In Jesus Holy Name June 24, 2018
Text: Mark 4:35-41 Pentecost V Redeemer
“Lord Don’t You Care?”
(read the text)
Our story takes place on the Sea of Galilee. The story begins with Jesus having put in a long day of speaking from a boat to a large crowd of listeners gathered along the hillside and seashore of the Sea of Galilee. After He had finished, He told His closest friends that He needed to recharge His batteries. He asked his disciples, many of whom were experienced sailors to set a course which would take them to the other side of the lake. It would be a short trip of a few land miles. Jesus left the sailing to His friends and He settled down for a nap in the back of the boat. Mark tells us that other boats followed them.
While they were on the lake a “furious squall” descended upon the small fishing boats. To the north, you can see Mt. Hermon in the distance. Mt. Hermon is capped with snow, and sometimes the cold air from the top of the Mountain rushes down the mountain and blows across the lake. This storm was not that unusual on the Sea of Galilee, for it is in a deep bowl surrounded by high hills and mountains.
The force of the cold air colliding with the hot moist air around Galilee can be explosive. Waves can be 6 to 8 feet in height. It is a terrifying experience, especially when you are in a boat that is 26 feet long, 7 feet wide with very low sides. First century fishing boats were made for throwing nets over the side and drawing them in.
The storm quickly reached an intensity where even the experienced fishermen were afraid they might go down. Using every skill, every trick of a lifetime of seamanship had taught them, the disciples fought against the storm. The winds were wild. The waves were high. The swells kept breaking over the low sides of the boats. It didn’t take too long before the disciples realized they could not bail enough water. In spite of their knowledge and skill, they were in a nasty situation. Their lives might soon come to an abrupt and unexpected end.
They cry out: “Lord don’t you care….We are about to drown.”
Life Lessons:
Storms will come. If you choose to live in Florida or News Orleans you know that storms will come. If you live in the Midwest you know tornados will come. When a storm hits no amount of human intervention will stop the storm. Man made levees don’t always work.
Storms will come into our lives. Sometimes it’s a financial storm. For others it might be a serious health issue. Others might find they are being swamped by painful relationships. Winds of adversity blow into our lives.
You have tried to do the right thing. You have tried to be a good person, yet you may feel like you are sinking.
Mark tells us the disciples were afraid. Life jackets were not yet invented. Listen to their words: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” When storms come we might find ourselves saying the same thing….wondering if God really cares about our plight. We’ve all been there. We are in the middle of a crisis and it seems like God is off somewhere….and we forget that He is all knowing.
Jesus don’t you care? Do the words sound familiar? They probably do if you have ever found yourself in a spiritual storm, a health crisis. “Jesus, don’t you care?” Have you ever asked any of these questions?
“God you are a gracious God, how can you allow this to happen?”
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that my child is sick?
Lord, don’t you care that my marriage is falling apart?
Jesus, don’t you care that my friends have deserted me?
Lord, don’t you care that I have no money?
Jesus, don’t you care that I feel so alone? Depressed?
Lord, don’t you care that I want to give up?
Jesus, don’t you care that my husband has died?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that I lost my job?
If you have ever asked any of those questions you should know that God does care.
It was a caring God which had Him raise a young man from the dead and return him to his mother. It was a caring God that called a young girl back to life so she could be restored to her family. Because Jesus cared, He made sure His entire life was obedient. His walk to the cross was His destiny. He did not run from it. Because God cares Jesus willingly accepted all our broken commandments which alienate you and me from our Creator.
The Apostle Paul writes in Colossians: “…you were alienated from God. You were enemies in your minds and by your evil behavior…but a” caring God has brought you back into friendship through the death of Jesus on the cross.
This morning even if you do not believe that Jesus is God, Jesus still took your broken ethical standards, your selfishness, to the cross. In theology we call this action “objection justification”. Jesus carried everyone’s sins to the cross. “Subjective justification means that you have personally accepted His sacrifice as your personal substitute. It was God’s care for you and me that Jesus endured the beatings of Roman soldiers, the snotty taunts of the Pharisees, the nails in His hands and feet, so that heaven’s gates would be open to all who place their trust in Jesus.
It was God’s plan for Jesus to rise from the dead and show the world that no storm, not even death, can defeat those who acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord.
When storms come it does not mean that God does not love you. It does not mean that God is angry or he is paying you back. Sometimes the storms that happen are self made. Sometimes storms just happen. “God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matt. 5:45) In other words, good and bad things happen to everyone. The important thing is whose hand are we holding?
The second lesson is that Jesus is with us in the storm. Jesus and the disciples needed to cross the lake. They could have chosen to hug the shore line but it was evening and they needed to get home. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Eugene Peterson offers this colorful paraphrase: “…..Jesus told
The wind to pipe down. He said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Settle down!’ The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass.” And just like that the storm ended.
I find it encouraging that the text says Jesus rebuked the storm—not the terrified disciples. To them he simply said, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Implicit in those words is a lesson we all need to learn. The disciples were afraid because they were men who were used to being in control of life. They knew how to handle hard situations. There wasn’t a weakling among them. And yet, when put in a life-threatening situation beyond their control, their hearts melted in fear.
