Archive for category After Words

The Harmon and Holman Handbook to Literature defines Allegory as “a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. Thus, it represents one thing in the guise of another – an abstraction in that of a concrete image. By a process of double signification, the order of words represents actions and characters, and they, in turn, represent ideas.” (12)

Mark 4:35-41 is heavily allegorical if we read it as narrative. This is not to say the text in no way relates literal events. We must, however, ask ourselves why Mark includes a story such as this in his Gospel. Is it simply to demonstrate the power and authority of Jesus over all nature? Is it simply to give as many events as possible pointing to the divinity of Christ?

On one level, Jesus’ calming of the storm is a clear manifestation of His sovereignty over all creation. Yet, through reading the text in abstract terms, readers are able to interpret another spiritual application which is not only representative of Christ’s sovereignty, but also demonstrates the necessity of the test to prove faith. James, the brother of Jesus, states simply “that testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4 NIV). Through the doubleness of the text, the events of the narrative signify, or point to, the text’s application for the reader.

First, as is often the case, it easy to convince ourselves the storm of the text is parallel with trial. Expressions such as the “storms of life” are deeply ingrained in our culture and used to describe the hardships which so often plague our daily experiences. But I draw a careful and important distinction. Trial is not the same as tempt.

Trial, as we learn in the Epistle of James is God’s way of proving our faith or producing genuineness within us. Temptation comes from within and is not part of God’s nature. James writes that we are “tempted when, by [our] own evil desire, [we] are dragged away and enticed” (James 1:14 NIV). This suggests that the disciples’ reaction to the experience in the boat was not the product of internal desire but the common and usual way most of us deal with God’s trials in our own life.

It is not uncommon for us to become overwhelmed by daily trials. And when we think that we have experienced the worst, another wave comes crashing down upon us. It is not peculiar for us to cry out “Teacher, don’t you care if we die?” It is not peculiar for us feel that Jesus is unaware of the situation and doubt His sincerity.

Second, and slightly more difficult, is recognizing the difference between the wind and the waves. We must remember that wind causes waves and the only way to overcome the devastating effects of most waves is to turn and face them. Allegorically speaking it is the wind which signifies the trial or the test. The waves speak to all those things which must be overcome along the way to successfully complete the test or overcome the trial. It is when we give into fear and try and run or turn sideways to the force bearing down us is when we experience the full fury of the storm.

And it is not surprising that waves inspire fear. The ocean in literature often represents the perilous, the unknown. It human nature to fear what we do not know and any experience which presents danger we avoid. The disciples fear is an understandable product of the waves. The waves present to us all those things which we would rather not deal with; those things which bring with them the greatest difficulty and hardship. Yet, it is the waves which we must face and overcome to fully realize God’s purpose for any trial. Waves can be flaws which God wishes to mend. Waves can weakness which God wishes to turn to strengths. Waves can be sin which God wishes to purge from our lives. We all have waves but it takes a strong wind to make them recognizable.

Wind makes waves. This is a common truth we see on windy days at the beach or in the storms which occasionally batter our shores. The wind, however, is not the malicious force which it appears to be in this text. Wind is often related the breath in literature and, breath in the bible, often represents God. We must realize that it is not uncommon for God to stir our souls and challenge our faith. Every once in awhile God must send a good blow to make us recognize those areas which we neglect. Any time the wind causes rough seas the beach is littered with all those things the wind was able to remove from the sea by stirring it up. The wind of Mark 4:35-41 makes very real the disciples lack of faith. The storm was not meant to destroy but highlight what would be necessary for them to complete what God intended for them to do. They would need faith and the needed a good storm to stir it up.

Every storm needs a boat, a simple truth of life. If no one is there to witness the magnificent furry of the storm than the storm has no significance, no one to bear witness to it. Thus, the boat in this storm is the representation of the body of the one who must experience the furry of the storm to understand its significance. Shakespeare give insight to my meaning: “In one little body/ Thou counterfeit’st a bark, as sea, a wind,/ For still thy eyes, which I may call the sea,/ Do ebb and flow with tears. The bark thy body is,/ Sailing in this salt flood. The winds thy sighs,/ Who, raging with they tears, and they with them,/ Without sudden calm will overset/ Thy tempest-tossed body” (Romeo and Julite Act 3:5.130-137). Very often God’s tests are internal. The disciples’ experience of an external force produced internal results.

I, however, find that God’s tries me with spiritual or emotional circumstances to motivate me to produce external results. The storm, therefore, rages within me and my body is the “bark” tossed by a spiritual tempest. Much like Juliet is driven to her destruction by emotive forces, God’s tests can toss us about so violently that we may feel overset by the storm. This suggests that God’s tests are never easy. I Corinthians 3:13 state that “fire will test the quality of each man’s work” (NIV). Fire burns! Fire purges! Fire refines! The hotter the fire, the pure we become. And isn’t this the goal, “to be complete, lacking nothing.”

Every boat needs a pilot. Because the boat is a representation of us, some other object, event, or person in the text must represent that force which directs the boat. The only viable option is a sleeping Jesus. And this furthers the implications test. Often, as stated earlier, we feel that God is absent, asleep, and unaware of our circumstance and we cry “don’t you care.” Paradoxically, the opposite is true. Often, it is God who sends the test and logically this would make Him very present, awake, and aware of our trial.

I have a feeling that Jesus only slept to see what the disciples would do. He needed to know exactly where they were so that He could continue to grow them. And isn’t this the role of a test, finding out exactly where we are? Once the disciples responded to the test, Jesus knew what they lacked and He knew exactly what he had to do next. Tests work the same way for us if we are open to receiving the results. Often, the test sheds light on our weakness and God teaches us what we need to do to fix it.

- From Robert’s blog

Following our gathering yesterday, some questions might be helpful to reflect upon:

Are there ways our skills of investigation could be improved?

Could our time spent Sunday mornings be restructured to facilitate those skills?

How about our individual time? Our family time?