Art Reading Scripture

Fishing Vessels Offshore in a Heavy Sea, 1684 Ludolph Backhuysen, Minneapolis Institute of Art

Storm on Sea, Rembrandt 1633

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to the disciples, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. Mark 4:35-41

Saturday morning June 21, 2025, the winds were light on Lake Tahoe and skies were clear. The weather service posted a wind advisory, but most of the day was calm. Hundreds of boaters headed out for a day of pleasure cruising and fishing. Around 2 PM the winds came up. Within 15 minutes the waves were 5-6 feet. Within 30 minutes they were 8-10 feet. Several boats capsized. From one, 8 of the 10 people on board drowned. Many boats struggled to get to shore, needing assistance to dock and some boaters needing treatment after their frightening journeys to port. Officials said that the rapid shift in conditions "felt unprecedented." Lake Tahoe is about the same size as Lake Mille Lacs. Both are comparable to the lake of Jesus and the disciples, Galilee. When sudden storms come up, all boats are off.

The painting "Fishing Vessels Offshore in a Heavy Sea," reminded me of Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee." (The painting was stolen from a museum in Boston in 1990 and has not been seen since.) The boats in both paintings are tossed up on end as the men in the boats struggle with the sails. The mainsail in both paintings is torn, a sign of great distress. Rembrandt's painting only depicts the boat in which Jesus and the disciples sailed. Backhuysen's painting includes one in the foreground and two in the back. To the left of the struggling boat is a buoy indicating its proximity to danger. Less visible are two boats that have already washed up on shore. The note displayed beside the painting suggests that the larger boat in the background is a merchant vessel used in trade, while on the far right the smaller boat "is on its way to help." For the disciples and the fishermen in the heavy sea, sailing was a matter of commerce and trade, "enabling their prosperity. Though as the painting shows, "the sea was sometimes more foe than friend."

Backhuysen's painting, not based on a Bible story, connects with the biblical story via the brief sentence seemingly inserted into the narrative. "Other boats were with him." The phrase "with him (Jesus specifically)," rather than "with them (the disciples and Jesus in general)" also bears significance. The little sentence seems insignificant to the rest of the story that centers on the plight of Jesus' followers and themes of Jesus saving presence with us amidst the storms of life. Some commentators about the other boats are dismissive; "not clear why it is mentioned," "The boats are rather mysterious," and "play no role in the story that follows." Others have found in this little sentence a significant message for the church that might feel secure because Christ is with us.

The role of the church is akin to the boat in Backhuysen's painting, "on it's way to help." The church aware of being a community in a stormy world does not simply rest secure because Christ is with us in our own struggles. The church is more than refuge for Jesus' followers. We know we are not alone on the sea. We know the storms of this world affect all other boats, communities, faiths, and peoples. The other boats in the story are with Jesus too. Other communities in this world are with us and where Christ is with us, and we are with others, Christ is with all boats. When Jesus said to the wind and the waves, "Be silent! Be still," the wind and the waves calmed down for all the boats, both the boat of the disciples and the boats of others. The saving presence of Christ with us extends a saving presence to others in the storm. The mission of the Church is to be "on it's way to help", sailing courageously through the storm with Christ to speak a word of peace.

"There's a wideness on God's mercy, like the wideness of the sea;

there's a kindness in God's justice which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth's sorrows are more felt than up in heaven.

There is no place where earth's failings have such kindly judgments given.

...

For the love of God is broader than the measures of our mind;

and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

But we make this love too narrow by false limits of our own;

and we magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own.

Christ is in your boat, in our boat to say, "Be silent! Be still!" to many storms we endure. Christ is in our boat to sail us through the storm, and to others with whom he also is, others who need our aid, especially when their mainsails have torn.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer