Stormy Seas a Comin'
Here is my sermon for Pentecost 3B.
Mark 4:35-41
Almighty God, Calm the storms in our hearts and minds so that we may hear your words for us, that we may know of your love and grace. Amen.
In High School, I was part of a class that went on a canoe trip each year. As part of the requirements, we were to be paired up with someone, and work as a team. For those who didn’t know how to canoe, they were taught in the indoor school pool, and this would be their first big outing onto a river. I was paired with a girl named Erin. Now Erin was about 5’2, and had never canoed before in her life. She was jittery, and I kept telling her to just be calm. As the experienced canoeist, I took the back. I explained to her again how we needed to work as a team, she needed to watch for things coming up ahead, and tell me how to steer us. We were towards the end of the boats that were launched into the river that day. Erin kept talking about how she didn’t want to tip in, because she was terrified of it, and how I needed to make sure not to tip us. I assured her that I had never intentionally tipped a canoe before and we would be fine, she just needed to sit still.
Well there is where I went wrong. Erin was so nervous, that she literally could not sit still. She jumped at every little movement around her, she swayed back and forth when she remembered to put her paddle in the water. Then we got to a part of the river where there was faster moving water, and trees that dangled overhead. Being that I was already 6’1 in HS, I of course got lots of branches in the face, lot’s of bugs all over me that fell off the branches, but the worst was listening to Erin scream about the spiders. She couldn’t handle the bugs falling on her, she freaked out, and began to squirm even more. Needless to say, she tipped us.
But that wasn’t the last time we would be in the water that day, Erin caused us to tip about six more times that day. Her fear had overtaken her and she was no longer thinking rationally.
That same fear of the water is tangible in the words of the disciples that we heard from the Gospel of Mark for today. You can almost hear the panic in their tones as they run to Jesus, asking him why he is sleeping while they are going to perish. They fear the storm that has cropped up, and for good reason too.
The location of the water that they disciples were boating on, lies behind a mountain range, and is quite shallow. Although Mark refers to it as a “sea” it’s actually a lake. This lake is well known for the bad storms that come across it. Because of it’s geographical placement, storms come quickly without warning, they are fierce and dangerous, and usually do not last very long. The fishermen would have known all this information, they would have known that this lake was well known for it’s storms, they would have been watching in fear from the moment they stepped on to the boat.
These disciples put no trust in their own knowledge of boats to save them from this storm that popped up. Instead they turn to look for their leader; they turn to look for Jesus awaiting his words, awaiting his commands. Although they had more experience on the water then Jesus, although the fisherman of the bunch had known the dangers of the waters for their whole lives, they turn to the man that they have been following, the man that was raised as a carpenter, and persuaded them to leave their jobs and follow him.
The fear over took them, and they could only panic and run to Jesus. When they find him sleeping calmly, they yell out to him. They accuse him of sleeping while they are perishing. They accuse, because they don’t know what to do, they feel abandoned by their leader, and are not trusting in his previous words, but instead need an action from him now, in this moment. They feel the peril that approaches them through the storm, and they don’t know what to do.
Having spent a good amount of time on the water myself, I know that it is a dangerous place. Storms only increase the danger of being at sea. I’m sure most of us have heard of all the different vessels that have been lost at sea. Stories pop up about the Bermuda triangle, and boats that vanish. We have heard of storms that have torn ships apart, run them aground, and sunk them. People, and all kinds of crafts get lost at sea. The water can often be a dangerous place.
We encounter storms on a regular basis during our lives. Yes, we encounter natural storms like thunderstorms and tornadoes, but we also encounter different kinds of storms. Storms that shake our foundations, storms that change life as we know it.
Storms in our lives come in different ways and at different times. They can be building storms, or can pop up without warning. We come to encounter storms such as death, loss, broken hearts, rejection, pain both physical and emotional. Storms in our lives can be the death of loved ones, struggling with depression, finding knew ways to survive, being turned down for a job because of who you are, feeling alone and separated from those who you love.
Storms cannot always be predicted, sometimes we are influenced by the people that surround us, sometimes people abuse and use us in ways we didn’t see coming. We get lied to by someone that we trusted with everything, and we are suddenly left alone in a mess we didn’t create.
There are times when we don’t deserve the storms of our lives, when we question what’s going on around us.
We like the disciples can wonder where God is during our storm? How can we be left feeling alone, and feeling as if we are perishing, and God not be beside us giving us direction?
As Jesus is awoken by the disciples, he stands up and calls out off the boat, “Peace. Be still.” Three words, and everything is calm. The winds and waves have stopped crashing, the beating hearts have steadied, and the worried minds have relaxed. With three words, the storm and the disciples are calm.
In the Gospel, Mark says that Jesus states these words to the wind and water, but I think they were meant more for the disciples. It wasn’t that Jesus had to physically control the natural elements, he was calming the minds and hearts of the disciples, he was giving them peace and stillness, not the waves. The storm would have passed in it’s own time, but the disciples fears needed to be calmed.
Jesus offers them peace in the midst of turmoil, he offers them calmness in the face of danger.
Jesus continues on to question the disciples, asking them if they have faith, how come they didn’t trust in this situation. Although he chastises them about their reaction, he still took the time to calm them. He knew that what they needed was peace of mind, they needed to feel safe, and he gave that to them. He brought to them a peace that not only calmed the storm in front of the, but calmed the many storms to come. He brought them a peace that will forever give them salvation, that will forever give them stillness, because he brought them a peace the surpasses all understanding. A peace that is offered in his death on a cross.
There is a great song, with the chorus line of, “Sometimes he calms the storm, and sometimes he calms his child.”
Jesus does this for the disciples. He may have controlled the earthly elements, he may have stopped the waves in their tracks, but he most definitely calmed his people.
God does this for you too. God is there, through it all. The comfort may not always come in the ways we want it to, the storms may not always disappear instantly, but God is with you.
The storms in our lives can come and go, they can stick around and they can reoccur, but through it all, God is there. Even when we think there is no help for us, that we are perishing, we can take comfort in our tiny seed of faith, that we are cared for that we are loved.
Just as Jesus spoke peace to the disciples, so God speaks peace to our lives. Speaks peace to the fears and dangers in our lives. Speaks peace to our worried hearts and minds.
Water can also speak peace to us, remembering God in the waters, we can have peace. Peace from the waters that God used to create the world, Peace from the waters that God used to save our ancestors the Israelites when He parted the Red Sea, waters that God used to baptize his Son Jesus Christ, waters that he uses to baptize us and claim us as his children, to claim that he will be with us always.
So let us take comfort in the fact that God is with us, through the storms through the joys through days and through the years. Let us be calmed by the glorious message that we are children of God, that we are a loved people, that we have been redeemed through the indescribable love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
You are a loved child of God, a child that would not be allow to perish alone in a storm on the seas of life, for God is with you through all you do, through all the trials and through all the struggles. Living and breathing in and around you.
May the Holy Spirit blow peace into the storms of our lives, may Jesus be the calm conductor of our boats on the choppy seas of life, and may God be our guide and companion keeping us close as we worry and fear. Amen
Labels: child of God, Jesus struggles, sermon, storms
Weeds of faith.
Pentecost 3B
This is my sermon for:
Mark 4:26-34- Kingdom of God as a mustard seed.
Let us pray.
Holy Creator, you do extraordinary things with little resources, You make the small, mighty, you make the weak, strong. Bless our hearts and our minds to your service, so that we might be extraordinary through you and in your service. Amen.
After reading the Gospel for today, I got interested in mustard. I had always thought of it as a condiment, as an addition to sandwiches, burgers and deviled eggs. I never had really thought about what a mustard plant looked like, or where or how it grew.
I looked it up, and found out some pretty cool stuff.
There are several household uses for Mustard such as: a Food additive, muscle cramp reliever, clears congestion, aids in digestion, odor remover (skunk and smelly foods), can be used as a facial cleanser, household cleaner, muscle relaxer (good in soaking feet, or back aches). The leaves can be eaten, or used in marinating meats.
The mustard plant can grow to a height of eight feet tall. It’s a weedy looking plant, taking over gardens, and practically impossible to remove once it starts growing.
