From Vicar Linneman

February Newsletter
Vicar Tyler Linneman

The Sea of Galilee:
The Sea That’s a Lake with Four Names

 If the title of this article confused you, that’s ok. That’s what I intended, because this strange little lake in the northern area of the Holy Land cannot seem to make up its mind about what it is.  It’s called a sea, but technically speaking it’s a lake, as it’s not connected to the ocean in any way.  And it goes by four names in the Bible:  the Sea of Chinneroth, the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Tiberias, and the one we are all most familiar with, the Sea of Galilee.  And this little lake that’s seven and a half miles by thirteen miles at its widest and longest can whip up storms that rival those found even in the Atlantic Ocean.

 But this confusing little lake is exactly where Jesus sets up his headquarters for his early ministry.  It’s men that make their living on these waters that Jesus chooses to make his disciples, those being Andrew, Peter, James, and John.  And it’s these choices that Jesus makes that are perhaps even more confusing than the lake itself.  He chooses fishermen to be his students and assistants, not temple-trained teachers and synagogue-schooled scribes.  The Christ of God chooses to begin his ministry in the towns surrounding this lake, which lie on the border of the Gentile Decapolis.  This is why there is so much confusion surrounding this lake, because of the vast diversity of Jew and Gentile which called this region home.

 The disciples would practice their skills in the towns surrounding the Sea of Galilee, as Jesus sends them out to preach and to heal diseases.  This strange lake and the diverse population that causes that strangeness would prove ideal for Jesus in training his disciples to minister to those who are just as normal, everyday people as the disciples themselves were.  To further prepare these men, Jesus works a miracle on this lake, where he calms the storm.  During one of the infamous Sea of Galilee storms, Jesus is awakened by terrified disciples, only to completely reverse the howling winds and stormy seas into a peaceful, calm lake. At a word, all became calm.  Jesus brought peace into the storm with a word, the very same Word that he would equip these fishermen with for their own ministry.

 But this ministry around the lake would not last. Eventually, Jesus would go to die on the cross, in such a fashion to make one wish for just a storm on a lake.  The disciples would witness their Lord crucified, killed, and buried, and fear that they, simple fishermen and not the Christ of God, would be next.  But Christ would not leave them here, he would return alive to his disciples, and he would meet them again in Galilee, just as he had promised.  He would meet Peter on these shores once more, and he would prepare him for a ministry that would extend far beyond the only world he’d ever known, far beyond the banks of this lake, into the very frontiers of the world.  If these fishermen were ever confused about the lake they called home, the world they would be heading into would be all the more confusing.  But just as Christ called them out of their vocations and calmed the storm around them, he would continue to provide for them in just the same way.  And that provision extends to you, today.  Christ lives also in you, and he goes with you into your life of faith, strengthening you and preparing you along the way.  He equips you with the same Word that calms storms, heals diseases, and comforts the troubled.  And he remains with you, no matter where or how Christ calls you to serve.  And while the places and people of Christ’s ministry might be confusing, his message of salvation for you never is.