Sunday, June 21, 2009
Job 38:1-11 Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41
On this Father’s Day, I want to begin with a few words about my Dad, who started preaching 66 years ago, first as a Baptist, then as a Methodist pastor. One of my primary memories of my Dad is his love of Scripture. It always radiated through his preaching and his daily practice of reading and prayerfully reflecting on Scripture at home.
Dad is 87 now and still leads a weekly bible study and still preaches occasionally when he is able to leave my Mom. About every other time I talk with Dad on the phone, he tells me about something new and meaningful he has discovered as he has been studying the Bible.
Whether you are a Dad or a Mom, or a grandparent, whether you’re an aunt or uncle or friend, are you passing on to the next generation your love for listening to God speak through scripture?
Perhaps you have not yet developed a daily practice of prayerful reflection on Scripture as a way of listening for God’s guidance in your life. Perhaps you used to have that habit, but your busy life has squeezed it out of your routine now. It’s never too late to begin a daily practice of prayerful listening for what God might want to say to you through Scripture.
So let’s listen together for what God’s Spirit might want to say to us through the Gospel reading we just heard.
Jesus had been teaching the crowds by the Sea of Galilee. So many people were pressing in to get close to Jesus that he had to get into a boat and sit there, to get a bit of space so that he could teach the crowds. He taught about his favorite subject, the coming of God’s Kingdom. He tried to open their imaginations by speaking in parables. The parable of the sewer whose seed fell on different kinds of soil, the parable about the Kingdom being like a mustard seed, tiny when sown, yet the seed grows large so that many birds can roost in its branches.
As evening came, Jesus finished his teaching and invited his disciples, some in his boat and others in boats nearby, to leave the crowd behind and cross with him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus was tired from teaching all day in the hot sun, so he went to the back of the boat and fell asleep on the leather cushion which was normally used by the person steering the boat. It was about a 6 mile sail across the Sea of Galilee so he had plenty of time for a nap.
As they were quietly sailing along, a surprise windstorm blew in and transformed the quiet water into a raging storm. This often happens on the Sea of Galilee, even today, because of the configuration of the mountains around it.
As first century readers heard this story, they probably thought about their own experiences of surprise storms on the Sea of Galilee.
They might also have thought of the situations in their personal lives, in their families and congregations, in their nation and their world. Situations that came like unexpected windstorms that threatened to overwhelm them.
Let’s think about our lives today. What are the unexpected windstorm situations that threaten the peace and security of your personal life these days and threatens the lives of people you love?
A year ago, we did not expect our national and global economy to head into the stormy times we have experienced. Storms that have swept away banks and businesses, jobs and retirement savings both in this country and around the world.
The City of Fitchburg has had its ice storms and threatening windstorms. Just to drive down Main Street makes it obvious that it is not the same economy or culture it was 30 or 50 years ago.
I first came to Christ Church in 1978 for a Diocesan Convention. As a parish, you have experienced many windstorms over the past 30 years and windstorms are still threatening your peace and security.
Our Diocese, the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, all Christian churches have been passing through a season of relentless windstorms.
As we list the many windstorms that have threatened and stirred up our lives, we need to remember also our Christian and Anglican sisters and brothers around the world whose lives are threatened by the windstorms of war, poverty, famine and disease. Think of our persecuted sisters and brothers in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and other places we don’t even know about.
We can be sure that windstorms will come to all of us, often unexpectedly that will threaten and overwhelm us. In the middle of the storms that threaten our lives, we may think that Jesus is not aware of our danger. We may think that God does not care about us and our situation. We may think that Jesus is sleeping on the job instead of helping us when we need him most.
Jesus reminds us, that he is always in our boat with us, in the middle of whatever storm or danger we are experiencing. Jesus is with the hundreds of thousands of Christians around the world who have lost family members to violence and disease…many are living in refugee camps or are on the run, seeking some safe place to live and survive. God is with them in the bush, in the refugee camps, in the starvation and death they see all around them. Jesus is always in our boat with us.
How do you normally respond when your life is overwhelmed by a windstorm of threatening danger and fear?
Do you try to take over control and save yourself by your brains and hard work? That’s what the disciples tried to do first. They tried to take control of their boat. They tried self-help. But they couldn’t overcome the powerful, relentless waves. The storm was stronger than they were. Only when they recognized their helplessness and vulnerability to the destructive storm…only then they turned to Jesus for help. Are you trying to fight your windstorm on your own or are you ready to ask Jesus for help?
Notice when the fearful disciples talked with Jesus that their first words were a complaint, an accusation. “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?”
Sometimes when the windstorms threaten to overwhelm us, we also begin by accusing Jesus of not caring for us, not protecting us from the storms of life.
Jesus could respond to us like God responded to Job’s complaints, by asking, who are you to think you know more than I do? What makes you think that you are smarter than God, your Creator?
But in the gospel, Jesus is very patient. He wakes up, speaks to the windstorm as one who is in charge of all of creation. ”Peace! Be Still.” Miraculously, the life-threatening windstorm was transformed into a peaceful calm.
Then Jesus looked at his disciples with eyes of love and spoke to his shocked disciples. ”Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” I’ve been trying to teach you about my Kingdom. Don’t you believe that I am God and that I care for you? Don’t you trust me to guide you through all things?
If the disciples were afraid of the life-threatening windstorm they were even more in awe of Jesus’ power to calm the storm and bring them safely through.
Their reaction to Jesus’ calming the storm invites us to ask ourselves: are we more overwhelmed by the power of the windstorms threatening our lives or are we more overwhelmed by the power of Jesus who is greater than all the windstorms of the world?
I wonder what is God trying to say to you this morning through this story of Jesus calming the windstorm?
I invite you to close your eyes for a moment. Be aware of the love Jesus has for you, personally, just as you are this morning. Let the warmth of his love surround you.
Can you name the windstorms that are threatening your life now? What is rocking your boat? What do you fear the most and worry about the most? Just be aware of what threatens your peace, shakes your sense of security.
Now, be aware that Jesus is with you, in your boat that is filling up with anxiety and fear and threatening to destroy your sense of peace and security, be aware that Jesus is right there with you in the storm…
Ask Jesus to help you with all the threatening waves and windstorm powers that you can’t control and which are threatening to overwhelm you. Ask Jesus to help you...
…and now, be aware of how Jesus responds. Listen to him, watch him as he speaks directly to your fears. Hear him say, “Peace! Be still.”
Let yourself experience the powerful words and presence of Jesus calming you in the deepest places of your mind and emotions. “Peace! Be still. I am with you. You don’t have to be afraid.”
Be in awe of the Power of Jesus who is greater than all the stormy powers that threaten you and threaten our world.
Then hear Jesus ask you a question: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still not learned to trust me?” How do you answer Jesus’ question?
Lord Jesus, as we pass through the windstorms of our lives, help us to remember always that you are in our boat with us. Help us to ask for your help. And help us to trust that you are God, that you are seeking to guide us in and through all things, so that your Kingdom may come and your will be done. Whisper to our deepest fears your powerful words, Peace! Be still. Help us to live in your peace through all the storms that rock our boats. We ask these things relying on the power of your Holy Spirit at work within and among us.
AMEN.
Job 38:1-11 Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41