Sermon
24th June 2018 – 5th Sunday after Pentecost
Text:
Mark 4:35-41 – Safe passage through the storm.
The
nation was shocked last week at the brutal attack and death of a young
Melbourne comedian walking through a park in Carlton on her way home from the
city.
The
nation was shocked she was just 900 metres from home.
But
whether she was 900 metres or 900 feet from home the tragic circumstances are
just as significant.
And
the fact that she was walking through the park in the early hours of the
morning does not add or detract from the tragic circumstances.
The
reality is that we live in a world where tragedy can hit us wherever we are,
whoever we are – young, old, male or female.
The
circumstances do not change the tragic nature of the event.
Some
say she shouldn’t have been walking that time of night alone in the park.
But
people are attacked in their homes – in the shopping centre – in their car.
Tragedy
does not discriminate.
They
are the young – they are the elderly.
When
it comes to tragedy, there is, to quote St. Paul, neither Jew nor Greek, slave
nor free, male or female.
And
when tragedy happens and we mourn the loss of someone we know and love it
raises many questions for us including “where was God”.
Why
didn’t God prevent this from happening?
That
is the question we hear today from the frightened disciples:
“Teacher,
do you not care that we are perishing?”
Where
was Jesus while they were battling a raging storm that was swamping their boat?
In
the stern of the boat, asleep on a cushion;
Maybe
that’s how it seems to be for you when you’re going through some difficult time
– that God is asleep when you need him the most.
The
world around us rages with natural disasters – volcanoes in Hawaii and other
places – wildfires – effects of climate change.
The
world around us rages with human influenced disasters – crime, terrorism,
drugs, murder.
The
world around us rages with things that are out of our control – accidents,
sickness, death.
It
doesn’t matter how these tragic circumstances come or to whom they come, they
can sometimes make us question what God is doing in the world.
To
many it has left them with the conclusion that either God is unable to help us
or God is unwilling to help us.
Because
if God could help and was willing to help then why would he allow the tragic
circumstances to happen.
But
let’s remember in our Gospel reading a few things.
First,
Jesus was with the disciples in the boat.
He
didn’t send them across the sea while he stayed in safety on the shore.
And
neither does Jesus take himself away from you when you’re going through a time
of difficulty.
He
promised: I am with you always till the end of the age.
Certainly
it might seem like we’re going through things alone at times but as St Paul
discovered during the times of his suffering that the power of Christ was
resting upon him.
The
2nd thing we learn from the boat encounter is that Jesus responds to their
cries for help.
While
the storm rages around the disciples causing them to fear, it has no effect on
Jesus who is able to weather the fiercest of storms.
That
doesn’t mean that Jesus does feel our suffering but rather he is able to be our
source of comfort as the book of Hebrews says:
For
we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did
not sin.
And
because he did not sin he can protect us from the most tragic of events –
eternal death.
And
that means that tragedies are limited to this lifetime only and as Christians
that means that we can look beyond our tragic circumstances to a new eternal
life where there will be no more suffering and death.
The
final part of this boat and storm encounter is Jesus’ authority.
At
his command the wind and the waves cease.
And
the disciples rightly claim:
Who
then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Even
though it looks at times that the world is out of control – Jesus remains in
control.
Even
though at times it seems that Jesus is unable or unwilling to help, he is our
Lord who is riding the waves with us.
Jesus’
complete authority is displayed in this scene that will be affirmed, firstly by
Jesus when he says in the Great Commission:
“All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”
And
then later affirmed by St Paul when he says:
God
exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
As
we journey, like the disciples, to the “other side” we’re going to face
tragedies at various times.
Despite
all the precautions and safety procedures we undertake, our world does not
discriminate where the next tragedy takes place.
And
it has nothing to do with whether Jesus is unwilling or unable to help or
prevent.
It
is sadly a result of our eyes being opened to knowing good and evil.
But
we are assured that in the new life that Jesus has won and prepared for us as
the book of Revelation assures us - Nothing evil will be allowed to enter.
Life
is a journey to the other side.
And
in our Gospel reading we are assured that Jesus is with us until we arrive.
His
presence does not guarantee a smooth sailing but it does assure us we’ll reach
our destination.
No
matter how rough the sea gets Jesus says: I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
It
is sad when life ends tragically.
It’s
sad when life ends naturally at the end of life.
But
regardless of how life ends we are assured that death is the beginning of new
life in heaven where no evil will be able to enter.
And
the final lesson we learn from the disciples is that we those storms come we go
to Jesus who promises: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in
me, though they may die, they shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me
shall never die.
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