Getting Into The Storm: Breaking Boundaries
Lent #1, Mar 1 2009, Luke 8:22-25
Intro:
It is dark, and you are on the water. It was fine when you set out, but out of nowhere the storm comes. The boat begins to fill with water, and although you are all bailing as fast as you can, you can’t keep ahead. The vicious wind hurls the raindrops like icy darts, which sting like bees when they hit the back of your neck. You are soaked through to the skin. It is black night. You look down, and when the lightening flashes you see that the water is mid-way up your calves. You’ve been on the sea before in a storm, but not like this. You believe you are going to die – and this is not an idle fear, you’ve seen death, you’ve seen danger, you’ve been in difficult situations before but never like this. You know, “we’re going to drown!”.
Imagine the waves of fear. Some of the group are huddled in the corner weeping. Some are working madly, trying anything, fighting the storm with whatever strength they have. Some are screaming in anger. And the water keeps rising in the boat, the waves keep crashing over the side, the bailing is completely useless. The only realistic conclusion is: “we’re going to drown!”
Luke 8:22-25
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. 23 As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. 25 Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”
The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”
Context:
This particular story is present in all the first three gospels, and while Luke introduces it just by saying “one day”, Mark tells us that it was the evening of the day when Jesus had been teaching all day, including the parable of the seed among the soils which we studied two weeks ago and the parable of the lamp which Brian talked about last week (cf. Mark 4). Taking that time reference, we start to understand a little bit more about what is going on. Jesus is wiped out from teaching, needs to get away from the crowds so He can recuperate, has professional fishermen among His disciples and thus access to their skill and boats, so away they go.
The particular lake mentioned is the Sea of Galilee, a large and intimidating body of water. Because of its geographical location, it is easy for storms to come out of nowhere and be quite violent. Jesus crashes in the back of the boat, worn out, and He entrusts the journey to His disciples who are literally in their element and their comfort zone. So really, what could go wrong? The storm comes, and it is a lot like what you imagined, and the Bible tells us, “They were in real danger”. This isn’t “made up” danger, this is professional fishermen freaked out danger. And, by the way, where is Jesus? Sleeping. Doing absolutely nothing.
The Modern Storm:
I think there are people feeling like this all around us. Probably even some here this morning. Life is crashing in. We feel battered, soaked, exhausted, overwhelmed, with no end and no hope in sight.
Some feel that way economically and financially – it is out of control, and will take just one “big wave” to sink the whole boat. Some feel that way emotionally – too many problems, too many ropes pulling in too many different directions, one more tug could tear it all apart. Some feel that way relationally – family is just too darn hard, all over the place, and it feels like one person in a puny boat in the middle of a raging sea. Some feel that way spiritually – like life is raging, “we are going to drown!”, and Jesus is off sleeping away in the back of the boat, not even lifting a finger to help.
Waking Up Jesus:
In the story, the disciples finally turn to Jesus. How long has the storm been raging? Long enough… they probably thought they could handle it on their own. Rely on themselves, their skill and experience, ride it out, without ever bothering Jesus. But only when it gets really bad do they turn to Jesus and wake Him up.
I remember a conversation with someone, I don’t remember who, a long time ago, we were just talking about life, and they were relating some situation that wasn’t going well, although I don’t recall the specifics. I offered to pray about it, and the response was, “oh, that’s ok, it’s not that bad yet…”. Interesting perspective, don’t you think? Let’s not pray about it until it is really bad. Let’s not reach out for help until we have tried everything we can think of to take care of it ourselves, until we’ve exhausted our power… THEN we can pray about it. We should “save” those “favors” from God until we REALLY need them.
The verse just really simply says, “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. 25 Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” So let me ask you this – as you imagine this scene in your mind, what do you see on Jesus’ face as He wakes up, commands nature, and then asks the disciples the question? (pause and invite responses… possibilities include “annoyed at being awaken from a good nap”, “angry that He has to always do it all”, “stern-faced as He confronts nature and commands it to release its death-grip on the small boat”, “glad to be able to use His power over nature and reveal more of who He is”, “disappointed in the small faith He sees in His followers”…)
It is an important question, because how we imagine Jesus responding here probably influences how we imagine Jesus responding when we ask Him for help in our lives. We likely have a similar image, which impacts how and when we choose to involve Jesus in the storms of our lives. If we picture a “reluctant” Jesus who is just going to come down hard on us with a question like “where is your faith”, or “why didn’t you do what I told you in the first place and then you wouldn’t have gotten yourself in such a mess in the first place…”, then we are not going to run to Jesus quickly when the storms come. If we picture a Jesus who is annoyed because we are “bothering” Him, we are not going to ask Jesus for help until things are really bad. And that is not what Jesus wants.
