Navigation Systems

St. Gabriel’s Church, Marion, Massachusetts

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

August 25, 2019        11 Pentecost

            My husband Paul likes to fish, and thanks to a collaborative purchase with his father many years ago, God rest his soul, Paul has enjoyed fishing from a boat. A few years ago, Paul upgraded this boat, not only because he wanted a bigger and safer boat but also because he wanted more power. He loves his new boat. And so do I, because he can go out fishing on the ocean more safely, and I can join him for picnics in the bay. We anchor in a place where the bugs don’t bite, the sand doesn’t get in your bathing suit, the waves don’t knock you over, and I can plunge into the waters without wondering if a great white shark is lurking beneath the surface.

Paul’s boat has a navigational system upon which he relies for safety. Every year, with shifting sands and rising tides, the landscape of Cape Cod keeps changing. Finding your way out of the boatyard into the ocean can be treacherous, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing and where you’re going. Into this navigation system, Paul marks the shallow and deep waters and the buoys that will guide his path from the harbor out to the ocean and back. Without warning, fog has rolled in quickly and Paul hasn’t been able to see 15 feet in front of him. At times like these, he has relied heavily on his navigation system.

Did I mention his new motors? He replaced one engine of 150 horsepower with two engines of 200 horsepower each. That’s a total of 400 horsepower for a boat that doesn’t need that much! Jokes about Paul’s manhood notwithstanding, the engines provide an added level of safety. If one motor fails, the other one can work. If needed, Paul can accelerate quickly to get out of a bad situation. And when everything is working in unity, that is when Paul, the weather, the boat, and the engines are all in harmony, I think it’s a theological image worth exploring.

When we are sick, or injured, or hurt in any way, our human navigation system is out of tune. Conflicts and diseases will scramble our brains and our mouths. Like the walking wounded, we will limp along with only one engine working. When things go wrong, it’s as if we’re lost in a fog, and we can become fearful of what is below the surface, or coming at us without warning. Bent over with the burdens of our lives, we may feel the weight of our worries. At times like these, we feel powerless. And our souls, the very center of our lives, the navigational system that can lead us from one buoy to the next is not working. Our batteries are dead; and our fuel tanks are empty.

Knowing the truth of what ails us can set us free. It is far more tempting, however, to deny our problems or those of others. We ignore the crippled woman or the elephant in the room. We make excuses like Jeremiah, who said, “I can’t speak for you, O God. I am only a boy.” We put up barriers, like the leader of the synagogue who criticized Jesus for healing this woman on the sabbath. “Indeed,” retorted Jesus. “You’re willing to unbind your animals on this day, and not unbind this woman?”

Teresa Berger writes, “In a story that is unique to Luke, Jesus heals a nameless woman by giving her the freedom to unbend and stand up straight. The woman did not ask to be healed. She simply finds herself in Jesus’ presence. This beautiful story, however, is not without conflict. Jesus is criticized for this breach of the law. He insists that the synagogue and the Sabbath are not the only things that are holy, however—so is this woman’s life.” And so Jesus calls her over, and laying his hands upon her, he heals her, unbinds her, and gives her new life. (Teresa Berger, Christian Century, August 10, 2004)

Luke is frequently called the Beloved Physician because of the numerous healing stories found in this gospel. Already, Jesus has healed a man with an unclean spirit, a man with demons, and the boy who had a spirit that seized him. Jesus also healed a woman with a fever, a leper, a man with a withered hand, and a paralytic. When she merely touched Jesus’ robe in a crowd, a woman was healed of her hemorrhages. Then in another transfer of power, Jesus raised three different people with a mere word and a gentle touch. “Rise, take my hand, stand up, and walk.”.

Luke’s gospel tells us about the healing power of God that came through Jesus. It is also a story about a person in the midst of religious, economic, and political conflicts in his country. When Jesus challenges his religious leaders, it was like a family feud, like a teenager calling out his parents, or young adults questioning their faith. Jesus complained about their hypocrisy, their lack of response to the needs of their people, and their rigidity in following the letter of the law rather than the spirit in which the laws were written. David Tiede writes that the gospel story is a “fascinating and dire depiction of how conquered people are divided and or even pitted against each other.” (Harper Collins Study Bible (p.1954)

 Is this not true with the conflicts that we are having throughout our world today? We are conquered by sin, and oppress and pit ourselves against each other, dividing into political, economic, national, and religious camps. There is a common saying in 12 step communities that addiction is a disease where family members will circle the wagons and then shoot inside. We are all members of the human family, and  all beloved children of God. Praying to God and asking for help are good first steps towards healing, recovery, and reconciliation.

In her book entitled Healing in the Landscape of Prayer, Avery Brooke wrote, “It is easy to tell people that you are feeling tense. It is not easy to tell (people) the great ache in your heart because a relationship with your husband or wife, son, daughter, or friend has fallen apart at the seams. Nor is it easy to talk of your fears - losing your job, the operation you face, the death of your mother. But when you do so and turn with hope to God through prayer, a slow inner transformation begins that never fails to surprise people.” And so we pray for our health and salvation.

Healing is a slow process that reveals itself over time, and sometimes even surprises us. Recovery from our wounds, whatever kinds they are, is also a spiritual process. Conscious contact with God is the way we acknowledge that God is with us on the journey and as a destination. Whatever our posture in prayer, and wherever we may be, and for whatever we ask, whether we are standing bravely, sitting quietly, kneeling, or lying low, the presence of God can bring us health. Prayer is our request for God to jump start our batteries, put fuel in our tanks, add power to our motors, and help us navigate our way home.

I have come to believe in miracles; indeed as my coffee mug proudly proclaims, “Expect a miracle.” Sometimes, like the sun breaking through the fog, these miracles will appear suddenly. When you’re on that very small boat, on a very large ocean, and you’re praying for help, look for signs of God’s presence all around you. Sometimes they will look like buoys floating in the water. Othertimes, God’s light will beam across the dark waters. Or we’ll hear the bells tolling, waves crashing, and the horns of other boats coming to our rescue. God is with us in the boat, in the water, on the land, and waiting for us in the harbor. Our navigation system is called prayer.

Think about what binds you today, what ails you, and what is crippling your spirit. Ask for the healing that is needed for your family, our church, our nation, and the world. We can go it alone, or we can ask for help. We can rely on our own navigation systems or tap into God’s power. Look through the fog of this world to the promised land, and then praise God for what God has done, is doing, and will do for us today. Have courage, fill up your tanks, and start your engines. Pray for God’s healing power.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 71:1-6

Hebrews 12:18-29

Luke 13:10-17

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