"Finding Calm In The Storm”

In Jesus Holy Name August 13, 2023

Text: Matthew 14:32 Pentecost XIV - Redeemer

“Finding Calm in the Storm”

Think of the last storm that raged in your life. It may have been in your family—an illness you never saw coming or a divorce. Maybe it happened where you work—a downsizing that left you jobless and overburdened. Perhaps it happened in your church when people lashed out at others and the ruckus causes storm waves in a church that was calm.

Crisis comes. Storms will come. Your children have been healthy, but then, out of nowhere, one contracts a fever that won't come down; or there's a doctor's visit where he seems concerned and says, "I don't like the looks of this, we need to run a battery of tests. You're going from here to the hospital." Crisis comes. Anxiety will be your companion.

Everyone of us have been tossed and turned by anxiety at some point in our life. Airplanes fall out of the sky. Flights are canceled. You are stranded. Bull markets go bear. Terrorists terrorize. Good people turn bad. The other shoe will drop. Fine print will be found. Misfortune lurks behind every tree. It’s just a matter of time. Anxiety will come.

The angry waves seem endless. But looking back, do you remember when Jesus stepped into your boat?

Adam and Eve faced a crisis when the serpent encouraged them to eat of the forbidden fruit. That day, they made a critical choice and gave in, and the world has paid for their sin ever since. Moses had a time of crisis when the Lord called him away from being a Sinai shepherd. He became the leader of His enslaved people. For the next 40 years Moses proved himself to be courageous when faced with a crisis ... most of the time.

King David was pretty good with any crisis that confronted him on a battlefield, but questionable when it showed up in his bedroom. Crisis comes. His anxiety and fear lead him to have a man murdered on the battlefield.

“Anxiety and fear are cousins but not twins. Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one.” Fear screams “Get out!” Anxiety ponders, “What if?” (Max Lucado Anxious about Nothing p. 4) In our gospel reading today the disciples experienced anxiety that turned into fear until Jesus visited in the hours of early morning.

Jesus had just finished “feeding the 5000” along the shore of Galilee. The background of the story is very simple. Jesus is on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is late in the day and Jesus has just performed the great miracle of feeding 5000 men, women and children with five loaves and two fish (vv. 14-21). Moses himself, had prophesied that one day the Messiah would renew miracle of serving bread, Jesus just accomplished that task? (Deut. 18:15) It was a sign that the Messiah had arrived. Understandably amazed and enthralled by this miracle, the people want to make him king. (John 6)

Jesus, knowing that their enthusiasm is shallow, refuses them. After

dismissing the crowd, He sends the disciples on ahead to the other side of the lake, telling them that he would meet them later, while He Himself went off to pray.

The Sea of Galilee is just a simple body of water. Yet, on this sea, astounding things happened. Storm clouds can gather in a moments notice. The disciples saw the clouds. They may have been anxious. But they have sailed on this sea for decades.

This storm was different. It seems that the storm began around 8:00 P.M. and continued all night long. Given the fact that the Sea of Galilee is nestled against the mountains, this would not be unusual, except for the fact that most storms come and go rather quickly. This one lasted all night. It whipped up the waves and impeded their progress and their anxiety turns to fear.

The disciples are in the boat struggling against the wind and the rain. 9 p.m. . . . 10 p.m. . . . 11 p.m. . . . 12 Midnight . . . 1 a.m. . . . 2 a.m. . . . 3 a.m. . . . Still the storm continues with no sign of letting up. After eight or nine exhausting hours, the disciples were stuck in the middle of the lake, dirty, drenched, chilled to the bone.

Peter and his fellow storm riders knew they were in trouble. About 4:00 a.m. the unspeakable happened. They spotted someone walking on the water. “‘A ghost!’ They cried out in terror.”

They didn’t expect Jesus to come to them this way. Neither do we. We expect to find Jesus in morning devotionals, church suppers, and meditation. We never expect to see him in a storm. But that’s where Jesus does his best work, for it is in storms that He has our attention. He said. “Take courage. I am here!”