20150621 4th Sunday after Pentecost B
Title: With whom are you standing?
Text: Mark 4:35-41
Thesis: Our faith must not be in the place we are standing but in the person with whom we are standing.
Introduction
In mid-May Dean Potter, known as an extreme climber, base-jumped wearing a wingsuit from Taft Point in Yosemite National Park. Taft Point is 3,000 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley. While attempting to navigate through a notch in the cliffs he and a fellow jumper smashed into the rocks and fell to their deaths.
Yosemite’s chief of staff said off Potter, “Dean was part of this community and had such an impact of climbing. He was a luminary and in the pantheon of climbing gods.”
Base jumping, which is essentially parachuting from a fixed structure or cliff, is illegal in national parks, and Yosemite officials have tried to curtail the practice. But Potter fought and flouted the rules for many years. He was a proselytizer for climbing, Base jumping and living free. (John Branch, Dean Potter, Extreme Climber, Dies in Base-Jumping Accident at Yosemite, the New York Times, May 17, 2015)
In other words, Dean Potter was an advocate of climbing and jumping and encouraged others to follow him to those dizzying heights and dare-devil leaps.
To say Dean Potter was a risk-taker is an understatement… however it could be said that Jesus was something of a risk-taker as well. He was not a selfie, self-aggrandizing risk-taker but he knew what it was to be in risky situations. And in our text today we see Jesus in such a circumstance along with those he had called to follow him.
This morning I would like to speak to Five Tensions I see in this text.
I. Is Following Jesus Safe or Risky?
As evening came, Jesus said, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out… but a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat and it began to fill with water.” Mark 4:35-36
One thing that is clear is that it was Jesus’ idea to get into the boat that evening and cross over the Sea of Galilee to the other side. If this was a Laurel and Hardy skit, Oliver Hardy would say to Stan Laurel, “This is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into!”
The Sea of Galilee is the largest lake in Israel. It is 33 miles long and 8 miles wide and is 141 feet deep. It is a small, relatively shallow lake 680 feet below sea level. The hills around the lake rise to 2,000 feet. So the high cool air funnels down through the hills and collides with the low warm moist air which results in some pretty vicious weather. The lake is historically known for vicious storms. The Matthew account says, “Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake with waves breaking into the boat.” Matthew 8:24
If you are at all cynical you might wonder, “Why would Jesus ask his friends to take an 8 mile long evening cruise across the lake knowing that a storm was a distinct possibility?”
In his book, A Sweet and Bitter Providence, John Piper wrote, “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”
It is important to point out that Jesus did not send them into a storm… Jesus went with them into the storm. Jesus was in the same boat as were they. So it is easy to make the leap of faith and trust that as we make our way through life and encounter the storms of life or as Piper put it, “the winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback… God does not just show up after the storm and clean things up. He rides with us.”
So is following Jesus safe or risky? The answer is yes! It’s safe and risky!
There is a second tension that comes to mind…
II. Is Jesus’ Indifferent or Caring?
Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. His disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Mark 4:37-38
You have to kind of worry about some of those guys. They were seasoned fishermen. This was not their first rodeo. You would think mariners would be accustomed to rough seas…
If you’ve ever caught an episode of Deadliest Catch where crab fishermen have dropped their string of traps with buoys to mark the string. They throw a hook into the sea to catch the trap line and use the winch to raise the trap and muscle it on board to empty their catch into the hold. All the while huge waves are crashing over the boat and the fishermen are scrambling to do their jobs while fighting to keep from being washed overboard. However the fishing boat the disciples were in was no Bering Sea vessel… and the waves were large enough to swamp the boat.
Meanwhile Jesus is taking a nap.
So were they to jump to the conclusion, “If Jesus can sleep through this then his faith is sufficient so we too can trust God to keep us safe.” Or they could suspect that, “Apparently Jesus is indifferent to the dire nature of our circumstances and isn’t up to ensuring our safety.” So is Jesus caring or indifferent in this hour of crisis?
They decided Jesus, if not indifferent, was certainly unaware of the crisis at hand and woke him up, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are going to drown?”
We may be able to identify with the disciples in our own crises. “Jesus, don’t you care that I am facing the most heartbreaking situation I’ve ever been through?” “Jesus, don’t you care that I don’t have a job that pays enough to meet our needs?” “Jesus, don’t you care that my life has just be turned upside down and all that I hold dear is unraveling?”
Is Jesus indifferent or caring? Yes! Jesus is indifferent in the sensed that he could sleep through a storm. And yes, Jesus is caring because he acted to ease their fear. Can we then sleep through a storm? Yes we can because we are assured of his presence in our chaotic moments.
The third tension is this:
III. Is Faith Innate or Learned?
Jesus rebuked the wind and the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 4:39-40
Is faith something that we are born with? Is faith part of our DNA? Are we instinctively capable of exercising faith in moments of crisis? Are we somehow supposed to be capable of remaining calm when our boat is about to sink?
It would seem that Jesus fully expected his disciples would be capable of calm in the storm. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
There is something of a clue in the way Jesus posed his questions. First he asked “why are you afraid?” and then he asked, “Do you still have no faith?” In other words he wanted them to have faith and he thought that by this point in their walk with him they might have learned that they can trust God in every circumstance.