Instead of putting them down, Jesus simply says, “Have you still no faith?” The answer is yes and no. They had faith in Jesus, the prophet, the miracle worker. But their knowledge about Jesus, though real, was not yet full-grown. And how do you get the faith that enables you to survive the storms of life? The only answer I know is to get in the boat with Jesus and ride with him wherever he wants to go.
Where there are no storms, there is no danger.
Where there is no danger, there is no fear.
Where there is no fear, there is no testing.
Where there is no testing, there is no learning.
Where there is no learning, there is no growing.
Where there is no growing, there is no faith.
Here is the shorthand version:
Where there are no storms, there is no faith.
No storms, no faith.
Few storms, a little faith.
The storms of life are not a detour.
They are not a mistake.
They are not a trick or a trap.
They are not sent to cause to destroy you.
If there were no furious storms in my life…I would not be here as your pastor. If there were no furious storms in your life, 80% of you would not be here either.
Your storms are allowed by God to cause you to reach the end of yourself so that you will cry out to the Lord in utter desperation, “Don’t you care that I am perishing?” And in that moment—not before it, but in it, when the water seems
about to engulf you and all that is dear to you is lost—in that moment, the Lord
rises and says, “Peace, be still!”
So that you will not miss the point, let me repeat it one more time. Who told them to get in the boat in the first place? The answer is Jesus. It was his idea all along. Did he know about the storm in advance? Of course he did. And he told them to get in the boat anyway. Did he warn them in advance? No, because that would have ruined the lesson they needed to learn.
All of us have moments—most of us have many of them—when we feel utterly alone and forgotten by God. When life tumbles in around us……..
Either we choose to believe that the Lord allowed the storm to come for his own purposes or we choose to believe that the Lord has abandoned us and left us to our own devices.
Sometimes we see the clouds gathering and know it is coming. More often the winds suddenly rise up and our life….. which had been so well-planned... suddenly life turns upside down and we begin to sink beneath the waves.
Jesus is the Lord of the wind and the waves.
When He calls us, we get into the boat.
When the storm is over, our faith is stronger.
“Every journey begins with initiative, lots of risk and a leap of some kind. In early water transport, boats were made of bundles of reeds, bound logs. The Viking ships were not really that long. The Mayflower was not very big to sail across a wide ocean. Regardless of what material the ship is made of you can’t “board” any ship without taking risks.
“Boarding’ was one of Martin Luther’s favorite definitions of faith. The person who doesn’t have faith, he said, “is like someone who has to cross the sea, but is so frightened that he does not trust the ship. And so he stays where he is, and is never saved, because he will not get on board and cross over.” The test of faith is “getting on board.”
As human beings we are born to be risk takers. Think about it. Every child is a risk taker. With every step toddlers take risks. A baby’s first step is the biggest risk of all. Parents are correct to make a big deal about a child’s “first step”. The distance from zero to one is greater than the distance from one to any other number. How many times do the toddler’s fall, before their walking becomes a run?
It’s no different in the church. We could sit on the shore. It’s comfortable here. We are all happy. We have a crowd. We have beautiful windows. A nice building. We have a pastor. As a matter of fact we have several who will soon be pastors…while other ships have none. We have our friends. But we can not stop taking steps forward. That’s why as a congregation we switched from “committees” to ministry teams.
We never would have sent a team of volunteers to Guatemala with a committee in charge. Committees would be debating travel plans, and would have talked themselves to death or given up. When we had committees it took 4 years to place solar panels on our Community Center…and even then it two different committees over 4 years. So now we save a little more than $10,000 a year. By taking 4 years the committees really lost us $40,000.
As the church sails into the post Christian culture….there will be those who are swimming in water that never quenches their thirst. They will be crying out for help. Life preservers will have to be tossed to the small churches of 10 or 15 in Dinuba and Selma and they will have to be brought on board. This fall when Vicar Wright graduates from Seminary, when Deacon Jim and Scott are approved to be ordained….we will have to “call” them help sail these ships.
The disciples did not hug the shore….but when the storm started to swamp
their comfortable boat ride….. fear ran high. The biggest risk the church faces is to embrace the future. It’s a lot easier to live in the past. We must remember… this is not our boat. We are only the present crew. God promised: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” (Is. 43:2)
The purpose of this ship of which we are just the present crew: “to welcome people, equip them for their spiritual journey, and sending them out to fulfill Jesus’ commission to imitate Him and make disciples. (Leonard Sweet p. 48)
It is Jesus who spoke the words that calmed the sea and the hearts of the
disciples. For the disciples to walk with Jesus and to see him as a great teacher and healer was one thing. It is quite another to suddenly realize He is Lord of the Universe in your boat. In those moments you find it difficult to breathe. This is His boat….Whatever storm comes, He will calm the sea.
Leonard Sweet in his book “Aqua Church” writes: “Christianity is a relationship religion. The core relationship is a relationship with Jesus. Unfortunely we some of us are more careful about managing our relationships with our pets than our relationship with Jesus, God made flesh. Loose sight of Jesus, and a sailor on the sea off life quickly becomes lost. When Peter took his eyes off Christ, he sank. ()Matthew 14:30-31) When we live by grace we walk on water. Else we sink… in despair, in disease, kin depression in dread of the future.”
If Jesus can calm the wind and furious squall…then he can be trusted to provide our every need. He can be trusted to provide eternal life beyond the grave. He can be trusted to forgive all that we have done wrong. He can be trusted.
