“In One Peace?”

Mark 4:35-41

June 22, 2003

St. Paul United Methodist Church

Rev. John Fleming

I would like to invite you into a storm this morning. You need to know on the front end that this storm is a hurricane. Is that alright? Anyone who needs to leave because you are terrified of such storms, now is the time to leave. I do want you to know that you will be safe in this storm. The time of the storm is 1979 and the hurricane’s name is David. David was making his way up the coast on Memorial Day weekend. While the rest of the United States was having their last hurrah with summer, enjoying cookouts and family reunions, taking it easy and enjoying a break, the people of Florida were preparing for David. David was making his way up the coast and heading towards Miami. He had already destroyed a couple of islands and many homes and now he was heading up the coast. You do not have to tell Floridians to duck when a hurricane is on its way. People were boarding up their windows, finding their flashlights, and getting more groceries. Those who were terrified of hurricanes and who had not outlasted one were heading toward higher ground. David was about to pounce!

On the Miami River (what, you did not know that there was a Miami River? It is the fifth largest seaport in Florida) there were five single men who lived on a houseboat. One of them is the preacher who tells this story. The houseboat was not much. At best it could be described as a rustic cabin on a leaky barge. But it was home to these five men and if they did not do something about it, their boat was going to be at the bottom of the river. They had only owned the boat for three months. They had pooled their resources and had made only three payments. None of them had ever owned a boat much less lived on one. And none of them had ever weathered a hurricane. The preacher tells that anyone who witnessed what they did that warm September day would have gotten a good laugh out of it. He says that what they did would have made a great episode on Gilligan’s Island or McHale’s Navy. It was hilarious. The five bought as much rope as they could afford. They thought that the best thing that they could do was to tie the boat down to anything that was not moving. They tied the boat to the dock, to palm trees, and to cars. They even tied the boat to itself. If you could have seen the maze of rope, then you would know that it looked more like a giant spider web. The preacher said that he was at the end of his rope in more ways than one when Phil showed up. Phil was somewhat of a living legend. It had been told that he once rode out a hurricane for ten days in a ten foot sailboat. Phil looked the part of a seafarer. He was born with a sun tan and wearing dock sider shoes. The preacher tells that he and his friends were glad to see Phil. Phil knew the lingo, knots, and he knew hurricanes. Listen to what his advice was to them, “Tie her down to the land, boys, and you’ll regret it. Those trees are gonna get eaten by the cane!” Can you picture this guy? Can you hear him saying this? “Your only hope is to anchor deep. Put four anchors in four different places in the water. Leave a little slack in the ropes and pray for the best!” That is good advice. Listen to it again, “Put four anchors in four different places, leave a little slack in the rope, and pray for the best!” That is good advice. Did you weather this storm? Do you feel safe now?

Let me invite you to another storm. The story of this storm is so old that it has found its way into three of the four gospels. We will look at Mark’s version this morning. Jesus and his twelve disciples are in this storm on the Sea of Galilee. The boat that they are using is ready. If you will go back in Mark’s gospel, you will see that Jesus instructed His disciples to prepare the boat. This is the same boat that Jesus used as a floating pulpit when the crowds pressed in to hear him. This was the boat that Jesus wanted to use when he was tired and worn out. He said this to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” The Bible says that Jesus was, “...just as he was.” What this really means is that Jesus was tired and worn out and needed some rest. There are commentators and there are commentaries who will talk about this line of scripture. They will say that Jesus wanted to go across to the other side of the lake to minister to a new group of people, the Gentiles. That might be true, but it is also true that Jesus was weary. You will not find this translation in any Bible, but I believe that what Jesus words should be translated this way, “Boys, I need a break. Let’s get out of here!” There is a sermon in those words. Do you know that? I am going across to the other side for the next two Sundays. Susie, Annie Grace, and I are heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama on Saturday for a week away. When I take a vacation that does mean that you get one, too? We are going to have two great pastors to preach to us on these Sundays. Do you know the feeling of needing to get away for awhile?