I think it is fairly clear that faith is not inborn. Faith is learned. And it is hopeful that having yet one more experience in which Jesus demonstrated his power over demonic forces or healed a person with leprosy or healed a man who were paralyzed or healed a guy with a crippled hand they would get it. They had seen Jesus in action… but they had never seen Jesus speak to a raging storm and make it calm.
This is a teaching moment for us as well. The Psalmist wrote of God, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble s the waters surge.” Psalm 46:1-3
The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you so afraid… I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea, causing the waves to roar. My name is the Lord of Heaven’s armies. I have hidden you safely in my hand.” Isaiah 51:12-16
A fourth tension in this text is to determine the purpose of fear.
IV. Is Fear Terrorizing or Awe-Inspiring?
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the winds and waves obey him.” Mark 4:41
It is reminiscent of the story of Jonah where God hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was asleep down in the hold. They shouted at him, “How can you sleep at a time like this? Get up and pray to your god!” Jonah 1:4-5
The crew cast lots or drew straws to see who it was that had so angered the gods and caused the storm. The lot fell on Jonah and they asked, “Who are you? Why has this storm come upon us?” And Jonah said, “I am Jonah, a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens who made the sea and the land.” Jonah 1:7-9
The bible says the sailors were terrified when they heard this… Jonah 1:10
This may all seem very primitive to us… we hardly think of ourselves as a bunch of superstitious sailors who have a god for everything and every occasion. We are 21 Century people and we are the most civilized people on the planet and we have the most civilized God on the planet as well. We have Doppler radar and we courageously track storms. We have apps to pull of the latest weather report and have the letters bleep bleeping across the bottom of our TV screens keeping us advised on the latest forecast.
We are so civilized that it never occurs to us that the power of God may be reflected in what we think of as works of nature. It’s just a little thunder and lightning. It’s just hail… insurance will cover it. It’s just another earthquake we can dig ourselves out of. It’s just another flood and we’ve rebuilt here 5 times. FEMA will come in and help us clean up and give us some money so we will build again.
Those sailors of Jonah’s day and the disciples had in their simple way of thinking a higher view of God than do we. They believed God was literally exercising his power in the storms they were experiencing… and when the disciples saw Jesus exercise power over the forces of nature they were absolutely awe-struck. They were terrified. Nothing or no one has more power than the unleashed forces of nature.
The naturally occurring storm terrorized them so when they saw that Jesus exercised power over the wind and the waves… they then feared the Lord, the God who made the heavens and the earth and who controls the wind and the waves.
In the book of Exodus, it says that after God saved the people as they passed through the Red Sea as they escaped from the Egyptians, “the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” Exodus 14:31
Conclusion:
Perhaps you remember the story of the temptation of Christ in Luke 4 where Satan took Jesus up to the highest pinnacle of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God jump off. God will send his angels to catch you so that your foot doesn’t even touch a stone. Go ahead Jesus, jump! Trust God!”
Of course, what Satan said was true… but Jesus did not need to flaunt who he was or give God a little test to see if he would really save him from splattering all over the cobblestones in the courtyard.
I don’t believe faith is about us being dare-devils who go about proving God to be true to his Word.
I don’t believe that this story is intended to teach us that Jesus will always rescue us from the storms of life. I don’t believe it is about how Jesus rescues the disciples whenever they cry out to him. I do not believe Christianity is a boat we get into that keeps us safe from the storms. I do think it is about trusting God who goes with us through the storms.
And so with this I want to pose another tension for your pondering.
V. Is the calmness Jesus gives within us or without us?
Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat with his head on a cushion… Mark 4:38
If it is within us that we find ourselves resting in Jesus regardless of the storm raging around us. If inner calm depends on the wind and the waves… we are in big trouble. So is our peace an inner peace or is it a peace made possible only if life is smooth sailing. When it is within us we receive devastating news from our physician and we are at peace knowing God will either intervene or sustain us through what lies before us. When it is within us when the policeman at the door delivers the news of your son’s death and asks that you call Sgt. Sanchez in Wichita you certainly are overwhelmed with grief but there is an inner peace and assurance of the sufficiency of God’s grace.
Jesus was sleeping through the storm… the storm did not in any way alarm him. Because he was calm inside the storm on the outside and all around him was merely a blip on his radar.
But the larger truth is this: The inner peace God gives is greater than any storm raging around us.
For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow… not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed nothing in all creation will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:38-39
This morning… if we consider only the place where we find ourselves standing we have cause for fear in this life but when we find ourselves standing with the person of Jesus Christ we have a companion to see us through the storm.
Pastoral Prayer
Fear and Anxiety and worry and distrust are common experiences these days… and they are peddled for profit in the marketplace and used to manipulate us. The media is always prepared to skew the news in ways that reflect what Fox and CNN and NPR and BBC want us to think.
This morning the latest tragic story coming out of Charleston is serves to fuel the fires and ignite our emotions and enflame our deepest sensitivities. We are deeply saddened by this reminder that such hatred is so prevalent in our country. This morning we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer so there in South Carolina…
We thank you today that despite all that would make us anxious or distraught or fearful or despairing, we find ourselves at peace in your presence. We thank you that your presence and your peace trumps our fears. You are true to your promise… you do give peace to those whose minds are focused on you.
This we pray in the Name of Jesus Christ who taught us to pray:
Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed by your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
