Pass By

“Immediately HE MADE his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, … And HE SAW that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night HE CAME to them, walking on the sea. HE MEANT TO PASS BY THEM, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately HE SPOKE TO THEM and said, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:45-52).

He made his disciples—he had a purpose.

A purpose in the storm. A purpose in their difficulty.

He saw it, he knew it. Their best efforts. Striving muscles. Fear. The wet, wind, waves, wild, whipping, washing, swirling, up, down, heave, chaos.

So he went to them. The Lord God who with his brush strokes washes the wet canvas with each crest in perfect harmony went to his disciples (who knows if cussing or cries for salvation were coming out of their mouths, but he went to them!).

So he meant to pass them by…. Pass them by? Just pass them by?

“The Lord said [To Elijah], ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the LORD PASSED BY, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:11-12).

“Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will make all my goodness PASS BEFORE YOU and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while MY GLORY PASSES BY I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I HAVE PASSED BY. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen’” (Exodus 33:18-23).

“And John looked at Jesus as he PASSED BY and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36).

"To pass by" are the words of theophany—the God appearing. Theophany—the God revealing. (Scholars confirm this, not just my own crazy connections.) The mighty mountain shaking things of the Old Testament, the fire-lightning appearances predicted by the prophets. And here it comes in the dark, the wet, the wild, the confusion and fear of the disciples. Jesus wanted to make himself known to them. His glory. His Godness.

The theophany probably didn’t come in the way the disciples wanted or expected. It was a passing by—not first the ceasing of the storm. Not first a peaceful landing. Not first a deliverance. To Elijah God’s theophany probably didn’t come the way he wanted or expected—a whirlwind of wind that would break the fortress of Jezebel, an earthquake that would cause all Israel to tremble before the Lord, a fire of judgment on the false Baal.

Perhaps our theophany doesn't come the way we expect or want.  Confusion. A disappointment. A failed hope. A diagnosis. A fork in the road with no direction. Grief. A sentence and a prison term. And then God just seems to pass us by. Jesus wants us to see his glory, and we mistake him for a ghost in our finite fear and doubt. The great earth-shaking glories of God and we mistake him for a ghost, blinded by our storm. The great fire-holiness of God and we just see another baby presented at the busy temple (Luke 2), blinded by our expectations.

He meant to pass them by—because he had a great thing he wanted to show them, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Behold God himself! Oh, our great God who so wants to be known! And known in our storms, and who will use all the storms that Satan and this world throw at us to be known. Who will use diagnoses and pain and suffering and disappointment to reveal himself.

Jesus spoke to them, “Take heart, it is I,” I AM, I WILL BE WHO YOU NEED ME TO BE. He condescends to reveal himself in a way that we understand, even if we first miss it. The grace of God in our finitude.

“For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it…. Man is also rebuked with pain….. Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man to bring his soul back from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life” (Job 33:14, 20, 29).

In all of his suffering, God was trying to speak to Job. But “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…” (Job 38:1).

Confusion--the God who doesn't give the map but is with us each step.
Disappointment--the God who gives a hope that far outweighs these temporal struggles, who showers us with promises and loves us far too much to let us settle for less.
Failed hope--a God who can work far greater things out of the evil that is meant to us, even here and now.
A prison term--God still with us, a God who gives grace even when the system has none.

And
we
see
the
GLORY
of
GOD
HIMSELF.

His passing us by--when we feel we want one thing, health, or happiness, or whatever my heart cries for--this is what I need. To see my God big. To see my God great, to have my ideas of ghosts brushed away with "IT IS I." A God who loves me so much he wants me to see him far greater, far bigger, far more glorious, far more satisfying, far more for me, far more all in all than I would have if he had just come to me in my boat in the way I wanted.
Pain is transformed.
Disappointments are transposed.
Dashed hopes are altered.
Not easy. Still there. Still cry out. But GOD himself is present in a new way and all is different.

In the midst of the storm, the glory of God. In the midst of the manger, the Lamb of God. In the midst of suffering and silence, the voice of God. The very revealing of God! The God who touches me, who climbs in the boat with me! Oh, grant me eyes to see! Oh, may I see you more and more even in midst of the storm. Glory, glory! Holy, holy!

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you" (Isa. 30:18). 

*** How have you seen God in new ways?