Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Guide B) Mark 4:35-41

A Sopping Wet Week in the Lectionary

Today’s readings are thoroughly wet. In Job, God is master of the sea, Psalm 107 concerns mariners in the storm, Paul is a little drier, but still gets shipwrecked, and the gospel tells the story of Jesus calming the storm.

Why these readings? Why so wet?

Context for God's Speech in Job

Genre

Some interpreters liken Job to a stage play, but it actually seems to be a variation on a theme in Ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature. There are a few surviving texts that contain very similar themes: a suffering person who doesn’t understand his suffering, who sometimes has friends who accuse him, and who justifies himself.…

1. In the ancient world of the Bible, the sea (or "the waters") was a fearful thing. (Even the Greeks referred to the sea as "wine-dark," a very ominous color — not as blue or sparkling.) The sea is often treated as something hostile to the land, something that has to be "held back." Why might this have been their attitude? How does this affect the way we see stories like the calming of the sea of Galilee? (Not to mention, the stories of Jonah, the creation of dry land, the parting of the Red Sea, Paul's shipwreck(s), Jesus walking on water, etc.?)

2. How do you feel about the sea? Do you find it fearful or threatening? Why do you think your attitude about the sea is somewhat different from ancient views?

3. Regardless of…