In Jewish law, mustard plants are unclean to keep in the garden.
So why does Jesus use this image of a mustard seed as a mighty plant? They aren’t even the smallest seeds around, although as you can see they are pretty tiny (indicated a jar full of mustard seeds).
This confusing image that is presented is to tell us about the Kingdom of God, so why then does it seem as if Jesus is exaggerating?
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? The Kingdom of God, that which we are to inherit, is like a small invading plant, that takes over whole gardens, and is basically seen in the farming community as a weed.
When I think of weeds, I think of things that are undesirable. Things that take away from the plants I’ve been intentional about. We try to take out the weeds, we try to separate them from what we desire.
When I think weeds, I think dandelions.
Dandelions are often one of the most hated weeds around. They poke up out of lawns all around the country. It seems as if there is never enough weed repellant to make dandelions disappear. They keep coming back. Ruining lawns we have worked hard to perfectly manicure.
It seems as if we struggle so much to get rid of them so that our situations are perfect that we become consumed by them. But what are the dandelions in your life?
Do we struggle to get rid of our racial identifiers, to be equal to others? Throughout the years people have attempted to assimilate into American “culture’ meanwhile losing their own culture.
It often seems that those things which make people unique, are hidden, so that they can appear as if they blend in. People try to hide their family situation, their background, even some of their physical attributes, or talents.
We as people try to appear perfect by society standards that we lose perspective. We look up to become great and tall like that of the cedar. We look up expecting God and Christ to come in a roaring thunderous way. We look up, expecting that perfection can only come dripping in Gold with trumpets blasting on high.
But what if we are looking in the wrong direction? What if instead of looking up for God, we should really be looking down? Looking low on the ground in the common weeds. In the dandelions and mustard plants.
Looking in the humble forms that God appears in our lives. Looking in the weeds for the unexpected. Looking in the scraggly plants that take over gardens, for the unexpected God coming in the form of man, to give up his life to save us all.
We are so busy looking up, that we miss the unexpected in the weeds. We miss the life giving power of the Gospel, invading our lives, taking over our garden like hearts, and not being able to be removed.
We as a society have been consumed by the bigger is better thought for a very long time. American society has adopted a strong consumerist attitude, using up all our resources to make sure we have the newest of things. Looking as if we are big and tall is the image we seek to portray, but what about those dandelions?
So let’s compare cedar trees to weeds for a moment. In the forest, you would get rid of a tree by chopping it down. The size of the tree would mean that it would take more time to remove it, but it can be removed so that it never grows again.
For anyone that has gardened before, or knows a little bit about it, you know that weeds are impossible to get rid of. They can be pulled out, sprayed with weed repellant, covered in wood chips and even mowed over, but they still find a way to come back. They grow in the most inhospitable of places, in the cracks of sidewalks, at the corners of foundations, in planted fields, in urban gardens, and in the wilderness. They grow where they are unwanted, and even despised.
Isn’t this exactly how we should view the kingdom of God?
Maybe this image of the weedy mustard seed is perfect to think about the Kingdom of God. Flourishing from a tiny seed, with little resources, and nothing can stop it. It can be neglected, left aside, unwanted, forgotten, but it will never stop growing. Isn’t the Gospel message exactly the same?
We hear about faith all throughout our lives, often we are busy and in tune with church when we are young, when we are encouraged to attend church by parents or mentors, and for some of us, it fades as we grow. People see the world around them, and think that this God they had grown to know through Sunday school, isn’t what they see around them. They are looking up for something mighty, something profound to come out of the sky, for a great presence. And miss the weeds at their feet. The weeds that pervade their daily lives, that exist in poor conditions, even though all else has left.
The Kingdom of God is of the weeds. It is of the unexpected, disregarded people, the broken and sinful people, the hurt and the weary. The kingdom of God is the pervading weed that is in all our lives, whether we see it creeping into our lives, taking over our gardens and sidewalks, or even if we try to get rid of it. That weed will always be there.
Jesus prepares us for the unexpected. We are the mustard seeds, the Kingdom of God together. We are the undesirable, unclean seed, tiny little seed that gets tossed aside by society standards. We flourish with little resources, and nothing can stop us.
