Almighty God, be with us in our storms and help us
to put our full trust in you ☩
in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
That was quite the storm we had on Monday night, wasn’t it? We were out at dinner after going to Open House at Overton Elementary School and could barely see our car through the rain, which was parked right in front of the restaurant. There was thunder, lightning, and violent wind. We had some big limbs down and I know some of you did as well. But can you imagine being out on a fishing boat at night in the middle of a lake and having that sort of storm pop up? It would be absolutely terrifying.
Yes,
in the summer, we do have intense storms that come through, but the storms that
most of us are blown around by aren’t so much meteorological as they are personal,
political, financial, medical, or relational. I could list all sorts of
examples of storms that you might be experiencing – but all of our storms are different.
What is making you feel like you are being swept away? What is terrifying you
and making you afraid? What just won’t let up and is leaving you feeling soaked?
Where in your life do you not know what to do other than to cry out, “Lord,
save me!”?
We
live in such a consumeristic society that we might not even realize how much of
life we approach with a customer mentality. We think about religion,
spirituality, and church membership in terms of “what will I get out of this?”
And while I could talk about the problems with that mindset, I’ll save that for
another day. One of the things that most people hope to get out of religion
though is exactly what Jesus gives to the disciples here – peace and calm. Indeed,
it is a stormy world and we all just want some relief. Some of us turn to therapy
or mediation, which can be quite helpful and good, but those change us more
than the situation. Others of us turn to substances, but the problems only seem
to grow as our tolerance does. Or we turn to hobbies, streaming, or scrolling,
but those only distract us for so long.
We don’t want a better
umbrella, we want blue skies. And that is exactly what a lot of people think
that faith will give them. Friends, I wish that I could promise you that faith
would save you from calamity. I wish that coming to church meant that you’d
never be depressed, or angry, or sinful. I wish that we all had peace and that
the lion was lying down with the lamb. But if I told you that, I’d be no better
than one of those slick-looking televangelists peddling lies and heresies,; and
I’d be ignoring the Biblical text. Notice that Jesus comes to the disciples and
tells them to not be afraid, but the storm doesn’t stop. What knocked Peter off
his feet while he was standing on the water was a strong wind. The storm was
still raging, even though Jesus was there.
Yes, the storm eventually
stopped just as every storm eventually stops. And there are still sails to repair,
branches to cleanup, treatments to begin, and graves to dig. It is as a great
preacher of the 20th century put it, “What God gives us is minimum
protection with maximum support.” I do wish there was a bit more protection for
Christians who are persecuted in Iraq, for civilians in Ukraine, for those
struggling with mental illness. And maybe you remember this story differently. You
might remember Jesus speaking to the storm and saying “Peace, be still.” That happened,
but it was a different storm. That was chapter 8 of Matthew and we’re in
chapter 14. Sometimes Jesus calms the storm, and sometimes Jesus calms us.
When it’s a miracle, a sudden
relief, we generally know what to do. We pick up the pieces and try to get back
to normal. And, if we remember, we give thanks to God. That’s fairly straightforward
and I don’t think many of us have difficulty when a bad situation suddenly
improves. The struggle comes when the storm doesn’t stop. Jesus says to all of
us disciples, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Has Jesus not read the
latest parenting books? Did he skip out on taking Psychology 101 at Nazareth
University? Doesn’t Jesus know that you’re supposed to let someone have their
emotions instead of telling them to change? Doesn’t he know that simply telling
someone to not be afraid doesn’t make them less afraid? Changing our emotional
state isn’t as simple as opening and closing our hands. Not being afraid is far
easier said than done.
The help that Jesus
offers is in that short phrase that is easy to skip right over – “take heart.”
Sounds nice, but we’re not really sure what that means or how to do that. There
are some other ways to translate the phrase that at least give us a little bit
more insight. When Jesus says “take heart,” he is saying “be bold,” “be
confident,” “be daring,” “be courageous.” And that’s essentially what Peter did
when he stepped out of the boat and onto the chaotic waters.
Now, for Peter, a Jewish
man who knew the Bible well, the water was even more ominous than it is for us.