Jesus and the disciples were somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Galilee when the storm arrived. Can you picture Jesus in that boat? He is in the boat’s stern, asleep on a pillow. You will know this, storm on the Sea of Galilee were not uncommon. The wind from the hills just north of Galilee and the warm air from the Mediterranean often combined for powerful storms on this sea. I want you to know how bad this storm is. Among the disciples, on that boat, were former fishermen. These men had been through hundreds of storms. This one is so bad that the boat is being swamped with water. The disciples, even those who had been in such storms, were scared for their lives. They scream out to Jesus and say, “Teacher, wake up. Do you not care that we are perishing?” What are they afraid of? They are afraid of dying. I would have liked to have been there, though I do not enjoy storms. I would have liked to have seen the disciples salt soaked faces. I would have liked to have been there as Jesus stretched and then wiped the sleep from his eyes. Is Jesus going to die in a boat on the Sea of Galilee? Is he? No, but if you were there, if you had seen him stand up, you might have noticed that there was a mast on that boat. Do you know what frames a sail? It is one long pole and one that crosses it high in the air. It looks like a cross. Will Jesus die on this boat? No. Will he die on a cross? Yes. What does Jesus say to the wind and the waves? He says, “Peace! Be still!” These words are the same words that our contemporary choir just sang. It is the same words that Jesus said to the man in the synagogue who was possessed with a demon. Jesus said to that demon in that man, “Come out of him. Peace! Be still!” I want you to notice something in this storm. When Jesus calms it, the sea becomes still. The scene happens at night, but you can still see that the storm has stilled. There is a dead calm. The storm is over, or is it?

I invited you to Hurricane David and I invited you to the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Now let me invite you to another storm, your storm. The storm on the Sea of Galilee moved from outside the boat to inside the boat to inside the people inside the boat. This week I thought to myself, “I am going to say something about this text that no one has ever said. I will be original and creative. No one has ever heard what I am going to say about this storm and this story!” Yea right. Do you know what I realized? I realized that I did not need to do that. I realized that all I had to do was to mention the word storm and that would invite you into the sermon. Have any of you been in a storm? I am not talking about the thunder and lightning variety of storms. I am thinking about personal storms. Have any of you experienced those sorts of storms? Do any of you know what they are like? Try these on for size. The baby just won’t be quiet. I want to throw her against the wall. That is a true story. I once wanted to do that with Annie Grace. I, of course, never did do that. How about this storm, “Is that another ear infection? How many are there going to be?” Or this one, “My husband just died and it is so hard.” Or, “My teenager is out of control.” Or, “I cannot pay the bills this month. There are too many of them. This is too terrible! What am I going to do?” Do you know these storms? Storm after storm after storm after storm. Jesus invited you into this story.

I invite you into this story. Rembrandt, the great artist, drew a picture of this biblical storm. I saw it on the internet and printed the picture. I wish that there was a way that I could show it to you this morning. I will have to give it to you using words. Rembrandt paints a small sailing vessel. Half of the boat is in the air and the other half is being swamped by the waves. There is one disciple who is holding on to the mast for dear life. There are fourteen people in the boat. Fourteen? How many disciples are there? There are twelve. There is one savior. Where did Rembrandt get fourteen? Well, he painted himself in the boat because he knew that we all go through storms in our lives whether we like it or not. The disciples call out to Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Here is another sermon; listen to this. Sometimes we think that Jesus is sleeping and thus not caring about the things that we go through. Sometimes we think that we have to rouse Jesus out of a deep slumber so that he will be aware of our plight. Do we really have to do that? No. Do we really need to wake up Jesus? No. Sometimes we think that we are the only ones in storms. We are not. Did you hear the verse that said that there were other boats with them? That means that there were other sailors in other boats who were also going through this storm. When a storm hits us, we think that our Lord is asleep and that we are the only one who has been through what we are going through. Neither is the case. No one ever goes through a storm alone. Jesus stands up, wipes the sleep from his eyes, and says, “Peace! Be still.” To Mark’s credit, he does not have the disciples say anything about the storm. They do not say, “Wow!” or anything like that. Instead, to themselves, they say, “Who then is this that even the sea and the wind obey him?”

That is the question that I want you to think about today, tonight, next week, and next year. Who is this Jesus who is in the boat with us. By the way, Hurricane David never made it to the preacher’s houseboat. Thirty miles outside of Miami, David turned north and missed the city altogether. I would like to tell you that you will miss the storms, too, but you probably won’t miss them. There will be storms. There always have and there always will be storms. In the middle of the storms, when the waves are swamping your boat, don’t be surprised if you see someone walking across the water and reaching for your hand. Let us pray.

(Special thanks to Max Lucado and his writings for the opening story in this sermon. The story can be found in his book, Six Hours One Friday. (Word Publishers, 1989, pgs, 10-13, 23). Special thanks to Rembrandt for painting this biblical scene and for putting himself in it. Special thanks to our Lord, Jesus, who is always with us in the many storms of life).