Maybe you saw the recent article about a piece of manuscript found in Egypt depicting a story from Jesus’ childhood?  Dating from the 5th Century CE, the story talks about the boy Jesus playing with clay bird-toys and then miraculously bringing them to life.  The story can be found in the Gospel of Thomas – it’s not new – and reminds us why that Gospel didn’t make it into the Canon, the books deemed to best represent our faith that comprise our Bible.  The story is likely folklore yet serves to communicate to the readers that Jesus was special, endowed with the Spirit of God even from childhood.  It is difficult for us Westerners to handle the tension in such texts.  We are hard-wired to want to read something historical as literally true, and all things folklore we deem as fiction, or not true.  In matters of faith, we want to base our theology on things that are true and reliable.  That’s what led our predecessors to demand a view of the Bible as inerrant and infallible – if we can’t trust the Bible to be true, what value does it really hold?  It is imperative that we remember that this is not how Jesus or his contemporaries viewed sacred text.  They weren’t Westerners.  They weren’t obsessed with the need for literalness and absolute certainty.  As an Eastern tradition, they appreciated the value of story to communicate many truths without having to be factually accurate.  If you are new to CrossWalk, you may want to sit with this for a while, because it can feel incredibly startling if you’ve always been taught to never question the Bible’s accuracy.  That line of thinking has never been in line with Jesus, the rabbis that preceded him, or even the Apostle Paul who provided the scriptural weaponry to proof-text our modern claim that God essentially wrote the Bible.

     It’s hard to know how literally to take these two remembered stories, one from the childhood of Israel’s favorite king, David, and the other from a time when Jesus was crossing Lake Galilee after a busy time of ministry (see full text below).  Nobody hade cell phones with incredible cameras built into them to capture either scene to be posted to TikTok or YouTube or FB or IG or X.  To spend too much time debating literalness is a fool’s errand.  The better use of time is to lean into the midrash approach, appreciating all that the stories have to offer regardless of their literal, historical merit.  As Marcus Borg would say, we choose to look for more than the literal meaning, onto the metaphorical, which is where we always end up anyway. We can engage sacred scriptures seriously without taking them literally.

     We have two stories about facing daunting threats: a giant and a storm.  We can relate to that, because throughout our lives we face unavoidable giant problems and severe storms.  While there are many moments of love and joy, we will struggle and face sickness and death.  This is simply part of the human experience.  What struggle are you facing right now?

     What do these stories have to teach us?  I see several things that resonate with me.  I see people calling on God in faith, which is an important move for us and for God. I see people acting with the wisdom available to them. I see people acting in courage, which is always required when facing giant storms.  I see people using their gifts and strengths. I see people finding themselves in an awe that delivers deep peace.

     Calling on God matters.  We may think at times that since God knows all there is to know, why bother calling on God for help?  The reason is not to inform God or persuade God to act.  The reason has more to do with being honest about what we are going through.  When we keep our lament to ourselves, I don’t think it helps. In fact, I think it may really cause more harm.  When we express our struggle, fears, doubts, and desires to God, however, it puts it all on the table instead of taking up so much room in our heads.  The act of prayer alone can be cathartic.  That’s why journaling can be so helpful – it gets stuff out of our heads.  But since the address of our lamenting is God, it also opens us up to the Spirit of God to comfort us, receiving our pain, at times helping us see things differently which serves to help align us with God’s shalom. There’s also the potential of peace as well – more on that later.

     Wisdom matters.  During the storm, the disciples were doing all they knew to do as experienced people in the fishing industry.  We can be certain that they were busy doing everything they could to keep the boat afloat, like bailing water out with whatever they could use to scoop – and it surely helped.  David showed great wisdom as he shed the armaments that were placed upon him.  He knew right away that the armor may have been the right fit for someone else, but not for him.  The garments designed to preserve his life would only serve to hasten his death.  We look at this from the vantage point of our place in history and readily agree, minimizing how difficult it might have been to say no to the presumed importance of armor and sword.  Had he chosen to wear what others insisted he must, he would have been a sitting duck. David also showed wisdom as he determined his strategy.  Bigger, stronger men had obviously failed to be victorious over Goliath in hand-to-hand combat.  David knew he didn’t stand a chance if Goliath got that close to him. Malcolm Gladwell suggests in his book, David and Goliath, that the giant likely had very poor eyesight, which people may have learned from experience with other people who grew to such size.  David needed to use Goliath’s poor eyesight to his advantage.

