Johannine Hours              Mark 4: 35-41              November 1996
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[The "Johannine hours" are meant as a way of seeking God in silence
and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a
day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short
commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow.
Afterwards, a small group people can meet to share what they have
discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.] 

The same evening, Jesus wanted to leave the place where he had
spent time teaching. His disciples "took him in the boat just as he
was": the departure seemed hurried. Did Jesus feel threatened? He
knew that the followers of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,
were preparing to do away with him (Mk 3,6). "Crossing to the other
side," to "the territory of the Gerasenes," Jesus and his disciples
would be out of the reach of Herod's power. 

But scarcely had they escaped danger from other human beings than
the forces of nature attacked the little fishing boat belonging to
those who followed Jesus. Even those experienced fishermen did not
know what to do. They no longer recognized their sea of Galilee:
the waves were like the open jaws of the great Abyss, ready to
swallow them for ever. So they cried out with fear. And their
distress was mingled with a reproach: "Don't you care that we are
lost?" 

Then Jesus woke up. He had absolutely no part in the agitation
surrounding him. He spoke two words, and everything quieted down.
But how could he have fallen asleep "on the cushion in the stern"
during a storm? Only a child could have done this. Jesus was not a
child, but, as the psalm says, "he keeps his soul in peace and
silence, like a little child in its mother's arms" (Ps 131). The
words to calm the storm arose from his silence in God. Centuries
later, Isaac of Ninive would say, "Quiet yourself, and heaven and
earth will fill you with peace." 

By asking "Have you still no faith?" Jesus showed that he did what
he did for the sake of our faith. The one whom "wind and the sea
obey" also says to the cares, the fears and the suffering that
cause turmoil in our souls, "Silence! Be still!" Faith is nourished
by the quiet created by the words spoken by Christ. 

      How do I react in situations when my experience does not
      suffice to allow me to find a way out? 
      For the disciples, Jesus' words transformed a threatening
      reality, the stormy sea, into a place where a new encounter
      with him in peace became possible. What enables us today to
      find the quiet which is necessary for an act of trust? 

"Johannine Hours" - 11/96 - ©71250 Taizé-Community, France.
community@taize.fr




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