Next In Line

The boat ride ended with the disciples still in the prone position of worship. Experienced as they were with the rhythms of the sea they were not at all alarmed as the boat made gentle purchase with the sandy shore. They were on terra firma. The more firma, the less terra! Here was the familiar. The worldly terror of the storm coupled with the metaphysical trepidation of being a passenger with Yahweh drained away as two of the middle-aged fisherman made fast the craft. They had landed in mostly Gentile territory – the country of the Gadarenes or Gerasenes, which literally meant: “Those who came by flight.” It was a fit description of their recent passage: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.  Mark 5:1

The next order of business would be to make camp. Someone would fetch wood and build a fire. Others would fish or visit a nearby village for food. These common, daily activities would help restore not only a sense of peace, but also of useful purpose. None could lay claim to the handy and supernatural wherewithal to calm a storm, but they could round up some grub!

Such are the peaceful thoughts of the practical and the lovers of the normal, which includes most of us. “Well, that was something. I thought we were goners for sure. Then Jesus said three words and the lake turned to glass. I am so ready for a big meal, a flask of wine and a good night’s sleep!”  Normal. Peaceful. Predictable. Routine.

And then: When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. ~Mark 5:2-5
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Perfect. The boat had managed to make port in a graveyard. Could it get anymore creepy? It’s dark. You’re wet. You’re hungry and exhausted and the adrenaline is just now seeping out of your muscles and tendons from the previous excitement.

I would imagine at this very moment the disciples were already hot-footing it back to the boat and casting off. “Terror at sea and now this? A large, naked, bleeding and howling man with remnants of shackles hanging about his neck, wrists and ankles? If he can snap chains what could he do to my neck? No thanks.”

The problem with being a follower of Jesus is that Jesus takes us to places we would avoid – at all costs. The storm had providentially pushed their craft to a place of desperate need. It was exactly where Jesus wanted to be. And, it was exactly where He wanted His disciples to be. And, heads up – we can be certain that He will do the same with us.