Caught in the Storm

Sermon Mark 4:35-41 June 24, 2018 Ordinary Time/Pentecost 4

Caught in the Storm

“Dear God, be good to me, the sea is so wide and my boat is so small.”

A very old sailor prayer. 

It is simple. 

It is direct. 

It speaks truth.

Jesus tells his disciples after a very long day of teaching and preaching to get in the boat and head to the other side.

Out on the lake, the Sea of Galilee, late at night the wind kicks up, the waves crash over the bow of the boat and the disciples begin to panic in the dark.

Have any of you ever experienced boating in the dark? Or boating on the lake, or the bay, or out at sea? Imagine if you will, close your eyes if you like, being on a fishing vessel-one large enough for about a dozen people, what kind of boat do you imagine? Remember, these boats were not equipped with running lights, or GPS, or VHF radios, or autopilots, or an AIS system, or any navigation electronics that we rely on today.

Most of the paintings we see about Jesus and his disciples look like a small row boat. Some look like large row boats but mostly they look like boats incapable of dealing with rough weather.

But, the truth is these boats were quite sea worthy. They were about 27-30 feet long, had a wide beam, a single mast, and a shallow keel. They were part of the ongoing generational tradition of living off the sea.

The sea is a large fresh water lake. The Sea of Galilee is also known as Lake Genneraset, or Lake Tiberias. It measures 8 miles wide and 13 miles long a total of 64 square miles. Consider our ESVA is 15 miles wide and 60 miles long. The Sea of Galilee has a shoreline of about 33 miles and is 141 feet deep. It’s a lake fed by underground springs unlike many glacial formed lakes.

All of this information is to help put in perspective the storm the gospel of Mark is describing.

Storms come in all kinds of forms and being aware of the variety of storms helps us to understand how to respond.

Beyond the Sea of Galilee this world experiences hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, nor’ easters, sheer winds, and summer thunder storms.

If we are to be caught in any of these types of storms we best be educated on the way to behave in them.

For example my first experience in a tornado I was completely unaware of the tells of the storm to know when it was time to seek shelter. My Tornado Ally friends knew the look of the clouds, the smell of the air, and the feel of the wind as their guide to know at which split second to run for cover. My first tornado, the storm was raging outside and I was standing at the window mesmerized by the stop sign shaking in the wind. Had it not been for a church member admonishing me to get to the basement, I would not have known when to seek refuge. I didn’t even know to panic because I didn’t understand the storm.

It is so important in our experiences to know the storms we are in, to know the vessel, and to know how well the vessel is equipped going through the storm.

There are several storm stories in the Bible.

The people of the Bible have been sea farers and traders for thousands of years. S

o, they know how to build boats for the large Sea and for the large lakes.

These boats were storm worthy.

But, when a storm is raging and the chaos of the wind and waves surge around one’s focus can easily be distracted.

We are the same.

We can lose sight of the capability of our vessel and our strength to get through.

Fear plays an important role in many of our decisions, our actions, conversations and our belief. (paraphrase of David Lose) Fear is our healthy response. Panic on the other hand…

Panic causes people to yell, to blame and to criticize.

The disciples were so angry at Jesus because he didn’t react to the storm the way they did.

They accused him of not caring.

Panic grips people and paralyzes them.

It causes people to run in a multitude of directions grabbing everyone and everything to draw them into the same panic they experience. Panic wants us to join in the panic party.

Panic causes people to reach out and accuse others for not fixing their problem.

Panic cause people to be angry at a God who sleeps through the crisis.

How many times have we been angry at God or a loved one because they didn’t join us in our crisis behavior? How could they not understand the situation we are in and how could they be so calm or so uncaring?

Perhaps, Jesus trusted the vessel and the disciples to know what to do.

Perhaps, the disciples expected the crossing with Jesus to always be smooth sailing.

Perhaps, because of their new found faith in the Master who has been telling amazing stories about the Kingdom of God, the disciples thought that crossing that Kingdom would be easy and would not require their attention or their skills.

Perhaps, they underestimated their commitment to the Kingdom and the effort it would take to be part of it.

We are God’s vessel in this journey of faith across the kingdom of God.

It is so important for us to understand who we are

and how we are built

and what we are capable of

in the middle of the chaos and crises of life.

There is more resilience and strength and capacity within us than we realize.

Sometimes it takes a storm to learn what we’ve got.

 If we have been trained, if we have been made familiar with all the equipment around us, when the storm comes we have the opportunity to use it.

There is a fine line between fear and panic.

Panic keeps us from being able to make the quick decisions that will save us.

Panic puts us in more danger

because all we can see is loss of life

or loss of hope

and complete lack of trust.

Fear on the other hand can propel us forward to utilize all that is around us to trust the equipment and the crew to get this vessel to the other side. Panic causes us to sit and do not nothing and yell at Jesus and say, “Do something!”

Fear gets us using every ounce of our being to trim the sails to push through the waves, or to heave to until the storm passes.

You’ve heard me tell the story of our encounter with the storm off the southern coast of Crete last summer. It was the turning point for me in my sailing career. Always, when we had encountered storms or challenges with our boat that required quick thinking or immediate decisions or moments of choosing to go forward or call for help. I erred on the latter-I would hesitate and not trust my skills or the skills of my captain to get us through-panic won every time. But, this storm got me stirred up. And I remembered many things-the boat was sea worthy and in excellent condition, the captain knew where he wanted to go and he knew what he was doing. I, as first mate, had one thing that would get us through, an attitude of trust, of healthy fear, and not to panic. I realized I had everything I needed and all the training necessary to get up and do my part. I took tether of my harness and hanked on to the life lines and pulled in the torn sail, climbed up on the pulpit rail and adjusted the loosened line on the dingy davits, and became an active crew member. It was the defining moment to get me from panic to fear and trust the vessel and its members to keep us safe and get us to our destination.

 

Jesus wakes up at the scolding of the disciples, stops the storm, and has a scolding of his own.

Just because Jesus didn’t join in on the panic party didn’t mean he didn’t care,

perhaps,

he trusted the capabilities of the vessel 

and the crew more 

than they trusted themselves.

One thing is certain, 

it was Jesus who asked them to cross the sea at night.

It was Jesus who chose to travel with them.

It was Jesus who had faith in them to get him to the other side no matter what the conditions of the travel.

Perhaps, if Jesus had that much faith in them it was time for them to have the same faith in him.

I suggest our take away today is to think on these questions:

Are we aware of the faith Jesus has in us to carry the Kingdom of God across stormy seas?

Are we aware of the faith Jesus has in us to handle the vessel well built for the journey?

We are the vessel of Christ.

We are the well-equipped ships of grace and love.

We are the vessels called to carry Christ from one shore to the other wherever we go.

Jesus has enough faith in us to go the whole way that he is willing to step in the our vessel, in our boat!!

Let us have a little trust in Jesus to hang with us in our boat.

Let’s not get mad at him if chooses not to join in our panic party.

Let’s trust him to believe in us. In turn we will believe in him. 

And together we can say the sailor prayer with a new tone:

Dear God, the sea is so wide and our boat is so small. 

Grant us that the wake we make are ripples of grace 

so your Kingdom of Peace will come. Amen.

Resources: NIB, excerpts from sermon June 24, 2012