A Lake & A Mountain

From crowds to calling.

Mark places Jesus in two different settings: a lake and a mountain. Both have meaning, and both shape what happens next.

By the lake, people press in from every direction. They come because they have heard what Jesus can do. The need is real and urgent. You can almost feel a bit of a chaos. Water, by the way, as much as it represents life in scripture, also represents chaos, or at least a lack of order. Think of the “formless-and-void” water in Genesis 1:1. Or the many storms and fear we read of in the gospels and Acts.

So here at the lake, in Jesus’ presence, bodies are healed. Spirits are silenced. Power flows freely, almost uncontrollably. We can’t control the power of Jesus, even as he invites us to participate in it. Jesus even has to protect himself from being overwhelmed. This is faith driven by desperation and desire. People are drawn to Jesus, but they are not yet formed by him.

Then Jesus goes up a mountain. Here there are no crowds, no pressing needs, no spectacle. Instead, there is calling. Jesus appoints the twelve—not because they ask, but because he chooses. On the mountain, following becomes defined not by proximity, but by purpose. These are the ones who will be with him and then sent by him. We remember that Moses received the Teaching on the mountain. And soon enough, Jesus gives the teaching on a mountain as well.

James helps us understand the movement between these two places. It is not enough to hear the word, or even to be near its power. Faith that remains at the lake - content to experience but not to be shaped - is fleeting. The word must be done, not merely received. Formation requires intention.

Perhaps we can think of it this way: The lake draws crowds. The mountain forms disciples. Following Jesus should take us to both places. The question is whether we will remain content with being near him, or allow ourselves to be called into a life - willing to climb a mountain - that reflects what we have heard.

Mark 3:7-19

Jesus left with his disciples and went to the lake. A large crowd followed him because they had heard what he was doing. They were from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the area surrounding Tyre and Sidon. Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready for him so the crowd wouldn’t crush him. He had healed so many people that everyone who was sick pushed forward so that they could touch him. Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down at his feet and shouted, “You are God’s Son!” But he strictly ordered them not to reveal who he was.

Jesus went up on a mountain and called those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve and called them apostles. He appointed them to be with him, to be sent out to preach, and to have authority to throw out demons. He appointed twelve: Peter, a name he gave Simon; James and John, Zebedee’s sons, whom he nicknamed Boanerges, which means “sons of Thunder”; and Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, Alphaeus’ son; Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

James 1:22-25

You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. Those who hear but don’t do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like. But there are those who study the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continue to do it. They don’t listen and then forget, but they put it into practice in their lives. They will be blessed in whatever they do.

Prayer

God,

I love both lakes and mountains. I’m glad you made tropical beaches, hot sand, and open oceans for other people to enjoy. As for me, you know my created heart is in the likes of Vermont.

Most days, most of us sit immersed in things humans have created. Cities and suburbs, houses and sidewalks, phones and computers. These are not bad - necessarily. You called us to create. But plastic and concrete are just not the pure things of lakes and mountains.

So my prayer is simple today, God: remind me of the lakes and mountains. Not simply their existence, but their spiritual-like proximity to the formation of your Creation in me. I want to remember the kind of order you bring to the chaos. I want to feel the spiritual struggle of climbing a mountain to reap the satisfaction found on top.

Today as I clean the kitchen, put gas in the car, and wipe kids’ rears, keep me present with you.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.