Sermon - Jesus silences the storm

In today’s world, we love to travel.  No longer do people tend to stay in their own neighborhood for their entire lives, or their own county or even their own state.  People travel, we have cars that can get us places quickly, but we also have trains and planes.  Just one generation back, people did not travel anywhere near like what we do today.  When my parents were in high school they might dream about foreign lands, but never would they think that they would go to Australia or Spain or England or France.  By the time I was in high school, my family had travel all over the United States as well as allowing me to travel to England to visit my best friend who had moved there and to Spain with my high school Spanish class.  These opportunities did not exist for my parents when they were the same age as me. 

            In the day and age of Jesus, people also traveled, mostly for trade.  They walked, or rode animals, or traveled by boat.  And traveling was dangerous.  There were bandits on the roads, Roman soldiers stationed throughout, storms would blow through, they didn’t have convenient stores to stop into if they were hungry or thirsty.  They didn’t have cell phones or GPS or AAA for roadside assistance. So, most people limited their travel. 

            One of the commentaries I read shared that this story is less about the storm at sea, but rather more about getting into the boat and traveling from one place to another.  For the most part, when we decide to go on a roadtrip, we know where we plan on going.  We set a destination and make arrangements for when we arrive, but it seems with Jesus, he gets his disciples into the boat and off they sail, intending to go to the other side, but not knowing anything about what awaits them when the arrive.  

            Do we ever hear Jesus calling:  Let us get in the boat and cross over to the other side?  Symbolically, asking us to move from a place of comfort to a place where we just might engage in a new ministry.  This summer, nine of us will be getting into the boat and traveling to Philadelphia for a week long mission trip.  To be honest, we have no idea what to expect once we get there other than we know we will be given shelter and food.  We don’t know how hot it will be, or which urban ministry project we will spend time with, but we do know Broad Street Ministry has been hosting church groups for years and that they know what they are doing.  For some people, the unknown can bring great anxiety while for others it is a thrill of adventure and brings great excitement in that anticipation of encountering the unknown.  Jesus must have had an adventurist heart, for he was constantly moving from place to place always with the trust that God was calling him in whatever direction he took. 

            Let us get in the boat and cross over to the other side – might speak to our young adults that have just graduated from high school and are heading off to the unknown of college.  Or to our college graduates that are heading off to the unknown of a new job.  Or to parents that are becoming empty nesters.  Or to a church that is seeking new ways to partner with the local community. 

            The thing is, nothing in life is smooth sailing.  There will always be ups and downs and storms will blow through, literally or symbolically.  Another writer shared this:  in the storm, we disciples cried out to Jesus to wake up.  How this speaks to us in todays world.  Don’t we want to shout, to cry out, to demand that God do something to stop these storms that we are in?  Our Presbytery is focusing on current events that we believe are breaking God’s heart.  We have already done one meeting on the Opiate addiction crisis and another on the #metoo.  In September we will be addressing the Immigration crisis and in November we will be sharing about gun violence.  We are in a storm, all around us, in so many different places and topics and issues and we cry out, God save us.  God, do something to stop this madness, stop children from killing children, stop people from overdosing on heroin, stop families from being separated one from another, stop the sexual discrimination and abuse that seems to be running rampant in our nation.  We, just like the disciples, want God to break in and perform a miracle and bring life to some sort of peaceful calm.  Jesus woke up, and he silenced the storm, but he also scolds his disciples asking them, why are you afraid have you still no faith?   

 Would that be God’s response to us today?  As we move across the waters from one place to another, as we wonder what is becoming of this world, would God say: why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?  Is God encouraging us to allow our faith to guide us through our fear?  Or can we travel through the storms not calling out to God to stop them, but rather knowing that God is in the boat with us, traveling with us, present with us, promising us God’s love and grace and mercy. 

