The Gospel according to Mark, 4:35-40, records an interesting story of the Apostles joining the Lord in a boat journey “across the other side” of the sea. While in the boat, a great gale arises and its waves pound down on the boat almost destroying it and the travelers on board. The Evangelist tells us how the Apostles panic and angrily approach Jesus, waking him up and shouting at him for being asleep and not worrying about the fate of the boat. Our Lord wakes up and immediately orders the sea to be still and immediately the wind and sea are calmed.

This story from the pages of the New Testament obviously highlights the divine powers of our Lord and Savior, which left the eyewitnesses wondering saying, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him.” Such stories were very important for early Christians and new converts to reinforce the divine identity of Jesus. The story also focuses on the lack of faith on behalf of the Apostles. Despite the fact that they left everything behind to follow the Lord, and despite the fact that they have witnessed many of His miracles, as soon as they face a serious problem in their life, they panic. Not only do they panic and forget to surrender their life to the Lord, they get mad at God. Why doesn’t He help us when we want Him to help us? Forgetting that their teacher, Jesus, is the Lord and Creator of the sea, land and wind and everything else in the universe. This aspect of the story must have also been helpful for the early Christians and new converts who struggled with surrendering their lives completely into the hands of the Lord and trusting that nothing can be better for them than the will of God.

However, in this article, I would like to invite you to join me in reading the same story from a different perspective, something not very theological at first glance. I would like to reflect about the boat that carried the Lord and the Apostles. Since the early centuries of Christianity, followers of the Lord recognized the fact that their life on this earth is a journey back home. The Armenian Church hymns, sharagans, call us, Christians, refugees on this earth and “citizens of heaven” (yergnakaghakatsi). In that sense, the church, or the fellowship of Christians in any locality, can easily be seen as the boat or the ship that carries the faithful back home. The local Christian community members “sail” the waves and challenges of this world together, in the “nave” of the boat of Christ. As passengers on this boat, unlike the Apostles, we know no matter what kinds of challenges, troubles, difficulties and disasters may come across our path, we will overcome them because our captain is the Lord Himself whom “the wind and the sea obey.”

Here in Bayside, for over half a century, the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs has been our own boat that has taken thousands of faithful Armenians and their families, our relatives and friends, from the shores of this fallen world to the peaceful shores of eternity. As we look back at a year-long commemoration of half a century of journeys “across the other side,” we are thankful to the Lord for the founding fathers, benefactors, pastors, parish council chairmen and members, deacons, choir members, and faithful members of the various auxiliaries of our parish who helped the Holy Martyrs boat continue sailing, despite the various challenges that our community faced and continues facing.

Let us make sure that Christ’s boat at Holy Martyrs remains accessible and sailing for centuries to come. So that our children and grand children here in Queens and Long Island may continue journeying peacefully across the waves of this fallen world and reach safely the safe havens of eternity. All aboard …

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian