Community Church Sermons
June 18, 2006
Mark 4:35-41
Walter the Wonder Dog.
Getting ready to leave on vacation after church
today, I’ve been thinking about our place on the lake in New Hampshire and all
the memories that have been made over the years. One of the special memories is
of Walter. She was our family dog. Yes, I said, “She.” Our son Peter
named the puppy Walter in honor of his best friend Todd’s teddy bear. I know it
doesn’t make sense to you, but it made sense to him and that’s all that
mattered.
Walter the Wonder Dog. What made her such a Wonder
was her rich and limitless love and devotion to her family, coupled with a very
deep and abiding stupidity. Walter was the dumbest dog that ever lived.
How well I remember loading the family up in the
little green Sears john boat with the three-horsepower Evinrude outboard, and
roaring off on a cruise down the lake. We were about 100-yrds downstream when
Bethany said, “Dad, look! It’s Walter!”
And there she was – Walter the Wonder Dog – running
through the yards of homes along the lakeshore, barking for her family to come
back and get her. Of course, we couldn’t. We could hardly fit the four of us
human beings into that little boat. So I told the kids to ignore Walter, and
she would give up the chase and go home.
That
was a very slow boat.
And sure enough, there came Walter – great big smile
on her face, dog-paddling like crazy, barking for her family, and taking in
water every time she did.
And just about the time Walter went down for the
third time, we circled the boat back around, grabbed her by the collar, and
hauled her aboard. And Walter was effusive with her gratitude, enthusiastically
smothering us with wet kisses, and getting us all soaked when she shook herself
dry. And then Walter ran to the bow of the boat, and with her nose to the wind,
let out a happy bark to let everyone know she was okay and was with her family
again.
I love stories with happy endings. Stories where
clouds and rain and winds threaten the well-being of good people – or good dogs
– but just when it seems like the destructiveness of the storm will prevail,
something good happens, and fortunes are reversed, and victory is snatched out
of the jaws of tragedy. I love that sort of thing. Don’t you?
Jesus and the disciples are out on a boat in the
middle of the Sea of Galilee. The winds begin to pick up, and the waves begin
to build – as they sometimes do on that very large lake. Before long, the
fierce storm is upon them – and the situation is looking very bad. The boat is
tossed about, and the disciples are unable to keep it into the wind. The
mountainous waves begin to crash over the sides, and the boat fills up with
water. They are seconds away from being swamped and going down.
Jesus is taking a nap in the stern of the boat. That
guy is like many of us – put him in a chair in front of a golf game on TV, and
he’s out like a light. Wife, kids, neighbors could come in and have a parade
around his recliner, but he’s oblivious to it all, lost in dreams of beating
Tiger Woods in sudden death at the Masters.
The disciples shake Jesus awake. “We’re going
down, Jesus! Get up! For crying out loud, don’t you care about what happens to
us???”
Jesus yawns and wipes the sleep from his eyes. “I
was just lining up my third putt…” he mumbles.
And then he sees the crisis of the wind, and the
rain, and the sea. He sees the fear-streaked faces of the disciples who have
done all they can to save the boat and themselves, but to no avail.
So Jesus stands up in the stern of the boat, and
simply says, “Peace, .be still.”
And – miracle of miracles – the storm was
stilled!
At first glance, we may see in this story of Jesus
calming the storm the rather obvious message that Christ can bring peace to our
lives in the midst of the storm. And by all means, I hope you will take that
message to heart. The answer to the disciples’ question, “Don’t you care
what happens to us?” is answered with a resounding, “YES! I DO CARE
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!”
And if you are here today experiencing some terrible
storm in your life, I hope you’ll take those words of Jesus personally. God
DOES care about what you’re going through. Don’t be afraid to call out to the
Lord to ask for help…and for peace in the midst of your storm.
At our 10:30 Music Sunday service today, there will
be a beautiful arrangement of the famous hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” You
probably know the story-behind-the story of that hymn. A man by the name of
Horatio Spafford, a very successful Chicago lawyer and very devout
Presbyterian, experienced a series of terrible personal tragedies. The worst
one came when, on the advice of his physician, he planned a family vacation to
Europe. Because of work he needed to clear up in the city, Mr. Spafford sent
his wife and four daughters on ahead aboard the ship Ville du Havre. But
out on the high seas, that ship collided with another. The hull was breached.
The ship went down. Mrs. Spafford was saved, but all four daughters drowned.
A distraught Horatio Spafford got on a ship and
raced to meet his wife in Wales where the survivors had been taken. He was
overwhelmed by grief, and all the moreso when the ship sailed by the very spot
where the Ville du Havre had sunk and his daughters had perished.
The captain brought the ship to a stop, and a wreath was thrown out onto the
sea. Can you imagine what that must have been like? Yet, it was during this
unimaginable time when, completely overcome by the storm of grief, Mr. Spafford
experienced some small gift of grace. As he looked out at the boiling seas,
words began to filter through his mind:
“When peace, like a river,
attendeth my way,
When sorrows, like sea
billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast
taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with
my soul.
Though Satan should buffet,
tho’ trials should come;
Let this blest assurance
control,
That Christ has regarded my
helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood
for my soul.
It is well with my soul. It
is well, it is well, with my soul.”
The promise of this God who loves us is that He does
care! And though the storms of life may not all be able to be abated by
some extraordinary miracle, God assures us that we can have peace in the midst
of the storm, and the assurance that things will be well in God’s time. I’ve
known this experience personally – when I’ve lost loved ones, when we’ve faced
heartbreaks with our kids, when my abilities as a pastor have been overwhelmed
by the tragedies of the people I love. There is a peace that passes all
understanding. I call out to Jesus for that peace all the time. And with that
peace, I am able to face the storm.
