Daily Lesson for March 21, 2014

Today's Daily Lesson is from Mark 4:

37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

The storm has hit. The sky has darkened and the winds are blowing and the waves are crashing, crashing, crashing into the boat and at some point the disciples realize the boat is in jeopardy of being broken apart or capsizing and they are all scared and at each others' throats - and then they realize Jesus is sound asleep, in the stern of the boat with his head on a pillow, for comfort. And they burn with righteous indignation. "Jesus, don't you care that we are dying?"

Jesus awakens. He speaks to the winds and calms the seas and the tempest is driven back and peace restored. And then he turns to the disciples, embraces them with a gracious and loving smile and asks, "Why are you so afraid?"

Life in the 21st century is a sea of constant storms. Old institutions are crumbling, the ties that have bound our social communities are unraveling, values are shifting, addictions are raging, the education system is faltering, the family system is disintegrating, the church is dying.

So what do we do? Left with a sense of absolute powerlessness, we do the one thing we can do - we lash out. We lash out at the teacher or the principal or the superintendent or the mayor or the president or the doctor or the preacher. "Don't you care?" which, if we are honest really means, "You don't care. Because if you cared you would do something. You would at least do more."

Something is done. Maybe somebody quits or is fired or voted out or dies or perhaps even takes their own life. And then the electricity is taken from the sky and there is peace and calm - at least for a little while.

But the storm will come back. Storms always come back. And we will find ourselves again angry and lashing out, blaming and accusing, ready to offer some Jonah to the storm gods, lest we pause now and listen to what Jesus has asked and seek to find its answer. "What are you so afraid of?"

Really, what is it that we are so afraid of? Find that answer and next time we'll find peace - not after - but during the storm.