It is a truism that it is only when we are deprived of something that we realize how precious it is. When we are desperately thirsty, we come to appreciate a drink of cold water; when we lose a family member we feel anew our love for that person. So, it is with divine power. In the Gospel of Mark, it was only when terror of the storm took hold of the disciples did they come to know who Jesus was.
The Book of Job provides a hint of how a storm can terrify us but also show God’s power. Job’s story begins when a member of the heavenly court (not the “Satan” of later times) suggests to God that Job is pious only because of the blessings it brings. God permits the tempter to test Job to see how he will react to deprivation. Job passes the first test, but after the second test, he lies silent seven days, but then launches a bitter attack on God’s governance as his three friends with equal vigor defend God’s justice and wisdom.
Job demands that God appear to him and give an account of his incompetence and callousness. When God finally does appear at the end of the book, he vehemently refutes Job’s boldness and view of things, using as an example of his power his effortless control of the unruly cosmic waters that threaten human life. Defeated, Job can only manage, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore, I disown what I have said, and give up.” (42:5-6).
God’s easy control of chaos helps us understand the Gospel, which portrays Jesus’s control on a much smaller scale of the stormy waters of Lake Galilee. As night comes on, a major storm arises. As the waters rage, Jesus sleeps peacefully. First annoyed and then terrified, the disciples in panic wake him up and ask him whether he realizes that the boat is about to sink.
Perhaps Jesus was annoyed at being waked, for he says nothing to them, but speaks directly to the wind, “Quiet! Be still!” (Maybe he would have preferred to say those words to the disciples rather than to the wind.) He tells them, “Why are you afraid”? Do you not have faith?” Is Jesus addressing not only the disciples but us today, who are often swamped by unbelief and despair.
At any rate, Jesus displays, almost casually, the enormous power at his disposal, the same power that God alluded to in his rebuttal of Job. We need to be realistic, however, recognizing that God’s power is often hidden. Many injustices cry for divine rectification, but continue without divine intervention. We nonetheless can hope in God’s word that subdued the chaos. In the fullness of time, God will send Jesus, his son, to rebuke the forces of evil, and bring forth a new creation.