     Courage.  It’s hard to appreciate David’s level of courage here, but it had to be high. Everyone has courage from the comfort of their La-Z-Boy watching competitors in the arena.  Stepping into the arena where there are real consequences?  Courage required. As Theodore Roosevelt quipped, “It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again... If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

     Gifts and Strengths.  David was still young, still more adept at shepherding sheep than fighting men (other than his brothers!).  He probably wasn’t very good with a sword. But as a shepherd boy, he surely learned how to use a sling.  It was his best weapon against predators from a distance, before they could overpower him.  Even today, boys who are well-trained with a sling have tremendous accuracy and speed with their shot.  It is not inconceivable that David could fell the giant with a great shot.

     Peace.  The result of both stories was peace.  David’s victory ended the battle that season.  Jesus calming the storm brought peaceful seas and hearts among those who were terrified.  The Apostle Paul, who suffered severely for proclaiming the Good News Jesus lived and taught, wrote to the Philippian church that there exists a peace that is beyond understanding, and urged them to be faithful in prayer:

     Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

      And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 (AMPC)

      That peace is real, and I believe it comes from the heart and presence of God.  I have experienced this untold numbers of times throughout my life.  It doesn’t make everything all better, but it absolutely helps us get through our giant storms that we all face in life.  Even facing the fear of death, I have experienced it personally and seen it experienced with many who were about to die.  If that were the only thing that faith had to offer, it might be enough.  Gratefully, our faith offers much more regarding living life well and helping others do the same – the “death benefit” is simply icing on the cake.

     What giant storms are you facing right now?  How have you expressed your struggle and requests to God? No fancy words required. Sometimes no words are even necessary. In another letter, Paul writes that our sighs too deep for words are prayers.  What wisdom are you respecting as you face this threat?  What healthy next step do you know to do? What wisdom is offered by experts and those who know more about this than you? What gifts and talent can you add to the mix as you face down your giant? These are among the things you can do as you face your storms.  As you do, and especially as you continue to bathe it all in prayer, may you genuinely experience the peace of God that holds you now and holds you forever:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Paul’s Letter to the Romans (15:13), NLT

 

1 Samuel 17:1-11, 19-23, 32-49 CEB

     The Philistines assembled their troops for war [in] Judah. The Philistines took positions on one hill while Israel took positions on the opposite hill. There was a valley between them.

     A champion named Goliath from Gath came out from the Philistine camp. He was more than nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore bronze scale-armor weighing one hundred twenty-five pounds. He had bronze plates on his shins, and a bronze scimitar hung on his back. His spear shaft was as strong as the bar on a weaver’s loom, and its iron head weighed fifteen pounds. His shield-bearer walked in front of him.

     He stopped and shouted to the Israelite troops, “Why have you come and taken up battle formations? I am the Philistine champion, and you are Saul’s servants. Isn’t that right? Select one of your men, and let him come down against me. If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your slaves, but if I overcome him and kill him, then you will become our slaves and you will serve us. I insult Israel’s troops today!” The Philistine continued, “Give me an opponent, and we’ll fight!” When Saul and all Israel heard what the Philistine said, they were distressed and terrified...

     [David heard that his brothers were] with Saul and all the Israelite troops fighting the Philistines in the Elah Valley.”

     So David got up early in the morning, left someone in charge of the flock, and loaded up and left, just as his father Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp right when the army was taking up their battle formations and shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines took up their battle formations opposite each other. David left his things with an attendant and ran to the front line. When he arrived, he asked how his brothers were doing. Right when David was speaking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came forward from the Philistine ranks and said the same things he had said before. David listened...

     “Don’t let anyone lose courage because of this Philistine!” David told Saul. “I, your servant, will go out and fight him!”