And what if, what if God responded, stop the storm with me.  How would we respond?  Would we be willing to get involved in the things that make us angry about our world?  We are seeing more and more people involved in marches because in these storms people are waking up and wanting to be empowered to be a part of change.  There is an incredible desire within our society of people wanting to restore peace, of people wanting to stop the storms, of people understanding they can no longer sit quietly waiting for someone else to take care of the problem.  More and more boats are moving out into the lake, despite knowing there are storms at sea.  Over the centuries, it has been people of faith that have spoken out, despite the fear of others, to condemn slavery and segregation.  People have taken incredible risks to be in the middle of the storm, working with God to bring peace, peace not just for one group of people, but for the greater good, the whole of society.  At one church, we held monthly peace vigils, we chose a topic and then spent an hour, out on the front steps of the church with signs, and discussed with each other the issue at hand, and shared with those that passed by, and made ourselves a visible presence of peace to community. 

There is no denying we are in a storm, what is your anchor or where do you place your hope?  What brings you peace when torrential rains hit?  Is it knowing God is present, is it trust that God is faithful?  Is it through prayer or becoming involved in some sort of social justice movement?  Or maybe you are in a place where you have lost your mooring and feel tossed about and truly believe we are perishing just like the disciples did, cry out as they did, reach out to the source of peace, the source of creation, the source of love that has been present in your life.  The disciples knew Jesus was there, they knew he would come to them, they knew they could answers or help or calm in his presence.  And he me them in their need.  Some of us just need to find a place of calm, a place of peace, a place where we truly feel safe, and in this particular story, it does not happen on the beach or the safety of land, but in the midst of traveling from one place to another, in the midst of the storm, in the midst of not knowing where they were going next, they engaged the peace that only God can give. 

Whether we are in the boat or not, there is a storm, and God is not sleeping, but is calling those who will listen to participate in Biblical justice for all humanity.  Amen. 

Bible Sunday - sermon

A Light Unto our Feet

                Our lives are filled with stories.  Some stories are about us or our families, others are stories that we hear.  Our lives are immersed in stories, stories on TV, the movies, books, and songs.  There are stories that we tell and others we keep secret.  Some stories are worth billions of dollars and some stories are thousands of years old.  Authors, writers, story tellers all work on developing good stories, developing what will catch the attention and interest of others.  Some become classics, worth sharing from generation to generation while others get quickly forgotten.  Our lives are immersed in stories.  And most of us a one or two that we would call favorites. 

            How much time do we give to our stories?  Some people watch the same movie over and over again until they can repeat every line.  My children are suppose to read at least twenty minutes each day, sometimes that twenty minutes seems like an eternity while other times they don’t want to stop and continue reading longer.  It all depends on the story.  Each year, when my children go for their annual doctor visit, we are asked the same question, how much screen time does your child get each day?  The recommendation is no more than two hours.  There are days that I know they are watching more than two hours of shows, so what are they watching?  What are the stories that they are learning?  How is that two hours of screen time forming their own inner story of this world in which we live?  These are all questions we should be asking, no matter what our age.  How much time do we allow the voices of others, whether it be a movie, a show, the media, or a novel infiltrate our lives?  And what impact does it have upon us?  The Psalmist writes that the Word of God is like a light unto our feet.  The word of God is to guide us as we journey in these lives.  If we just live by the stories of the world, what will our true guide be?  What will be our true north? Our anchor?

            For the most part, it seems our stories are often filled with some sort of conflict, crisis, bad news, and the characters seek to resolve the problem and by the end of the show good has overcome bad.  I just finished re-reading a Wrinkle in Time, a favorite story of mine from my childhood.  A friend of mine shared how she loved these books, how the religious symbolism really spoke to her.  And I thought to myself, hmmm, I must have missed something when I was a child, I don’t remember anything religious about them at all, in fact, I felt like they were rather scientific rather than religious.  So, as I re-read this book all these years later, I realized that the religious symbolism was not hidden at all in the story but rather overt.  There is light – good;  and there is darkness – bad or rather evil.  And the more you learn about the light, you learn that the light is not just good, it is love. 

