Commentary

12th Sunday - B
Mk 4:35-41

Let us cross to the other side.

The disciples are terrified as the storm tosses their boat about. The incredible calmness of Jesus, who is sound asleep in the stern, does nothing to calm their fears and inner turmoil.

Through this detail of Jesus sleeping, St. Mark already shows that Jesus is the lord of nature. He is truly the Son of God, as the author has introduced him from the beginning of this Gospel (1:1 – the introduction states, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”; and 1:11 – the voice from heaven at the Jordan, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.").[1]

And yet, to the disciples, Jesus is only “teacher” as they wake him. They even doubt his concern for them, “Do you not care that we are perishing?”[2]

They quickly forget, in times of struggles and dangers, that Jesus himself had set out on the journey with them. It was never their initiative. It was Jesus who ordered, “Let us cross to the other side.” It is the same Jesus who is still with them. It is the same Jesus who will calm the sea with the power of his words.

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[1] Moloney, Francis J., The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002; p. 99.
[2] Ibid.