We assume smooth water means we're doing the right thing, and a storm means we've gone wrong.
Mark's Gospel suggests the opposite might sometimes be true.
The disciples are crossing to the eastern shore of the lake, Gentile territory, heading straight toward one of the most disturbing encounters in the whole of Mark's Gospel: a man so broken by what has possessed him that he lives among the tombs and cannot be restrained (Mark 5:1-20).
The route to that encounter goes through a storm.
But the presence of the storm doesn't mean the disciples missed their destination.
It means they were on their way to it.
Jesus is in the boat, and He says "Go".
The storm comes.
He deals with it.
They arrive.
That sequence is worth chewing over.
If you want to read the full account for yourself, Mark's Gospel is free to read right here:
https://live.bible.is/bible/ENGNLH/MRK/1
This is part of an ongoing series working through Mark's Gospel, exploring what it actually says rather than what we assume it says, for those of us in rural, farming, and post-chapel Wales trying to make sense of it all.
0:00 The assumption: smooth water means we're right
0:10 What Mark actually says
0:22 The storm on the way to Gentile territory
0:35 Jesus in the boat: Go, storm, deal with it, arrive
0:48 Read it for yourself: free Gospel of Mark
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