The Calming Of Storms
Sermon
Some years ago, when Home Secretary Jack Straw learned his seventeen-year-old son had been selling cannabis in a local pub, he must have been devastated. It would be a bad enough shock for any parent, but for the government minister responsible for law and order, and one who had consistently denounced illegal drugs, it must have felt as though his whole world was tumbling. Jack Straw knew nothing of his son's activities until he received a phone call from a newspaper reporter, informing him of William's actions and asking for his comments!
The pattern of human life is such that major troubles so often come out of the blue. One minute life is calm and comfortable and easy, the next it can be plunged into complete turmoil and trouble, with no warning whatsoever.
A friend of mine was sixty and looking forward to her husband's retirement, when out of the blue he suddenly informed her he was in love with somebody else and would be leaving. They'd been married for nearly forty years.
My friend was devastated. Her rosy future instantly crumbled. She lived in a remote Norfolk village miles from anywhere, she was unable to drive, and she hadn't had paid employment since the day she was married. Far from a comfortable retirement, with enough leisure and cash for a few good holidays, she was suddenly facing extreme poverty, the possibility of having to give up her home, and isolation and loneliness for her retirement years.
And these kinds of stories are so common. They're not the exception, but are repeated over and over again in human life. The young couple whose long awaited baby is stillborn. The man who's told just before Christmas, he's to be made redundant. The woman who suddenly discovers a lump in her breast. The parents who receive a visit from the police in the middle of the night, because their teenager has smashed up the car. The elderly person whose partner dies.
The storms of life seem to arise from nowhere. There may be a cause, if you look back long enough and hard enough, but at the time they're totally unexpected.
Just as unexpected as it was for the disciples, that day on the lake. The disciples had set sail with Jesus. He'd asked them to go across to the other side of the lake, and he fell asleep with the gentle rocking motion of the boat on the calm waters. But a storm of wind came, apparently from nowhere, although most likely arising in the hills surrounding the lake. The disciples, all of them experienced fishermen, were terrified. They knew the danger, and the boat was already filling with water. But despite of the peril and the crashing of the waves and the tempest, Jesus remained steadily asleep.
Where is Jesus when the storms of life hit? When the waves are crashing all around and the tempest rages? For many people, it seems that just as it was for those unfortunate disciples, Jesus is asleep.
Why didn't Jesus stay awake and prevent that storm happening? Why doesn't Jesus stay awake and prevent the storms of life happening? Why do awful things happen to all people, whether or not they're Christians? What's the point of being a Christian if God is asleep during life's worst moments? What's the point of being a Christian if you can't rely on God to prevent dreadful things happening to you?
When the disciples realised their danger, they woke Jesus. According to Matthew and Luke they cried (rather politely under the circumstances): "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And Jesus immediately calmed the storm. But according to Mark, the disciples cried: "Teacher, don't you care if we perish?"
Mark's gospel is thought to be the earliest gospel, possibly written about 35 years after Jesus died. Both Matthew's gospel and Luke's gospel rely very heavily on Mark for their information, and both were written considerably later than Mark, probably some time after A.D. 70, and perhaps not until nearly the end of the century.
So the chances are, Mark's version is more likely to be authentic, and Matthew and Luke have both softened up the disciples' anguished cries. They both want to avoid even the implication that Jesus might not care. But it seems to me, it's Mark who has captured the emotions of the disciples, their feelings of both terror and fury. Terror at the predicament, and fury that Jesus is calmly sleeping through it all.
When awful things happen to me, I'm aware of a variety of emotions. But two of my initial reactions are usually fear and anger. Fear about what's going to happen, and anger against God for allowing it to happen, for placing me in this spot.
But the good thing is, Jesus was there. He might have been asleep, but at least he was asleep in the boat, rather than asleep in some room miles away on the mainland. And as soon as the disciples turned to him, he woke and took charge of the situation. It didn't seem to matter to him that the disciples might have accused him of not caring. He didn't take offence. He acted immediately in their best interests, and he calmed the storm.
And he's always there in the storms of life. He may be asleep, but at least he's there with us as we're tossed about by the tempest. And it's when we reach that point of utter vulnerability, when we're stripped and shivering and terrified and we turn to him because we have nowhere else to turn, that he responds. He doesn't take offence if we rail and rage at him, blaming him for our misfortunes, but immediately acts in our interests, and calms the storm.
The disciples started by blaming Jesus for their troubles, but in the end the experience deepened their faith. They learned that Jesus doesn't prevent storms for anyone, but that he's always there when the storms arise. They learned that he may be asleep during the storms, but that he wakes the moment he's called. They learned that when there's nowhere else to turn, Jesus is waiting. They learned that no matter how angry they are with him, or how much they blame him for their problems, he always holds them steadfastly in his love, which reaches out and calms their storms. And they learned that when they're with Jesus, storms don't go on forever.
Contrary to what some people may think, Jesus has never been an insurance policy for Christians. He doesn't prevent dreadful things happening to Christians simply because Christians worship him. The storms of life hit Christians exactly as they hit everyone else in this life. Jesus allows the storms to strip Christians, and through that painful process allows Christians to discover new priorities.