The Miracle
Of course we know what happens when Jesus does get woken up. He “rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.” It is an important miracle, which demonstrates Jesus’ power over all of nature. We’ve seen Jesus performing miracles already, most of those were miracles of healing the sick, and demonstrating Jesus’ power over disease, some were miracles where Jesus knew the thoughts of people, but this one demonstrates one more aspect of Jesus’ power, which we see reflected in the response of the disciples to the miracle: “The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!””. The miracle forces them deeper in their experience of who Jesus is, leading them still closer to seeing that Jesus is the Son of God and not just a powerful teacher or prophet like Elijah. There is definitely something deeper going on…
A Couple of Observations:
Let me make a couple quick observations before we go to how this passage is relevant for our lives today. First is this: going out into the lake was Jesus’ idea. Did He know a storm was coming? Maybe, but regardless it was His idea to get into the boat and go across the lake that night. Jesus led them into the storm; it was “His fault” they were in danger. Second, where was Jesus in the midst of the storm? Right there in the middle of it with them. Jesus the human being was in as much danger as the rest of the people, and I think we sometimes miss that since we know of another story where Jesus walked on water. We think the danger was only to the rest of them, but Jesus was right there in the middle of it with them. Third, Jesus really did do something about it. He really did calm the storm; the “wind and the waves” really did obey Him, He really did have power over them, and He really did save their lives.
Getting Into the Storm:
So what does this mean for all of us? Let me answer first and briefly to any of you here who feel like you are in the middle of a storm in your life: don’t wait any longer to start shouting at Jesus for help. And if you already are, keep at it. Just like in the story, Jesus is present with you, and He will do something about it. And as you have heard me say a hundred times before, Jesus may calm the storm on the “outside”, meaning He works to change the circumstances and fix the external problem; or He may calm the storm on the “inside” of you, where the fears and hurts and insecurities rage. I’ve seen God to both, and believe 100% that He will do one of the two when we seek Him “with all of our hearts”.
My longer response takes the whole passage in a different light. What if, as the people of God, the whole design is now that you and I are to take the place of Jesus in the middle of the storms of life for a whole world full of people who are frantic and “about to drown”? What if, instead of imagining ourselves as a disciple, we imagine ourselves as Jesus?
That sounds a little strange – when I picture the scene I can see myself as one of the freaked out disciples, sure – but as the calm Jesus, with access to power that can make a life-and-death difference in the lives of a bunch of other people who are freaked out? I think it is tough to see ourselves in the role of Jesus for a bunch of reasons: we are spiritually selfish, concerned more with what Jesus can do for us than how we can be Jesus to others. we have a poor understanding of what it means for us to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. we have failed to really take seriously our calling and commissioning to be Jesus’ hands and feet, to be “sent” into the world just as Jesus was sent into the world (see Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance in John 20, where He says: ““Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”). We see that as an option rather than the whole reason we have been chosen and redeemed.
But what if my earlier 3 observations hold true in our lives today? That the situations we find ourselves in, where we see the storms of life in people around us, are actually places where God has led us? What if God desires to be present with those people through us? And what if we really do have power, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, to make a substantial difference in the lives of others?
Here is the “heavy” response: if those things are true, and we do nothing, people can die. And I’m not talking about physical death so much as spiritual death, where they have an opportunity to see God at work (through us), to be confronted with something real and then forced to the question “who is this Jesus anyway??”, and because we shy away nothing happens. That may be a “heavy”, but it is the truth.
Conclusion:
So then I ask, what keeps us from action? Sometimes it is simple lack of awareness of the storms in other people’s lives, because we have isolated ourselves. It is like we’ve stayed behind on the shore when Jesus says, “hey, let’s go for a boat ride in the middle of the night across a dangerous lake, and yes I do feel a bit of a breeze picking up…”, and instead of joining Jesus we’ve gone to bed. The answer to that one is to follow Jesus, even when He wants to go boating in the middle of the night. Or maybe it is our fear of intruding, of seeming “prescriptive” or “preachy” to people with challenges in their lives. The answer to that one is to be there, fully present with them but not overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge, and wait to be asked, like Jesus did. I don’t recommend having a nap like Jesus, but there is a lesson in integrity in that Jesus was tired and so didn’t mind sleeping to meet His own need. Sometimes the thing that keeps us from action is fear of drowning ourselves – we think that we have way too many problems in our own lives to get involved with other people. The answer to that is in Jesus’ question: “where is your faith?” Sometimes it is fear of not being able to make a difference. Again the answer is in Jesus’ question, “where is your faith”. Not only can God intervene through us to calm the storms in the lives of those around us, that is in fact His only plan. He has given us the Holy Spirit, He has given us the mission, and He has given us the opportunity. Let’s do it together - none of us are Jesus all by ourselves – but if we gather together, see ourselves as a community of people willing to jump into the middle of the storms of life that rage in the people around us, and as we follow the Holy Spirit, we can speak the words of Jesus and see them calm the storm, remove the danger, and restore the seas. They are powerful words, which we know from the other gospel accounts: “peace, be still” (Mk 4:39).
Let’s get off the safe beach and into the boat, headed into a storm, with the faith that Jesus wanted to see, so that when the storm comes we will be ready with those words of power: “peace, be still”.