     “You can’t go out and fight this Philistine,” Saul answered David. “You are still a boy. But he’s been a warrior since he was a boy!”

     “Your servant has kept his father’s sheep,” David replied to Saul, “and if ever a lion or a bear came and carried off one of the flock, I would go after it, strike it, and rescue the animal from its mouth. If it turned on me, I would grab it at its jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has fought both lions and bears. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them because he has insulted the army of the living God.

     “The LORD,” David added, “who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.”

     “Go!” Saul replied to David. “And may the LORD be with you!”

     Then Saul dressed David in his own gear, putting a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David strapped his sword on over the armor, but he couldn’t walk around well because he’d never tried it before. “I can’t walk in this,” David told Saul, “because I’ve never tried it before.” So he took them off. He then grabbed his staff and chose five smooth stones from the streambed. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag and with sling in hand went out to the Philistine.

     The Philistine got closer and closer to David, and his shield-bearer was in front of him. When the Philistine looked David over, he sneered at David because he was just a boy; reddish brown and good-looking.

     The Philistine asked David, “Am I some sort of dog that you come at me with sticks?” And he cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said to David, “and I’ll feed your flesh to the wild birds and the wild animals!”

     But David told the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel’s army, the one you’ve insulted. Today the LORD will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head! Today I will feed your dead body and the dead bodies of the entire Philistine camp to the wild birds and the wild animals. Then the whole world will know that there is a God on Israel’s side. And all those gathered here will know that the LORD doesn’t save by means of sword and spear. The LORD owns this war, and he will hand all of you over to us.”

     The Philistine got up and moved closer to attack David, and David ran quickly to the front line to face him. David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone. He slung it, and it hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

 

Mark 4:35-41 CEB

     Later that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” They left the crowd and took him in the boat just as he was. Other boats followed along.

     Gale-force winds arose, and waves crashed against the boat so that the boat was swamped. But Jesus was in the rear of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”

     He got up and gave orders to the wind, and he said to the lake, “Silence! Be still!” The wind settled down and there was a great calm. Jesus asked them, “Why are you frightened? Don’t you have faith yet?”

     Overcome with awe, they said to each other, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

 

 

Commentary from SALT (Matthew Myer Boulton)

Fifth Week after Pentecost (Year B): Mark 4:35-41 and 1 Sam 17:1-49

Big Picture:

1) We’re in the midst of an eight-part portrait of the early phase of Jesus’ public ministry, exploring eight chronologically selected passages from Mark’s Gospel. Jesus has emerged on the scene as a celebrated healer and teacher — and now, with this dramatic story, the vast scope of his work comes into view.

2) Mark was likely written during or just after a period of intense, almost unimaginable upheaval in first-century Palestine, near the year 70 CE: a Jewish revolt against the Roman imperial occupation rises up, and the empire’s might comes crashing down, desecrating and destroying the Jerusalem Temple — which is to say, from the Jewish point of view, desecrating and destroying the heart of the world. To put it mildly, the atmosphere of Mark’s world was full of fear, grief, lamentation, and dread. Death-dealing forces were swirling through everyday life, like a chaotic storm at sea.

3) As we’ve seen, Mark figures death-dealing forces as “demons,” and heralds Jesus as the “Son of God” sent to heal and liberate human beings (Mark 1:1). One of his first acts of public ministry is to drive out a man’s “unclean spirit”: Jesus commands the intruder to “Be silent, and come out of him!”, and the crowds are astonished, whispering about how Jesus “commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (Mark 1:25-27). This week’s story reprises these basic themes — though now at an even larger scale.

4) The story from 1 Samuel is the well-known tale of David and Goliath, a legendary turning point in Israel’s war with the Philistines, and in David’s rise from obscurity to the throne. Reading these passages from 1 Samuel and Mark side by side makes their similarities stand out: each takes place in a context full of intense conflict, and each features an apparent underdog who triumphs over what initially appears to be an overwhelming adversary.

