GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 4:39
Silence. Be Still
In Granite City Senior High School, I enrolled in a class called Machine Shop. In the large classroom, there were lathes, drill presses, grinders, shapers—any type of machine one would expect in a well-furnished machine shop. The teacher began the class with a lesson about safety, and then he told us that if we broke a tool, we should bring it to him immediately in order to see what went wrong. He assured the class that he wanted us to learn from the experience of a broken tool in order to avoid repeating the mistake.
There are many experiences that carry with them pedagogical lessons beyond the existential event—what might be called life experiences. We learn, for example, that heat burns, water is wet, and too much sun is painful. Drivers learn, or at least they’d better learn, that distractions cause accidents. Kind deeds and words bring satisfaction and contentment.
St. Mark wrote, “And after being awakened, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Silence. Be still,’ and the wind ceased and there came about a great calm.” (Mark 4:39) This is an amazing story and something at which we marvel. But if it is only a physical miracle that happened and cannot happen again, it is something quite external to us. On the other hand, if we read it as a pedagogical event, it is far more valuable. A violent windstorm whipped up the sea, creating a life-threatening condition. The disciples called on Jesus, who dramatically changed their situation—now this event becomes a life lesson that is universally true. With Jesus present, we can have peace even in the wildest storms of life.
Similar to the storm that the disciples faced on the Sea of Galilee, we face life storms—the loss of a job, sorrow, problems, health crises, or anxiety—just to cite a few life-storms. In the midst of these storms, we can hear Jesus say, “Silence. Be still,” and the event on the ship, in the midst of a storm described by Mark becomes a present reality—Jesus’ presence calms the storm.
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