            Today, we give our second graders their Bibles.  We hope that this collection of stories is read, and re-read, and talked about.  We hope these Bibles become a light unto your feet.  I still have two Bibles that were given to me by my church, one as a child and the other as I went off to college.  Sometime during high school, I decided I would read the Bible from front to back, and so each night, before going to bed, I would read.  There was a lot I did not understand and even more that I did not absorb, but I read and eventually I made it through the entire Bible. 

What I did not know as a child or as a youth was that this book is not one book but many books.  And some of the books are collections of stories, some of the books are historical, some of the books are poems, and some of the books are letters.  There is such a variety.  Some of the stories are over two thousand years old and yet, we continue to tell them.  We continue to tell them, we continue to find meaning in them because they are stories of faith shared from one generation to the next in how people found themselves connected to the sacred in this world.  These are stories that shaped an entire nation of people and stories that continue to shape communities of faith in how we feel called to be a people of God. 

            Without these stories, without reading these accounts of faith from one generation to the next, we would have no anchor, we would be like a young sapling with no deep roots.  The more people immerse themselves in learning these stories, the more they understand and see how God is active in the world today and how God is continuing to call and guide us in the decisions that we make.  Our sacred stories help form our own inner story of this world in which we live.  By knowing our sacred story, we cry out when we hear stories of injustice, violence, hatred, and greed.  We celebrate when we hear stories of justice, mercy, and love.  Perhaps we even find ourselves with inner conflict when the stories of this world collide with our sacred story, not sure how to respond, asking if what is happening is ethical, moral, or for the better good. 

 As Jesus teaches about the word of God, the word of God known to us as the scriptures, he uses a pretty straight forward parable.  The farmer sows seeds, scattering them all about:  some fall in the weeds, some on the rocky ground, some fall on the hard path, some fall on the fertile soil.  Sometimes I feel that way with ministry ideas, let’s just brainstorm, throw out ideas and see which ones might actually take.  Not every idea is going to take off, but if we don’t try, we won’t ever know.  Some falls in the weeds and gets smothered, some falls on the hard path and never has a chance to grow, some grows quickly but does not take root and dries out quickly.  Good soil is no accident, it takes work, it takes nurture, it takes cultivating.  Today, we seek to cultivate the good soil, with the gift of these Bibles. 

            God never tires of spreading God’s word upon this world.  Just like in a Wrinkle in Time, the over arching message of this collection of sacred stories is that love overcomes evil, that God’s power overcomes sin, that life can be transformed for the good and that as a people of God, we have the responsibility to be agents of goodness, kindness, compassion, and love in this world. 

            Don’t let the size of this book overwhelm you.  Don’t let segments of this book push you away.  Begin with Genesis and Exodus, and the collection of Gospels.  Six books out of the whole, begin there and see what God has been up to in this world and how God continues to be a God of justice, Mercy, Peace and love. 

            We teach our children each and every day.  We teach them with Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney, we teach them about our values, we teach them that sports, dance, arts, and education are important.  Our story of faith encourages to teach our children and our children’s children about God.  About God’s love for us and for this world in which we live.  As we spend hour upon hour with screen time, or sports practice, or lessons and even homework, do we lift up our values as a people of God?  Just as we absorb all of the stories of the world around us, we are called to find time to absorb, to learn, to study, and to understand the stories of faith shared by the people that came before us and then in turn to share our stories with the next generation.  What I love to be able to do is take our modern stories and find the connections to our faith stories and compare and contrast them.  But I would not be able to do that if I didn’t know our story, if I didn’t understand the ways God is calling us to be harbingers of justice, mercy, and love.  Be a reader of our sacred stories. Be a story teller, be a messenger of God’s love in this world and allow the seeds of God’s word to fall in the fertile soil of your hearts so that you live into God’s hope that life can be transformed into God’s greater goodness.    

Confirmation Sunday

1 Samuel 3

            In today’s society, our young people have numerous opportunities before them.  They can play a variety of sports, they can participate in music, dance, or drama programs, they can do scouting, some gravitate towards art while others immerse themselves in reading.  As a parent, I want my children to try a variety of activities in order to see what they enjoy the most.  Is there one area that perhaps my child will excel and become passionate about? 

