He said to them, ‘Why
are you so fearful? How is it that
you have no faith?’”
And they feared exceedingly....” With most of the earth
being a vast expanse of oceans, seas and lakes, frail mankind, despite a little
mastery over God’s created order, has never lost respect for storm and
sea. As the
Psalmist teaches: “They that go down to the sea in ships, doing their
work in many waters, these have seen the works of the Lord, and His wonders in
the deep. He spake, and a wind of tempest arose, and the waves thereof
were lifted up. They mount as high
as the heavens and they go down into the abysses; their soul was melted with
evils. They were troubled, and they
reeled like one drunken, and all their wisdom was swallowed up. And they cried to the Lord in their
affliction” (Ps. 106:23-28).
Few months go by before news comes again of a ship lost in
a storm and those aboard disappearing or surviving miraculously against all
chance. Christopher Columbus’
flag ship, the Santa Maria, went aground in a hurricane in 1492. The Great Lakes freighter Edmund
Fitzgerald disappeared in 1975 with all hands lost, even as she neared safety
in Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior.
And within the week of first drafting this meditation, a ferry capsized
in Philippine waters. Most were
lost, though a few survived. When
“...a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it
was already filling” (Mk. 4:37), the experienced sailors of the Sea of
Galilee, who knew well its fierce storms, roused their Teacher (vs. 38).
What the fishermen said to the Master discloses their
fright - that they were scared.
Most boats on the Sea of Galilee are small; waves will swiftly swamp the
tiny fishing smacks. The sailors
concluded they were “...perishing” (vs. 38). Did they wake Jesus, being affronted at
His sleeping, or did they hope for His prayers, or did they not want Him to be
taken unaware? Saint Nikolai of Zhicha asserts that “fear comes from sin, sin from
the devil, and the devil is the father of lies.” Of course, the Lord asked, “...Why
are you so fearful? How is it that
you have no faith?” (vs. 40). He addressed the spiritual storm within
them, drowning their trust in Him.
With love and supernatural authority, Christ our God
rebuked the wind and calmed the sea (vs. 39). He intended to waken them from their
trembling and to bring them beyond fright to a righteous fear - a holy awe and
a dread of God. In Saint
Mark’s account, the Evangelist uses two words, ‘delia,’
meaning ‘timidity’ or ‘fright,’ and
‘phobos,’ or ‘fear of the
Lord’(vs. 40). The
disciples’ initial fright was ‘delia,’
while their Master’s manifest control over the elements evoked ‘phobos.’
“...Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey
Him” (vs. 41)!
What of us? The
Eternal God-Man calmed the Sea of Galilee, so let us learn that all dangers are
in His hands. It is possible to: 1)
forget Who Christ is, retreat into the sinful reaction of human fright and even
blame God; or 2) think about Christ, but not fear the Lord, and wonder if He
will act; or 3) choose to fear the Lord Who knows all dangers and their
outcomes. The
fear of the Lord being “...pure, enduring for ever
and ever” (Ps. 18:9).
Wisdom embraces it as the way of life. In fear of the Lord, timidity is set
aside by awe before Christ the Life-Giver, as Saint Basil says, so that we are
“...led to recognize His authority as Master and Creator.”
Fright is unnatural; but, if the Lord Christ is awake
within us, then fear of the Lord stabilizes us naturally. Saint Augustine outlines this:
“When your anger is roused, you are being tossed by the waves....your
heart is imperiled.” If
“you long to retaliate” or find “the joy of revenge, it is
shipwreck. Why? Because Christ is asleep in you....Rouse
Him, then...let Him keep watch over or within you, pay heed
to Him,” for “in the fear of the Lord is hope of strength...”
(Pr. 14:27).
In my trials, O Jesus, grant me the repentance of Thy
disciples and fear of the Lord.
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