We do not carry the word perfectly, but somehow it keeps flourishing through and in our lives. The message of Christ is in the world, and nothing can stop it.
I’m going to place this pot of mustard seed, out in the narthex, and as the seeds grow and flourish, I want you to watch. To watch for the unexpected. So that each time you see these weeds, or ones out on the street, you think about the Kingdom of God. Think about God being in the unexpected places, in the weeds. And know that you are part of the pervasive Kingdom of God that cannot be stopped, no matter if we are neglected, alone, mourning, scared, or looked down upon. We, as the mighty weeds of God’s kingdom, shall continue to grow and spread the message of God. Let us remember that although we may not have the best of resources, we might not have giant seeds, we have enough to flourish. Let us use our resources to spread the Gospel message, to share with others the invading and life giving power of God.
The cedar trees of the world may be cut down and removed, but the Kingdom of God cannot be cut down or ripped out or removed in any way! Thanks be to God! Amen.
Labels: faith, Looking low, mustard seed, sermon, small and mighty, weeds
Questions and Answers
This is my sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday.
The text is John 3:1-17.
Holy God, Three in one, bless our hearts and our minds that we may hear your word, and live out your calling to each of us, to your glory. In your name we pray, Amen.
Answers. Aren’t we all looking for answers of some sort? Whether it be answers to questions such as, “will I have enough savings to make it through this economic crisis?”
Or will I make it through the layoffs at work, so I can keep my job.
Questions such as, How will I survive, now that my spouse is leaving me?
Or how can I go on now that this loved one has died?
There are many questions in our lives. We search often for long periods for answers to our questions. Sometimes just looking for comfort, sometimes looking for joy, and sometimes we are just looking in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some of our questions are genuine, and others are meant to be accusatory or to hurt another person.
No matter the answer we seek, we as human beings are always looking for answers, looking for reasons behind our lives, looking for ways we can improve either superficially or deep down to our core, we look for answers regarding our lives on earth, as well as what comes after.
As we heard in the Gospel for today, Nicodemus is also searching. Nicodemus, a Jewish high priest, comes to Jesus by night. With that statement already, I have questions. Now, why would a Jewish High priest be coming to Jesus? In the past it has been ill-intentioned, they have wanted to find ways of discrediting him, of arresting him on an illegal charge, and have wanted him to contradict scripture or Jewish law. So, already, a sentence and a half into the Gospel reading, and I’m suspicious of Nicodemus’ intent.
But, what does it mean that he came by night? How does that change the circumstances of his questions to Jesus?
It changes them in several ways, actually. First, coming by night, meant that he didn’t want it to be a big show out in the public square, so that instead of him coming to challenge Jesus, Nicodemus is coming honestly to find the answers to his questions, and to find if Jesus is truly the Son of God.
A second reason, why Nicodemus coming by night is so significant, is a Jewish teaching which tells the people that if they truly want to have a deep conversation with a Rabbi, so that they can get all the answers to their questions, they must come by night. The reasoning behind this is then that you have a quiet time set aside for answers. There is less commotion, and neither the person or the rabbi needs to run off to do things such as happens during the day.
So here is Nicodemus, coming to Jesus by night, confirming that Jesus is whom he considers a religious leader, that Jesus is who he is coming to for answers to his deepest questions. Nicodemus is also showing how much he respects Jesus, and is in need of answers.
Nicodemus in an attempt to have Jesus understand that he is here in truth and peace, states that Jesus must be a teacher from God, because of all the amazing signs, healings and miracles he has performed. He tries to compliment Jesus with saying that he knows that God is with him in some way, and Jesus then answers in a riddle of sorts.
He states that no one may see the Kingdom of Heaven without having first been born from above. It seems as if Jesus is answering a question, that hasn’t been asked yet. An answer that Nicodemus doesn’t seem ready or able to understand yet. It is in the response that Nicodemus gives that we understand that he is confused. He asks, “but how can someone be born again, can one enter the womb a second time?”