Perhaps you hear Jesus speaking to your heart this
morning as you face whatever you’re facing. “Peace, be still!” This
story in Mark 4 is intended, in part, to bring us the assurance that the Lord
does indeed care about what happens to us. So turn to Jesus today, and ask for
peace!
But that’s not the whole story of Jesus calming the
storm.
Did you notice the really strange part?
Jesus has spoken. The winds have subsided. The sun
has come out! The boat and the disciples have been saved! And this is how Mark
describes the reaction of the disciples:
Why would anyone be terrified at the end of such a
wonderful story? Why do you suppose that is?
When Dick Willyoung took me along on one of his
Angel Flights a few years ago – transporting a liver transplant patient over to
Duke and back - we flew into a pretty bad snowstorm. Dick’s Cessna 182 was
getting thrown around inside the clouds by some pretty heavy turbulence. The
snow was coming like a blizzard. And then it changed to freezing rain. Ice
began to cover the windshield and the leading edges of the wing. I’ve mentioned
before that I turned to Dick and asked, “Aren’t you concerned about the
icing?” And Dick, in his inimitable way said, “Nah, the ice’ll probably
melt in the post-crash fire.”
Well, Dick – sick sense of humor not withstanding -
did a great job of piloting us through that storm, and when we finally broke
free of the clouds, I felt tremendous relief and joy. Not once was I even
tempted to look at Dick with fear and terror!
I was not afraid of him! In fact, I wanted to
kiss the guy, and give him all my money! Thank goodness that was just a
fleeting feeling.
So why do you suppose the disciples reacted to
Jesus’ saving them so differently? The Bible says they were terrified.
Well, Mark tells us that connected to their fear is
this question:
It seems to me that the disciples were confronted in
that moment with the reality of the Christian challenge. If Jesus can speak to
the wind and the waves pounding a boat at sea, he can also speak to the storms
confronting our lives at home and in the world. And we are not always ready for
that.
Some time ago, we gathered in this sanctuary for a
Memorial service celebrating the life of one of our dear church members. She
had suffered from cancer, and was now set free. And we had a beautiful time
remembering her life, and thanking God for His many mercies.
Some time after the service, this woman’s husband
confided something interesting to me. He said, “As her memorial service came
to a close, I found myself not wanting it to end. I knew that as soon as it was
over, I was going to have to start my life all over again – all alone after 50
years with her.” Then he said to
me, “After the benediction, you came down the stairs and held out your hand
to lead me down the aisle, and honestly Marty, I’ve never been so terrified in
my entire life.”
The call of Jesus to face the storms of life is not
always an easy call to accept.
In this terror-filled world in which we live, how
will you and I be peacemakers when our every inclination is to use violence
against violence? Doesn’t that scare you to death?
In the face of great hurt, how will you forgive the
person who has sinned against you when payback is your natural inclination?
Doesn’t that scare you to death?
Confronted by a complex array of social issues like
homosexuality, religious diversity, economic injustice, immigration and all
sorts of provocative matters, how will we keep our eye on the ball and be
faithful to the call to love our neighbor as ourselves? That can be
frightening!
My friend Barbara had three children and another on
the way. She was 9-months pregnant when her husband decided he didn’t want to
be a husband or father anymore. So he left. Just like that.
Barbara said, “I hurt so badly, all I wanted to
do was curl up into a ball, fall asleep, and never wake up again. But all the
while, I kept hearing this inner voice saying, ‘Barbara, your children need you
to be their mother, and this new baby needs you to give it life. You have to
get up, and go on.”
Barbara sensed this was the voice of God. And it
terrified her to think that she couldn’t just curl up and die, that she was
going to have to live and face the challenge of raising her children on her own.
You see, the Christian Faith is the most demanding
Faith in the world. It will not let you sit idly by for very long feeling sorry
for yourself. It will not stand by and watch you destroy your life and your
family with an addiction to alcohol or drugs. It will not passively permit you
to spend the rest of your life wallowing in the pain of the abuse you suffered
as a child. It will not leave unchallenged your feeling that you can’t make
something of your life. It will not let you bury your head in the sand over
war, injustice, or social upheaval.
No, instead, Jesus Christ enters EVERY storm we
face, and gives us the opportunity to find our way through to joy – to peace –
to wholeness. And the most liberating moments of life are those that come when
– in the face of the storm we’re facing – Jesus whispers that it’s time to move
on.
Maybe its time for you this morning – time to begin
moving from a storm of sadness to a place of new joy – maybe it’s time to begin
moving from estrangement to reconciliation with someone you’re on the outs with
– maybe it’s time to move from guilt to forgiveness – time to move from
self-centeredness to putting others first – time to move from being overwhelmed
by your disability to becoming the master of your disability – time to move
from judging others to loving others – time to move from apathy to involvement
– time to move from doubt to faith, and from despair to hope.
Maybe Christ is whispering to you today!
It can be a terrifying experience to be a Christian
because God is not content to let us give in to and be sunk by the storms of
life. The Good News of Jesus is that there is not a thing that has ever
happened to you, that is happening now, or that will happen to you in the
future that you and God together cannot transform into peace and life and
wholeness.
Why He is the Savior who loves the world and all of
us in it!
And all that He asks is that you let Him into the
boat with you – no matter how half-sunk it is - and learn to sail into the
future together!