GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:49
No Way
Reverend Guy Walsh, a preacher from the last generation, told a story of a tornado coming toward his church during a meeting. The weather had been threatening all day Sunday, but everyone gathered for the evening meeting, anyway. The wind began to blow harder and harder. Rather than running for shelter, Pastor Walsh told his congregants to line up around the walls of the sanctuary, place their hands on the walls, and pray. The tornado tore through the neighborhood, lifted over the church building, and touched down on the other side of the church. The church building sustained no damage. Pastor Walsh was not advocating this as a practice for others to follow; he was simply sharing an instance when the Father appeared in a way that no one expected. No way!
A shepherd saw a bush that was on fire but was not being consumed. When he walked closer to examine the phenomenon, “God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’” (Ex. 3:4) No way. A bush on fire that wasn’t being consumed? No way.
A discouraged prophet was fleeing for his life and called out for God’s help. He expected God to appear in dramatic fashion—a powerful wind, an earthquake, a consuming fire. No. After all these phenomena, he heard a “gentle whisper”—the voice of God. The prophet might have said, “Not that way. No way.” But Elijah listened—“Then a voice said to him…” (1 Kings 19:11-13)
The disciples of Jesus were obediently trying to sail across the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida when they were caught in a violent and dangerous storm. Jesus saw their plight, ended his prayer on the mountain, set aside his own need, and went to them. “But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they thought he was a ghost, and they cried out.” (Mark 6:49) No way—walking on the water? There have been some foolish attempts to naturalize this story—to explain the unexplainable—rather than accept the record of three historical witnesses. Even the disciples themselves could not grasp what they were seeing—there was no way anyone was walking on the water. They thought they were seeing a “ghost.” The word Mark uses to describe what they saw was “phantasma” (φάντασμα), often translated as spirit, ghost, specter, or apparition. It was something not explainable. The disciples were struggling to keep their boat afloat and steer it westward amid dangerous waves and wind. The last thing they expected was something unexplainable, perhaps even a threatening phenomenon, so they cried out.
The Father often appears in unexpected ways—a burning bush, a whisper, a baby in a manger, the sound of a rushing mighty wind, a stillness, an unexpected income, a favorable medical report, an accident wonderfully avoided, a crisis averted, an unexpected promotion… After the event, one may cry out, “No way!” The answer of faith is, “Yes, way!”
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