Nicodemus is thinking of human birth, thinking that it seems impossible that after one grows old on earth, that he can re-enter a womb to be physically born again. He asks questions, so that he might understand more, so that he may know what he needs to do in order to see the Kingdom of heaven.
There is an interesting play on words here in the Ancient Greek that the Gospel was written in. The Greek word, Ano-then, which we hear as translated as, born from above, can also mean, born again. In Greek there is in way to know which way this word has been used.
Nicodemus takes Jesus’ words to mean literally born again, whereas Jesus was speaking of being born from above. Being born of water and of the Spirit.
Still Nicodemus is confused, not sure what Jesus is even speaking about, not sure how the Spirit blesses or gives birth to a new people, not sure how baptism into the Family of God gives a rebirth of a new person as a child of God.
We like Nicodemus, don’t always understand what God is up to. We don’t even always understand God’s love or compassion.
As we grow older, we live through many trials, trials of faith, trials of endurance, trials of grief and depression, trials of drug habits, trials of persecution or rejection. We live through times that break our spirits, that beat us down, and tear us apart. We can wonder where God is in those trials, we can wonder how God is working in our lives, and even sometimes if God has left us, because it surely feels that way while in the middle of something painful.
We can question God’s presence in our lives, we can question God’s plan for us, God’s calling, and sometimes even God’s existence. The earthly world surrounding us, can often be a harsh place. We see death and destruction daily. We remember world events such as D-day, a day when many people’s lives were lost. We see news stories about 18 yr old boys who go missing for months, and who are known to have now been murdered in the country that they had at one time fled from, to seek refuge here. We hear stories of murder, of drug dealers and houses, we see our neighborhoods slowly getting boarded up because of the economy, we see families getting kicked out of the houses they are renting because of foreclosures. We hear about young kids getting involved with gangs because they feel there is no other place to turn. We hear about communities that turn young people away, chastise them, look down upon them and even sometimes beat them because of who they love.
We live in a broken world. We are a broken people. We do wrong things, we sin, we hurt ourselves and each other. We question what goes on around us, we try to find answers to our questions, answers to the things that hurt us the most. We look for comfort, we look for love, we look for even just a little compassion.
Nicodemus came looking for answers, and he found love. He found love in it’s purest form, he found Jesus Christ, Son of God, salvation to all.
Jesus continues to tell Nicodemus the most important truth. The line that is most quoted from Holy Scripture, known from memory to many people around the world, a line that sums up the Christian faith. A line that brings us comfort and shows us what love truly is.
“for God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”
This was the focus of our first Wednesday night happenings, this last Wednesday. We worked on memorizing this verse, and then discussed what it meant.
Now I know all the youth that were there know this verse well, so let’s say it out loud together. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”
So that everyone who believes in him, may not perish but have eternal life. Everyone! This is not a conditional statement, it’s meant for everyone. God loved the world so much, that He gave Jesus Christ, God’s son, to die painfully on a cross, for you, for me, for us, for the world.
Jesus shares the answer with Nicodemus. He shares the truth with Nicodemus, he shares love with Nicodemus. Jesus gives Nicodemus life, eternal life.
Nicodemus comes with questions, comes with doubts, comes with struggles, comes with imperfections. And he receives all the answers he needs, although he might not understand them all. Even though he is broken, he is welcomed into God’s family, he is redeemed by the death of Christ, he is loved.
We are Nicodemus. We come with questions, we come with doubts, struggles, imperfections, sins, fear, and pain. And we receive the best gift of all time. We receive eternal life, life with God, life full of the love of God.
We receive a love that surpasses all our understanding. It’s a love that exists for us even when we do wrong. It’s a love that is there for us even when we don’t see it or don’t want it. It’s a love that is there for us when we think we don’t deserve it.
A love that inspires us to reach out and care for each other. A love that inspires things such as food drives, a love that inspires things such as listening to a friend who needs someone to talk to, a love that inspires things such as volunteering to help with a summer children’s program. It’s a love that changes our lives, that inspires us to live in new ways, to love our neighbor as we have been loved by God.
It’s a love that is there for you, even when we don’t understand.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, so that who ever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. Amen.
Labels: gospel, Jesus, John 3:16, love, sermon
