Calm during the storm

Below is my sermon from my first official Sunday as pastor. Just a quick note about my sermons. They are meant to be preach out-loud. This means that I do not always follow the script, that there are run-on and horribly grammatically incorrect sentences and typos. Please do not be offended by such and if you are then you should stop reading now. For those of you not offended, I hope you enjoy!

There they were tossing and turning, the waves were getting higher and higher, the boat rocking harder and harder, tipping at greater angles. Even the professional fishermen were afraid of the storm, afraid of capsizing, afraid for their lives. And if the fisherman were afraid, we can only imagine how terrified the accountants and doctors among them were.

But there was one man who was not afraid, he wasn’t even aware of the danger of the seas. In fact he was asleep in the back of the boat. And he wasn’t an experienced fisherman or sailor. Instead he was a carpenter from the land-lock town of Nazareth. He did not grow up playing on the lake shore, going on multi-day fishing trips with his dad. But yet there he was asleep, oblivious to the raging waters, the howling wind, and the chaos around him.

But misery loves company and if you are going to die, you might as well be awake for it. So the disciples, the ones terrified and afraid for their lives wake up the sleeping Jesus. And I’m sure they didn’t wake him up gently with a slight nudging and a whisper “Jesus, Jesus it is time to wake up…Jesus you need to get up now so you can calm the storm because well, we are all worried and after you are done, we will have pancakes and eggs for breakfast.” No this wake up call was the full out onslaught, the jump on the bed, rip the covers away and kick him out of the bed kind of wake up call. And as Jesus laid on the floor next to the bed confused and dazed since 10 seconds ago he was having the best dream about healing a man of demons and a mustard tree, the disciples yell, no scream at him “Don’t you care that we are all going to die!!”

These men who Jesus had just had a private confirmation lesson with (for in verses 33 & 34, just before our gospel reading today it says “With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.”). These disciples who just had the secrets of the kingdom reveled to them are now a few hours later afraid for their lives. And not just afraid that the Romans or Jewish leaders will kill them for heresy, blasphemy or political unrest, but they are afraid of nature, of the storm, of the water.

Now growing up in part of tornado alley, I have seen the sky turn green before and no matter how many times one sees a green sky, it is a terrifying sight. The sky turning what would normally be considered an unnatural color and rain and hail plummeting the ground. So I can understand the disciples fear. They are on a boat, there is nowhere to hide, no shelters to run to. But I also wonder how much of the disciples fear is not just about the storm, but about where and what God is leading them to do.

Here they were embarking on a journey, not just across the lake, but to a new uncharted territory. They were defying both religious and political leaders. They were putting themselves and their families at risk for prosecution, ridicule and harassment from both leaders of the country and religious authorities but also friends and neighbors. They were going to be leaders of a rebellion, of a revelation and why, they were all gun-ho and eager while on dry land, but now on the sea faced with physical harm or even death, they were doubting, they were losing their faith. Was this really what they wanted to do? Why couldn’t they just remain simple fishermen, accountant and doctors, not doing anything revolutionary but yet content with their lives? The disciples were both asking Jesus to care about their lives presently on the boat but also in their future. Ten of the twelve disciples were martyred according to tradition – the exceptions being Judas who committed suicide after Jesus’ crucifixion and John who died of old age in exile. But in the midst of adversity, in the midst of the storm, the disciples’ faith starts to weaken.

And aren’t we exactly like the disciples? We face many storms in our lives and our faith in ourselves, in each other and in God starts to weaken. What are some of the storms in your lives?

Sickness, death of a loved one, lost jobs, difficulties with children or parents, being under employed, fights with spouses, friends or other loved ones. These are just a few of the trials and tribulations in our lives. These things cause us fear, they cause us to worry to become stressed, to start to doubt, and we lose our faith. We lose our faith in ourselves, in our abilities to persevere, in our ability to overcome the adversity. We lose faith in others, we begin to no longer trust them in our lives, to no longer trust that they will do the right thing, that they will be a good spouse, parent, child, or friend. We lose our faith in God. We question why God hasn’t done something in order to stop the bad things from happening. We doubt our faith, we begin to bargain with God…if only this will happen, then I will go to church every week, or I will be a better person, or I will give X number of dollars to the church. We lose our faith because we have always been a good person, we have always gone to church, but yet, these bad things have still happened to us. If we have faith and bad still happens then maybe we don’t need faith. Maybe Jesus doesn’t care that we are all going to die!

Oh we are exactly like those disciples – maybe not as panic stricken but we are right there with them in the boat, afraid and wondering why Jesus isn’t doing anything. But Jesus does do something! He rebukes the sea and calms the wind, the storm stops, all is still!

Jesus did not lead the disciples into danger. He doesn’t have them perish on the sea. He knows there is much more for the disciples to learn, much more for them to do in their lives. Much more life for them to live. His action doesn’t meant that there won’t be more storms in their lives, both physical and metaphorical (again 10 disciples were martyred) but that Jesus will be there, someone to turn to when they are afraid. Jesus is there as a calming presence in their lives.

And that is true for us too. Being Christian, believing that Jesus is our lord and savior does not mean that we will not have storms in our lives. We all have those times of trial, those times of hardship, those moments of despair. But we can turn to Jesus to be a calming presence in our lives, to give us moments of clarity when our boat, our life, is rocking. When the clouds are thundering. Jesus did not die for our sins so that our lives may be perfect, so that we can live in perfect bliss. Jesus died so that our sins may be forgiven, so that we may live in perfect bliss and harmony with him in heaven. But sin is still in this world. Our lives are still going to be plagued with the powers of sin and death. We are still going to have moments of trail, of disbelief. But God is still there, Jesus is right beside us, a calming presence.

I think of the words to the song Thy Word “When I feel afraid and I think I’ve lost my way, still you’re there right beside me. Nothing shall I fear as long as you are near, you’ll be with me to the end.” We are all afraid at times, like the disciples, afraid that we are all going to die, but Jesus is with us, right beside us and Jesus will not leave us, he will be with us throughout all the storms of our lives, he will be with us till the end. Jesus is with us today and always!