Scripture:

1) Jesus has just told several parables about the “kingdom” or “reign” of God, and now, that very evening, he instructs the disciples to take him across the Sea of Galilee by boat. It’s as though the parables flow directly into the journey, as if to say, God’s reign has come, and this is what it’s like in parable form (sowing seeds, graceful growth, a weed subversively taking over a field) — and now, this is what it’s like in the form of action. Though night is falling, we’ll head across the sea into Gentile territory, where we’ll confront even more death-dealing adversaries. Even tonight’s journey itself will take on this death-defying character of adventure and struggle: we’ll sail into the shadows of a storm, with the wind and sea against us…

2) As the waves bear down on the boat, Jesus is asleep in the stern, an ancient sign of equanimity and trust in God (compare Job 11:18-19 and Psalms 3:5 and 4:8). The disciples are understandably distraught, and their cry, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” echoes the ancient Israelite tradition of lamentation (compare Psalms 35:23; 69:1-2,14-15; 107:26-28).

3) The disciples’ lament elevates this episode beyond a mere “complaint” story about the disciples’ lack of faith, or even a mere “miracle” story about Jesus’ power. There’s something deeper here. The essence of God’s mission is distilled down into a single scene: the apparently invincible adversary of the storm (a kind of “Goliath”); an apparently clueless central character (Jesus sleeping like a kind of “David,” a shepherd boy without armor, shield, or sword); and then a jaw-dropping reversal of fortune, itself reminiscent of the Psalms: “he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed” (Psalm 107:29).

4) And then there’s the way Jesus stills the storm and hushes the waves. As Mark puts it, he “rebukes” the wind — the same term, epitimaó, “rebuke,” Mark uses to describe what Jesus does to the “unclean spirit” in Mark 1:25. Likewise, what Jesus says to the sea — pephimōso, “be muzzled,” translated “be still” in the NRSV — is exactly what he says to that “unclean spirit” (Mark 1:25; here the NRSV translates pephimōso as “be silent”). Finally, in case we missed it, Mark underscores the point by having the onlookers react almost identically in the two stories: in Mark 1, the crowds whisper, “What is this?… He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him”; and in Mark 4, the disciples whisper, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 1:27; 4:41).

5) The upshot of these parallels is that what happens on the Sea of Galilee is no ordinary miracle story, but rather a kind of exorcism or healing story writ large. The reign of God has come near; it will meet with fierce, overwhelming opposition, as wide and fearsome as a nighttime storm; and yet, the new world will prevail. The world’s death-dealing forces are no match for the God of life.

Takeaways:

1) At the beginning of a musical or film, sometimes the orchestra plays an “overture,” a kind of preview of the main themes we’re about to hear in the production. That’s what this story is like in the Gospel of Mark. It boils everything down to one dramatic episode: the powerful opposition, the disciples’ fear and doubt, and Jesus’ serene triumph. Viewed this way, the story also foreshadows Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

2) Mark clearly wants us to understand this episode not as just another “miracle story” (as in, There he goes again, doing something amazing!), but rather as a kind of healing story writ large, a liberation story writ large — and this has at least two implications. First, the story suggests that the world’s death-dealing forces aren’t limited to afflicted individuals; they are also much larger, interpersonal, communal phenomena, more like enveloping storms than personal maladies. And second, the story suggests that the essence of Jesus’ mission is to confront such forces — not with military might, but with a calm, courageous campaign of healing and liberation.

3) In a world reeling from polarization and division, rife with racism and other forms of communal inequality, poisoned with rancor, conspiracy theories, and despair — we all know a thing or two about how death-dealing forces take broad, enveloping forms. Mark’s world was full of fear, disorientation, and lament; and in its own way, so is ours.

4) The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus is with us in the boat; indeed, one of the earliest symbols of the church was a boat or an ark (it’s why a cathedral’s central section is called a “nave” — as in, “navy”). But please note, Mark strikingly adds that there are also “other boats” in the storm with us (Mark 4:36). In his time and in ours, when Jesus proclaims the words of healing and liberation — Peace! Be still! — he calms the wind and waves not only for our sake, but for the sake of the life of the world.