Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
There is a common
saying that comes to mind during certain times in my life. “Oh God, your ocean
is so big and my boat is so small. Save me and help me, I humbly beseech you.”
This prayer is not just about me, however. It’s about my church, my community,
my nation, and the world.
If
we think of God’s ocean as all that inhabits our world, our boats are both
personal and particular as well as communal and collective. Pick any spot in
the world and you’ll find what St. Paul describes in his second letter to the
Corinthians. There are afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings,
imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, and hunger. There are people of
honor and dishonor, people of ill repute and good repute. Imposters abound.
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee O God!
When
we feel overwhelmed with the state of our country, our world, our climate, and
our own personal lives, we may feel as if we’re traveling across this vast
ocean of water on a tiny little fishing boat that is taking on water at a very
fast clip. We feel as if we have a leader who seems to be asleep at the helm.
The chaos of the winds and waves are swirling around us and the likelihood of
our death seems imminent. We see no end in sight, no coast guard to help us, no
signals coming from a nearby lighthouse, offering us the hope that land is
close by. Does God not care that we are perishing?
There
are good reasons for us to be afraid at certain times in our lives. To deny the
reality of things, such as diseases, afflictions, wars, and certain people and
policies would be foolish. And so, after being roused from his sleep, Jesus
doesn’t tell his disciples that there is nothing to fear. No, your fear is
legit, he claims. And then he asks that simple question, but “Why are you
afraid?”
According
to Wikipedia, “The word “why” is used to inquire about the cause, reason, or
purpose of something. Asking “why” promotes critical thinking, curiosity,
problem-solving, and empathy. “Why” questions help us build connections, foster
meaningful conversations, and help us to gain deeper insights.” “Why are you
afraid?” Jesus asked his disciples.
Why are the disciples
afraid? Because they still had no faith? Why? Because they didn’t trust in God
but rather they continued to rely upon their own personal resources. Why?
Because they thought they could control everything in their own little boats. Why?
Because they could not see beyond the small circle of their own personal lives.
Why? Because they were limited in their vision and thinking only of themselves.
Why? Because they still had no faith in the power and presence of God,
including in the man sleeping in their boat.
I find it interesting
that the word “fear” is translated in two very different ways. Originally, the
Greek word for fear says that the
disciples “feared exceedingly.” That is they were terrified. And not only were
they terrified by the chaos, winds, and waves around them, and that they were
“perishing”, but they also were terrified by Jesus’ power. “Who then is this,
that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Our
translation today, however, claims that the disciples were “filled with great
awe” rather than terror. Awe suggests a feeling of reverence. It suggests that
they saw Jesus as someone who had power and control even over the elements that
threatened to kill them. Not fully realizing that Jesus was more than just
their teacher, and did not seem to care about their situation, they were
beginning to wonder if Jesus might be more than just their rabbi.
Jesus asks them “Why
are you afraid?” and then accuses them that it is because they “still have no
faith.” Now faith is a matter of
trusting in someone or something that cannot be found in our tiny little boats.
It is a faith in someone or something that cannot be seen with our naked eyes
and is not within our human reach. It is putting our trust in a Higher Power, a
Greater Good, and a Spirit that cannot be contained or controlled by us. It is
a force for good and not evil, that creates life and not death.
Now for most of us,
we often think of the quality of our faith rather than its quantity. Perhaps
when we feel that we don’t have enough of it, in those times of hardship and
afflictions, in our personal lives or in our communal lives, we may cry out to
God for help. Now God doesn't always step into our lives or into our boats on
our terms and in our time; but God is always there, aware of our suffering,
caring for our lives, and present to us in the best of times, and the worst of
them, in our lives and at our death.
Job is an icon of
faithfulness, who keeps asking God those “why” questions. After 37 chapters of
conversations between Job and his friends, and Job’s faithful responses, God
finally responds to Job. God is not asleep in Job’s boat. Out of the whirlwind,
a common indicator in the Bible of the presence of God, God speaks. Who are
you, Job, in the great scheme of things? I am God, Creator of heaven and earth,
and all that exists within creation. Where were you in the beginning, when I
was making something out of nothing?
While God is ever
present, always knowing, and all powerful, we are not. And so the story of Job
sets up the story of Jesus. Like Job, suffering and afflicted by various
diseases and demons, the crowds of people have come to see Jesus and are asking
him for help. Exhausted from his work, Jesus climbed into a boat with his
disciples, in order to go to the other side, where he will begin again. The
paparazzi of people immediately jumped into their own boats to follow him when
suddenly a great windstorm arose. And remember, God is in the windstorms.
Imagine
the scene. The boat is being swamped with waves and the disciples are
terrified. Meanwhile, Jesus is asleep at the helm. Fearing death, and clearly
suffering with anxiety, the disciples call out to Jesus. “Does he not care that
they are perishing?” Like Job, they want to know that someone like God is aware
of their situation and is willing to help. It is at times like these that we
realize that our resources are just not enough. In twelve step language, we
call this hitting bottom; and in desperation, we call out to God for help. Save
us and help us, we humbly beseech thee O God.
Michael Lindvall
recalls a passage from “a scene near the end of John Bunyan’s classic
allegorical novel, The Pilgrim's Progress. The chief character named Christian
is the archetype of a person struggling to lead a life of faith, nearing the
end of his symbolic journey. This journey requires him to cross a great and
fearsome river; and he is desperately afraid. Together with his friend Hopeful,
they wade into the waters with trepidation.”
“Bunyan has Christian
cry out, ‘I sink in deep Waters; the Billows go over my head, all His waves go
over me.’ Hopeful replies with what may be among the most grace-filled words in
all of literature; ‘Be of good cheer, my Brother, I feel the bottom, and it is
good….” (John Bunyan, the Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), p 1, sec x) (Feasting on
the Word, p168)
Despite whatever may be swirling around us,
naturally or unnaturally, justly or unjustly, everything remains in the hands
of God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. These stories tell us
that God is both a holy mystery, beyond our human understanding, and a
revelation in the person of Jesus. Have faith, have trust, believe in me and
believe also in the One who sent me to save you, Jesus repeated. I have been to
the bottom and it is good; and new life awaits you on the other side. For God
once said, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of
salvation I have helped you.”
Oh
God, your ocean is so large and our boats are so small; and yet when we hit our
proverbial bottoms of fear, we can hold on to that little bit of faith,
trusting in God’s power and love. Yes, God is aware that there is suffering and
evil in this world, some of it is fair and some of it is not, but even in all
of that chaos and suffering God is still there. God is both in the boat with us
and waiting on the distant shore for us to arrive.
“See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is
the day of salvation!” Increase our faith, and turn our fear into awe. Be our
light in the darkness and bring us safely home. Save us and help us we humbly
beseech thee O God.
Job 38:1-11 2
Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41
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