Pressure of work we often assume is a 21st century phenomenon - coming home on the train from Sheffield on Thursday I might have acknowledged that this was true, stop after stop and people settled themselves down, opened laptops, got out diaries and made phone calls, they had left work only to work more on the journey home.... and when they got home, I wonder how many would stop and spend time with the rest of their families...
I listen to conversations at church meetings where it seems that life is a contest- the more meetings you have and the less free time you have in a week the better...
A quick reading of Mark 4 and the chapters surrounding it and we see Jesus under pressure...
Under pressure from the Pharisees who were continually goading him and testing him...
Mark 3:2 The Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath infraction.
and spreading slander about him:
Mark 3:22
The religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumours that he was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power.
He was under pressure from the crowds whose presence was constant, even when Jesus tried to get away they followed him, asking for teaching, looking for healing....
Mark 3:7-8
Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away. But a huge crowd from Galilee trailed after them— also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon—swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves.
... and so Jesus taught them and healed them, taking no time out to eat or rest,.... his friends feared for him;
Mark 3:20-21 Jesus came home and, as usual, a crowd gathered—so many making demands on him that there wasn't even time to eat. His friends heard what was going on and went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself.
His mother and brothers came- Jesus responded by declaring that a new order had come about and those who were obedient to his teachings were now family- and rebuffed and probably feeling rejected his flesh and blood family withdrew...
Mark 3:32-35
He was surrounded by the crowd when he was given the message, "Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you."
Jesus responded, "Who do you think are my mother and brothers?" Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, "Right here, right in front of you—my mother and my brothers.Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
And he did not stop, he could not stop, there was an urgency about his teaching, he was driven by something both outside and inside himself- in this urgency we see something of the mystery and the power of the trinity.... something his friends and his family could not understand... the disciples were swept along with him...
... and yet Jesus was human- and in his humanity he reached the point of exhaustion... teaching and healing, then with the disciples unravelling the knotty bits in his teaching he reached the end of his human strength... and once again needed to get away and suggested they put out to sea...
So just as he was they helped him into the boat and pushed away from shore, even then other boats accompanied them...... but Jesus curled up in the stern of the boat and was soon fast asleep... sleeping so soundly that even though a storm started battering the boat he slept on.... just as he was..
It didn't take long for the disciples to wake him, fearing for their lives, the experienced fishermen knew the danger they were in...
So they turned to Jesus, who waking from his much needed rest, rebuked the storm- calling on the sea and the wind to quiet down- it obeyed- he then turned to the disciples rebuking them
Mark 4:40: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?"
Staggered they responded in awe ;
Mark 4:41 :"Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at his beck and call!"
Who is this ... this man who becomes tired, and yet is driven by something more real than the need for food and drink?
Who is this man, who embodies wisdom and teaches with a holy authority ?
Who is this man who heals with a word or a touch... withered hands restored, sickness gone?
Who is this who can sleep in peace through a storm, then quiet it with one command... peace be still...
How did the holy come close, come amongst us in power and with authority, calling us to have faith, to follow and to be bold... calling us to a new way of living... to receive his kingdom come amongst us, calling us to receive his teaching into good soil
Mark 4:20
"But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."
Even now he challenges us to hear his teaching through the words of scripture ... to respond to his commands... to have faith...that like him we might find peace and rest even amidst the storms of life...
The disciples took him into the boat just as he was...
That is how he calls us to come to him... just as we are...for he will lead us on.
