Not What I Believe But Whom
- davidwperk
- Jul 21, 2021
- 4 min read
Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Proper 11, the week of the eighth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Phrase for reflection from today’s reading:
40He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’
Today we celebrate the Feast of Maria Skobtsova. (See below.)
Daily Office Lectionary readings
AM Psalm 119:49-72; PM Psalm 49, [53]
1 Samuel 25:23-44; Acts 14:19-28; Mark 4:35-41
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Office Gospel, Mark 4:35-41
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’
David's Reflections
I find this text oddly humorous. First, Jesus must have been quite a sleeper not to have awakened in a small boat being tossed and swamped in a squall. The disciples had to rouse him. Also, their question, "Do you not care that we are perishing?", provokes a smile as well. Had the ship sunk, Jesus would have gone down with them. Whatever happened to them was going to happen to him as well.
Jesus spoke to the sea and storm as one would to brawling children. We could translate his orders as "Quiet!" "Silence!" In the prophetic tradition of Moses and Elijah, nature responded to the faith of a person. At Moses' prayer, the Reed Sea opened. At Elijah's prayer, a three-year drought came to an abrupt end.
Why am I afraid? Jesus' question to the disciples can be asked of what I dread, what provokes my anxieties, what stirs my gut with fear. If I am in crisis, whatever happens to me also happens to Jesus because he is in the boat of my life with me. If I am in need and feel deprived, Jesus lives within me and shares that need with me.
If Jesus seems to be asleep and unaware, I can awaken him through my prayers with my cries of anxiety and fear and pain. His followers went directly to him. That must be my recourse, bringing my frightened self and my concerns into his presence in prayers that leave nothing out.
Jesus addressed the demons in Mark 1 with the word I rendered “silence” in a pervious paragraph. It is as though he spoke directly to the storm in that same fashion. Could we draw from this that chaos in our lives--whether inner chaos, outer conflict with others, or chaotic circumstances—has a demonic quality about it? Can we, with our faith in Christ, surging within, rebuke that chaos in Jesus’ name. Can we say, “Be muzzled! Be silent.”?
"Credo"
Not what, but Whom, I do believe,
That, in my darkest hour of need,
Hath comfort that no mortal creed
To mortal man may give;--
Not what, but Whom!
For Christ is more than all the creeds,
And His full life of gentle deeds
Shall all the creeds outlive.
Not what I believe, but Whom!
Who walks beside me in the gloom?
Who shares the burden wearisome?
Who all the dim way doth illume,
And bids me look beyond the tomb
The larger life to life?--
Not what I do believe,
But Whom!
But Whom!
John Oxenham
Collect of the Day, Proper 11, The eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 231)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Maria Skobtsova, monastic and martyr (died 31 March 1945 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Maria Skobtskova
O Creator and Giver of Life, who crowned your martyr Maria Skobtsova with glory and gave her as an example of service to the suffering and poor even unto death: Teach us to love Christ in our neighbors, and thereby battle injustice and evil with the light of the Resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in glory everlasting. Amen.
A Collect for Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
For those we Love
Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to your never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that you are doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 831)
A Prayer for Light
O Lord God Almighty, as you have taught us to call the evening, the morning, and the noonday one day; and have made the sun to know its going down: Dispel the darkness of our hearts, that by your brightness we may know you to be the true God and eternal light, living and reigning for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (BCP, 101)
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