But what Jesus does do, is keep us safe, no matter what happens. And if we're able eventually to turn to him in our troubles, and to put ourselves into his hands, then we'll find our faith deepens and we too will marvel with the disciples and say: "Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?"
The pattern of human life is such that major troubles so often come out of the blue. One minute life is calm and comfortable and easy, the next it can be plunged into complete turmoil and trouble, with no warning whatsoever.
A friend of mine was sixty and looking forward to her husband's retirement, when out of the blue he suddenly informed her he was in love with somebody else and would be leaving. They'd been married for nearly forty years.
My friend was devastated. Her rosy future instantly crumbled. She lived in a remote Norfolk village miles from anywhere, she was unable to drive, and she hadn't had paid employment since the day she was married. Far from a comfortable retirement, with enough leisure and cash for a few good holidays, she was suddenly facing extreme poverty, the possibility of having to give up her home, and isolation and loneliness for her retirement years.
And these kinds of stories are so common. They're not the exception, but are repeated over and over again in human life. The young couple whose long awaited baby is stillborn. The man who's told just before Christmas, he's to be made redundant. The woman who suddenly discovers a lump in her breast. The parents who receive a visit from the police in the middle of the night, because their teenager has smashed up the car. The elderly person whose partner dies.
The storms of life seem to arise from nowhere. There may be a cause, if you look back long enough and hard enough, but at the time they're totally unexpected.
Just as unexpected as it was for the disciples, that day on the lake. The disciples had set sail with Jesus. He'd asked them to go across to the other side of the lake, and he fell asleep with the gentle rocking motion of the boat on the calm waters. But a storm of wind came, apparently from nowhere, although most likely arising in the hills surrounding the lake. The disciples, all of them experienced fishermen, were terrified. They knew the danger, and the boat was already filling with water. But despite of the peril and the crashing of the waves and the tempest, Jesus remained steadily asleep.
Where is Jesus when the storms of life hit? When the waves are crashing all around and the tempest rages? For many people, it seems that just as it was for those unfortunate disciples, Jesus is asleep.
Why didn't Jesus stay awake and prevent that storm happening? Why doesn't Jesus stay awake and prevent the storms of life happening? Why do awful things happen to all people, whether or not they're Christians? What's the point of being a Christian if God is asleep during life's worst moments? What's the point of being a Christian if you can't rely on God to prevent dreadful things happening to you?
When the disciples realised their danger, they woke Jesus. According to Matthew and Luke they cried (rather politely under the circumstances): "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And Jesus immediately calmed the storm. But according to Mark, the disciples cried: "Teacher, don't you care if we perish?"
Mark's gospel is thought to be the earliest gospel, possibly written about 35 years after Jesus died. Both Matthew's gospel and Luke's gospel rely very heavily on Mark for their information, and both were written considerably later than Mark, probably some time after A.D. 70, and perhaps not until nearly the end of the century.
So the chances are, Mark's version is more likely to be authentic, and Matthew and Luke have both softened up the disciples' anguished cries. They both want to avoid even the implication that Jesus might not care. But it seems to me, it's Mark who has captured the emotions of the disciples, their feelings of both terror and fury. Terror at the predicament, and fury that Jesus is calmly sleeping through it all.
When awful things happen to me, I'm aware of a variety of emotions. But two of my initial reactions are usually fear and anger. Fear about what's going to happen, and anger against God for allowing it to happen, for placing me in this spot.
But the good thing is, Jesus was there. He might have been asleep, but at least he was asleep in the boat, rather than asleep in some room miles away on the mainland. And as soon as the disciples turned to him, he woke and took charge of the situation. It didn't seem to matter to him that the disciples might have accused him of not caring. He didn't take offence. He acted immediately in their best interests, and he calmed the storm.
And he's always there in the storms of life. He may be asleep, but at least he's there with us as we're tossed about by the tempest. And it's when we reach that point of utter vulnerability, when we're stripped and shivering and terrified and we turn to him because we have nowhere else to turn, that he responds. He doesn't take offence if we rail and rage at him, blaming him for our misfortunes, but immediately acts in our interests, and calms the storm.
The disciples started by blaming Jesus for their troubles, but in the end the experience deepened their faith. They learned that Jesus doesn't prevent storms for anyone, but that he's always there when the storms arise. They learned that he may be asleep during the storms, but that he wakes the moment he's called. They learned that when there's nowhere else to turn, Jesus is waiting. They learned that no matter how angry they are with him, or how much they blame him for their problems, he always holds them steadfastly in his love, which reaches out and calms their storms. And they learned that when they're with Jesus, storms don't go on forever.
Contrary to what some people may think, Jesus has never been an insurance policy for Christians. He doesn't prevent dreadful things happening to Christians simply because Christians worship him. The storms of life hit Christians exactly as they hit everyone else in this life. Jesus allows the storms to strip Christians, and through that painful process allows Christians to discover new priorities.
But what Jesus does do, is keep us safe, no matter what happens. And if we're able eventually to turn to him in our troubles, and to put ourselves into his hands, then we'll find our faith deepens and we too will marvel with the disciples and say: "Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?"
