Sermon by The Rev. M. Chanda Bhan
Homily for Proper 7, Year B, June 23, 2024
Gospel Reading: Mark 4:35-41
The Rev. M. Chanta Bhan
Good Morning! Thank you for allowing me to be with you! I am the Rev. Chanta Bhan and I come to you from fair Richmond where I live and provide sacramental ministry to an historically black church, Calvary Episcopal Church in Hanover, VA, one of the most racially conflicted counties and towns in Virginia, as you may well know. I have found great joy in serving the community there and learning from them. The parishioners started the church during segregation. It was founded in 1919. They hosted church suppers and other fellowship events to help them raise the money to build the sanctuary; and, later, they raised more money to add a parish hall. As I listen to their stories, I am impressed by their love for Jesus, their courage, and their resilience! And, of course, I am delighted that you gave me a reason to come to northern Virginia, a place that feels quite familiar to me after my time at Virginia Theological Seminary during the pandemic.
This summer, I have been learning to swim as a personal goal. Many of you probably already know how to swim. This is, indeed, an important survival skill and I regret that it has taken me so long. And yet, this has been perfect timing! As I am sure that you can relate, I have had to overcome a lot of fear. At first, I felt claustrophobic surrounded by water, then I had to put my head under water and learn how to breath, then I was finally able to make it to the deep end and feel comfortable treading water without touching the ground, then I was in lanes with my other training team members who have all completed races and left me in their wake, then I was able to complete a lap; and now we are being introduced to open water, to currents, and to the mystery of what lies beneath the murky depths of the James River..
As I ponder this journey of learning and growing and overcoming fear, the Gospel passage for today is a rich invitation to discipleship, a deeper relationship with Jesus! We find the disciples in a boat with Jesus in the evening. There were also other boats and, perhaps, the people continued to follow Jesus as the storm arose. After a long day of ministry and teaching parables, Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat when the fierce storm rises and water fills the boat. These images emerge in literature and film. Perhaps, we imagine Titanic, The Life of Pi, Castaway, Robinson Crusoe, and other stories. Surviving storms at sea, becoming a lone survivor or castaway on a desert island for years at a time, succumbing to a storm and being tossed to and fro in the ocean waiting for rescue . . .these are real fears that have become a reality for some!
St. Augustine, in his commentary on this passage, talks about Christ asleep within us during the challenges to our faith. He encourages us to rouse Christ in our hearts, to remember that he is at work within us, and that he might be awake within us when we are facing calamity and when our faith is tested by all that surrounds us:
With the Lord's help I want to speak to you about today's reading from the holy gospel, and to urge you in his name not to let your faith lie dormant in your hearts when you are buffeted by the winds and waves of this world. The Lord Christ's power is by no means dead, nor is it asleep. Do you think the Almighty was overcome by sleep in the boat against his will? If you do, then Christ is asleep in your hearts. If he were indeed keeping watch within you, then your faith too would be vigilant. The Apostle, remember, speaks of Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith.
This sleep of Christ has a symbolic meaning. . .
. . . . When your heart is in this troubled state, do not let the waves overwhelm you. If, since we are only human, the driving wind should stir up in us a tumult of emotions, let us not despair but awaken Christ, so that we may sail in quiet waters, and at last reach our heavenly homeland.
(Sermon 63, 1-3: PL 38, 424-25)
Any one of us might be confronting certain fears: a diagnosis, a child who is about to start college in the fall, a child who is graduating, a job search and transition, a financial situation, Pride month as a reminder of a time when one could not speak about who one loves, uncertainty about the future. There are no easy answers. Fear is a natural response to the unknown or what we can not control.
And yet, the disciples set an example for us though the text does not make this obvious. While Jesus seems to challenge them in their fear, asking them why they lack faith, we see that he is with them and addresses their concerns. In calming the wind and the waves, he is not only addressing their fears, he is revealing himself as the one who has mastery over the elements. He has already shown himself as Lord over illness, death, and spirits; and he is revealing more of himself to them. He has already been explaining the deeper message of parables to this select company so we know that they have had many spiritual conversations.
What we see in this passage is the intimate friendship between Jesus and his disciples. The ones closest to him share the same boat. In their moment of need, they know where to go and they expect that Jesus can do something about the storm. They read Jesus’ sleeping in the back of the boat as a sign that he does not care about them; but, perhaps, he was waiting for them to come to him so that he could reveal himself not just as their friend and teacher but as God himself who came to be present with them. Jesus, God incarnate, the very icon of God on earth cares and is near to them; and, deep within their hearts, they know that he is able to care for them. This same Jesus is here with us, awake within our hearts, present to our fears and concerns, beckoning us to learn more about him as we walk alongside him. Jesus seeks to be our friend and walk alongside us.
I close with wisdom from St. John of the Cross, one of our early church mystics who knew fear, anxiety, distress, and despair:
Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in the darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are his and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone, [for he is always with you].
Works Consulted:
Adels, Jill Haak. Editor. The Wisdom of the Saints : An Anthology. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Barnecut, Edith. Editor. Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels, Year B. New Rochelle, New York: New City Press, 1992-1994.
Interpretation. “Feasting on the Gospels--Mark: A Feasting on the Word Commentary”. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications Ltd., 2015.
Reid, Robert Stephen. Preaching Mark. St. Louis, Missouri.: Chalice Press, 1999.
Riley, Harold. The Making of Mark : an Exploration. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1989.
Samuel, Simon. 2007. A Postcolonial Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus. New York, New York: T & T Clark, 2007.