Mark 4:35–5:20
Disciples’ faith in Jesus’ person and power enables them to fearlessly face natural and supernatural calamities.
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Mark 4:41
When you look at it, the story of the stilling of the storm is impressive in more ways than one. Yes, the miracle is truly awesome, but tempestuous sea and stormy wind are rendered almost demonic by Mark. The censure of the wind is as if it were an animate being, not to mention the
Paid!
Notre Dame de Paris (“Our Lady of Paris”), is actually one of several churches bearing the name Notre Dame in Paris. But this one, in the fourth arrondissement of Paris is the Notre Dame, one of the most well-known churches in the world, and, built in the late 1100s, it is one of the best examples of French Gothic architecture.
This church also has the distinction of possessing, in its reliquary, what is supposed to be the Crown of Thorns, a portion of the True Cross,
Comfort!
I was in Paris for several days last week. And I subsisted entirely on comfort food! At least, it made me comfortable—the crepes, chocolates, and cheeses.
“Comfort food” is that which provides a nostalgic or sentimental feeling to the consumer, and is an easy-to-digest meal, soft in consistency, and rich in calories, and, more often than not, woefully poor in nutrients.
Crepes, chocolates, and cheeses.
“Comfort foods may be consumed to positively pique emotions, to
Mark 4:1–34
God’s sovereign action produces fruit in a receptive disciple.
“… the good soil[s], who hear the word and accept [it] and bear fruit—one thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one hundredfold.”
Mark 4:20
Thus far, in Mark, most people, including Jesus’ own family, have failed to recognize Jesus’ person, his authority, and his mission. How may fruit-bearing be ensured in the disciple’s life?
The seed/soil parables are discourse on hearing the word and responding
Optimism?
According to neuroscientist Tali Sharot, research fellow in the department of Cognitive, Perceptual & Brain Sciences at the University College London, 80% of us have an affliction—optimism bias. Author of The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain, Sharot explores why the majority of humans tend to overestimate the positive.
This bias is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of good happening to us and underestimating the likelihood of the
Mendacity!
According an expert on lying (not that she is an ace liar, but that she studies the phenomenon of mendacity), Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, the average person lies three times in the first minute after meeting a stranger. And the same average person lies between 10 and 200 times every day! (These are the times I wish wasn’t so average.)
Another way of looking at it is that not only are you, Mr./Ms. Average Person, lying 10–200 times a day, you are also being
Conformity?
There it is, a five-story house in the middle of a highway to which Mr. and Mrs. Luo Baogen said, “NO!”
You see, this duck-farming couple was the last holdout from a subdivision that was flattened to make way for a main arterial road to a new railway station in Wenling, Zhejiang province. 1,600 families were relocated. Most were forced to accept the money offered by the government. Not so Luo and spouse.
Non-conformity! Luo has become famous in China for his resistance
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.