Take Heart
Text: Mark 6:45-56
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the aftermath of the disruption and isolation of Covid 19 our church body recognized the needs of its pastors to rest, refresh, and be renewed. To help facilitate all of this they partnered with an organization called Doxology to provide retreats for pastors under the theme Take Heart. I participated in one of these events in the fall of 2022 and it was just what was advertised and needed. A rest for the body, a renewal of the mind, and a refreshing of the spirit. I’m not sure if I caught it at the time, but the whole two-day experience seemed to mirror the details of the events in Mark 6 that we’ve been working through over these past few weeks.
If you recall, after Jesus sends out the twelve disciples to spread the word about what He was doing, he offers them an opportunity to “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” While they were there hoping for rest and relaxation, the crowds swarm them again and they spend the whole day ministering to them, with the day ending in the miracle where Jesus provides for the physical needs of everyone there. And then our text for today. “Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.” It’s very much like that Take Heart retreat. A realization that the pressures of ministry require getting away to rest, relax, and refresh. But also, with the added dose of reality that even while trying to do so, life is going to continue to happen. Not much of that life happened while I was away this week. But…if you happen to have an emergency surgery while I’m away, you can let me know. I might not cut my vacation short, but I will be praying for you.
But this is about all of us. Life is going to happen. Sometimes as we’re doing the Lord’s work, we’ll find time to get away and recharge, and other times God’s going to put something else in our path. No matter what happens, we can learn about what God wants us to do and how He wants us to react. As Jesus sends the disciples to the other side of the lake, I think the primary think He’s looking to teach them is that there will be days when the wind is in our face and when we’re making headway painfully, if we’re making any at all. And amid all of that He will say to you
TAKE HEART; IT IS I. DO NOT BE AFRAID.
What drives Jesus to walk out to the place where the disciples were struggling to make progress across the lake? It seems like a simple question, but when you read the text and realize that “He meant to pass them by” you really do have to wonder. Was Jesus merely looking to get to the other side and meet the disciples there? Was He hoping they’d just see Him and wave as He went by? I don’t think so. I think He has every intention of meeting those disciples exactly where they were. And caring for them in their struggles and their difficulties. Assuring them that He wasn’t someone to be afraid of, but rather the One – the only One – who would always be there in their times of need. It’s amazing that as soon as Jesus recognizes the terror the disciples had at seeing a man walking on the water, He immediately speaks to them and says, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
It’s the same words our Lord speaks to us. When the challenges of life seem too much to bear. When we’re overrun by the responsibilities we carry. Even when our sin causes us to wonder whether God would want anything to do with us. He comes to us. Recognizes our burdens and weaknesses. And says, “Take Heart; it is I”
There’s such comfort in those words which reveal to us not only the love of our Savior and His desire to care for us, but also that we would truly know who He is. He’s the One who calms the storms. He’s the One who heals the sick. He’s the One who feeds the hungry. And He’s the One who forgives the sinner. The disciples quickly realize the power of Jesus presence in His words and in what happens when He joins them in their struggles. “And he got in the boat with them, and the wind ceased.” The presence of Almighty God made things right. It stopped the raging sea. And the disciples were utterly astounded.
If you’re not utterly astounded by the Lord’s presence in your life, then you might be missing the ways He’s working for you. You’re going to experience storms and there will be days when you feel like you’re making no progress at all. These are the times our Lord will show up and make things right. And when He does, let Him in the boat. The text doesn’t tell us that the disciples invited Him in, or that they urged Him to come and join them. What it makes clear though, is that they didn’t stop Him from being there with and for them. Even in their fear and their hesitation about who this might be or what He might be doing there, the disciples allow Him into the boat, and He does a miraculous thing for them.
Sometimes in our struggles and despair over whatever our situation might be, we fail to pick our heads up and see Jesus standing beside us, ready to intervene on our behalf. Ready to give us the rest of body, renewal of the mind, and refreshing of the spirit that we need. He won’t always be walking on water, but He’ll be there. And then I think there are times that we attempt to keep Him at arm’s length. In essence kicking Him out of the boat we’re in because we think we can handle the situation ourselves. Just in the last few days I heard someone relay a conversation about someone else who was questioning why there were so many times as a teenager that they cried themselves to sleep at night. The person relaying the story reminded them that those were the times when we learn the power of prayer. Bowing our heads, folding our hands, and allowing God into the situation where we know His work will be for our benefit. And not just wishing or hoping on the possibility that Jesus might come along and draw us out of our despair, but actively seeking Him because we know that in desperate times, He’s our only hope.
And He’s a sure and certain hope because of the promise and the covenant that He’s made with His people. It’s the same covenant He makes with Noah and his family in our Old Testament reading for today. “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you (that’s us)…that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood.” Sometimes that’s the only thing we have to hold onto. That promise. Imagine Noah and his sons and their wives, getting off that boat and seeing the destruction caused by the flood. They had to be in a state of total despair about their prospects. Certainly, overjoyed by the fact they were saved, but wondering what was next. And God makes them a promise. “I won’t ever do this again.” Not because they were now somehow better than they once were, because they’re not. They’re still sinners, just like we are. Just like before the flood, “the Lord (sees) that the wickedness of man (is) great on the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart (is) evil continually.” And yet, through the work accomplished by Jesus on the cross, God chooses to save sinful people. Not because of who we are, but because of who He is and because of His great love for us.
And who He is is the One who will walk on water for us. Who will come to us in miraculous, or sometimes mundane, ways. Who will speak the same words He spoke to the disciples out on the lake. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And for that we give Him thanks and praise. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
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