Mark, the shortest and some say the earliest of the four gospel narratives, is also the text most filled with miracles. Mark's emphasis on wondrous works helps him to reveal Jesus' true messianic identity without having to specifically announce the title until the conclusion of his writing. Throughout Mark's Gospel Jesus works miracles as a sign of his head-on engagement with the forces of sin and evil in this world. In the miracle stories Jesus' unequivocal triumph over these forces verifies his true nature - that of Messiah.

This week's text from Mark contains one of the most familiar miraculous events in Jesus' ministry - the stilling of the sea. In form and content it is both similar to and unique from Mark's other renditions of Jesus' miracles. At its conclusion this story asks us to…