            Our young people that we confirmed today are involved in numerous activities: from hockey to Marital Arts, from Drama Club to Marching Band, from Robotics to dance, and from scouting to summer camp at Camp Johnsonburg.  There is a strong interest within them for cooking, and they are a group that is interested in making a positive difference in this world in which we live.   This group of young people have a variety of gifts, a variety of interests, a variety of ways in which to contribute to their schools, their teams, their clubs, and to their church. 

            We have had a handful of baptisms over the past month, and one of the things I share as I walk a child around the church is about seeds of faith within him or her and how, the church family promises to provide the nurture that will encourage those seeds of faith to grow, to mature, and to bear fruit.  This group of confirmands have spent time in the church, they have spent time listening to the word of God in a variety of ways, whether it is through Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Camp, worship, or through the actions of the church and its members in our ministry.  The word of God speaks to us in a multitude of ways, and it does not matter if we are young children, adolescents, young adults, or adulthood. 

            What I love about today’s story of Samuel is that Samuel is young and God is speaking to him.  Samuel is being raised by an elderly priest Eli, and the word of God was rare in those days. Things really were not great.  There seems to be an ongoing cycle through the scriptures of God’s people participating in the life of faith and falling away, of God’s people being inspired and participating in the life of faith and falling away.  Of God calling new leaders to inspire the people of God and new energy being born and then the people once again falling away.  Over and over again.  And over and over again, God reaches out and calls people to once again bring the people back into a life that is sacred and holy. 

            When we have these stories, these stories of God reaching out to people to be the ones that bring the flock, the fold back to God, we say they are: “Call Stories.”  Call Stories are scattered through the scripture: Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, Samuel, even Mary in our Christmas story is called.   Samuel, as young as he is, hears the voice of God but Samuel does not know it is God.  He things that it is Eli that is calling him.  Three times Samuel is called and three times he gets up and goes to Eli saying:  Here I am, what is it?  Finally, it is the wisdom of Eli that realizes this must be God calling Samuel.  There is this beautiful mentoring moment as the elderly Eli is able to help interpret what is happening to young Samuel.  In order for Samuel to truly hear God, to truly know what is happening, he needs Eli, he needs the wisdom of his mentor to guide him. 

            God is calling Samuel to transform the future relationship of God and God’s people.  The people of God are soon to become a kingdom and as they do, God is calling spiritual leadership to participate alongside of the king.  These new spiritual leaders will be called prophets.  But if Eli had not listened to Samuel, if Eli had said you are just a child go back to bed, God’s plan would have been slowed down.  But Eli listened.  He not only listened to Samuel but he connected it back to the true source and listened to God. 

            How do we listen to God in our world today?  How do we listen to each other?  Are we good at listening to the thoughts and ideas and passions and interests of each other?  Because God is calling, God is speaking, God is at work but we have to listen, we have to listen to each other no matter how old or young we are, and we have to discern if this just might be a seed of faith that is starting to grow and mature into something that will bear fruit. 

            That is one of the things that I love about confirmation class.  I love to listen to our youth.  I love to listen to their music, their concerns, their interests and brainstorm with them how we can transform our worship in various ways to be more inclusive of them.  Confirmation class is not just about learning the basics and deciding if you want to officially join the church, but it is also about becoming leaders, about feeling that their voice is heard and respected.  They are now full members of the church, and two seeds that they would like to see grow not just within their own lives but within the life of the church are:  a functioning youth group and perhaps a cooking group of some sort.  This group also expressed interest in continuing to meet next year with our mission mornings.  This was something new I introduced since Confirmation class met on Sunday evenings.  Those Sundays that we met at night, instead of a formal Sunday School lesson, we did activities that connected to mission such as making signs for Souper Bowl of Caring and baking quick bread for Faith Kitchen.  So as we begin to plan and prepare for next fall, the CE committee will be looking for adults that would like to be like Eli and mentor our youth, listening to their voices, listening to the ways in which God is speaking to them, and guiding them in hands on mission projects as we continue the mission mornings.