Most of us in that situation would be afraid of drowning – which is a real
concern. But Peter remembers from the creation poem at the beginning of Genesis
that waters are emblematic of chaos. The waters were seen as something like an
uncreated realm – almost the sort of place that we would describe as another
dimension or parallel universe. For us, we trust that even if we are lost at
sea we will not be eternally separated from the love of God. For Peter, that certainty
was not there, as the storm symbolized not just death, but oblivion. And so, Peter
really does take heart as he acts boldly and confidently. The other disciples
needed to see the storm stop before they proclaimed, “Truly you are the Son of
God.” Peter already knew it and stepped out in courage. He is a reminder that
it’s quite possible for faith and fear to coexist. He was afraid and still
trusted in Jesus to save him. Where did this sort of boldness and confidence
come from?
Again, if I had the
answer to avoiding suffering or making all of the storms stop, I’d give it to
you. But I don’t, and I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not going to tell you
that it’s just a mindset and that if you really put your mind to it that
thunder won’t still be loud or that the rain won’t be wet. What I do have
though is the assurance we heard in Romans, that “everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord shall be saved.” There may not be more than minimum protection
in this life, but there is maximum support to be had in Jesus. And that is how
we can have heart – to know that even in the storms, Jesus is with us.
These breadcrumbs of
grace are found throughout Scripture and they all lead us towards the love that
is making all things well. One such signpost pointing us towards salvation is
found in Genesis. Chapters 37 through 50 tell the fascinating story of Joseph
and if you’re looking for some good reading this week, try that. Joseph wasn’t
caught in a storm, rather he was stuck in a pit; sold into slavery and certain
death. We’ll hear more of the story unfold over the next few Sundays and when
we get to the conclusion, we will hear Joseph say “What you intended for harm,
God intended for good. So I have no fear.” This is one way to be courageous, to
trust and live as if God really is up to something and that God is on our side.
This is the same truth
that Paul points towards in Romans – that salvation comes from confessing that
Jesus is Lord. I am sorry if that verse has been weaponized against you and
used to, literally, scare the hell out of you. It’s not a verse about eternal
damnation, but being liberated from all that holds us back from fully embracing
and knowing God’s love for us here and now. And what does it mean to say that
Jesus is Lord? Remember, this letter is written to disciples in Rome. To say
that Jesus is Lord means that Caesar, and all that the empire stands for, is
not. Of course, merely saying “Jesus is Lord” doesn’t mean much. You can probably
train a parakeet to say that. “Jesus is Lord” is not some sort of incantation,
rather it is a pledge of allegiance, a signing on the dotted line, a reprioritizing
of everything. When the love of Jesus is our gravitational center, then our
lives orbit around his grace and mercy, even if there are storms.
But those storms are stormy. It doesn’t matter how solid the building is, when lightning lights up the room and thunder shakes the house, we are frightened. And this is where today’s Psalm helps us in taking heart. We heard the Psalmist say “Sing to the Lord, sing praises” and “Remember the marvels God has done.” In the midst of storms, sing and remember. The hymns of our tradition are such a great gift of faith. Consider the line “All my hope on God is founded; he doth still my trust renew.” Look up the text to that hymn, or another favorite, and pray those words and see if you don’t start to feel a bit bolder and more courageous. Or get online and find some hymns from King’s College Cambridge and let the beauty of those words and music assure you of the Spirit’s presence. Church music is a great gift that gives us heart by helping us to remember the promises of God.
Ultimately,
where our maximum support comes from is Jesus. Our peace, our salvation, our
strength all flow from Jesus, from the love that was made known when it poured
forth from his side on the cross. This love is given to us. We don’t have to
deserve it, work for it, earn it, or even ask for it. We are already and always
loved. The word the Church uses to describe this is “grace.” And it’s what we
read about in Romans. We don’t have to climb to heaven and make ourselves
righteous. Nor do we have to dig down into death and make ourselves immortal by
making a name for ourselves or accomplishing things. No, “the word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart.” The word of mercy has been given to us. The
word of belonging has welcomed us. The word of hope has been promised to us.
The word of love has been spoken over us. The Word was made flesh, lived among
us, and makes us truly alive. Jesus is already in the boat with us in our
storms.
Does
this Word stop the storm? Sometimes it does, but sometimes the storm rages on. What
never ceases is the Word that says that you are forgiven, you are needed, you
are valued, you are cherished. And when we believe and trust in the truth of
that Word, when that Word of love is on our lips, then, indeed, we shall be
saved, embraced by the love that made us and the love that restores us. We might
still be afraid when we hear the wind and the waves of the storms, but the word
of God is truer and stronger than any thunder. In the storms of life, Jesus
comes to us and says “It is I,” and that is good Word.
