Phobos is the Greek word for fear and it is here that we obtain the term phobia which is linked to the fears we carry in relation to certain things

Transcription

1 Phobos is the Greek word for fear and it is here that we obtain the term phobia which is linked to the fears we carry in relation to certain things that threaten us. Do you have a phobia? Is it a fear of snakes or spiders? Is it a fear of heights? It is a fear of flying? Or is it a fear of crowded places? Many years ago I when I served in Eastern Indonesia I took some risky sea voyages from island to island in the Timor Sea some 500 kilometers northwest of Darwin. One time I remember travelling from the small island of Sabu to Kupang, the main city in Indonesian Timor. My mode of transport was a pretty rough inter-island ferryboat. It was an arduous 16 hour trip and we were sailing through the same rough waters that were to later claim the lives of hundreds of asylum seekers who perished mid-sea on rickety Indonesian fishing boats enroute to Australia. And the sea was indeed rough. The fierce southeast trade winds blew incessantly and the boiling, churning sea threatened to swallow us up as the boat heaved over successive walls of water to plunge deep into ensuing troughs to be met yet by another massive wall of water. All night long it went on on and on - and it was an utterly miserable and let me stress miserable and indeed, dangerous journey! And because of this, I have a phobia about boats. Indeed I am, subsequently, somewhat reluctant to travel in anything, let alone a Manly Ferry. So I am a bit of a party pooper when it comes to boating or to even cruising!

2 (2) This morning we hear another story about a boat that is caught in a storm. The place is Galilee and Jesus calls on his followers to set sail with him to the other side. Now, the Sea of Galilee is set in a most beautiful location as rolling hills plunge into the sea on both the eastern and western sides. Meanwhile to the south, the Jordan River drains this expanse of water through lush irrigation fields while to the north, the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon feed the Sea of Galilee with life-giving rain and melting winter snow. I was in Galilee last year and from my hotel in Tiberius it all looked so peaceful and serene. It was early morning as I sat on the balcony overlooking the sea with my cup of coffee in hand. Indeed, it was hard to think that blustering, raging storms could sweep across this most placid scene. But Mark s Gospel tells us that a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already swamped. Jesus followers panic. Teacher they plead, do you not care that we are perishing? Now, Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat and he wakes to rebuke the wind with the command Peace! Be still! The wind ceases and we are told there is dead calm. Storms are threatening, frightening things. In Galilee they came with very little notice, almost like a thief in the night, to literally ambush people with the terrible threat of a watery grave. And, in all of this calamity, in all of this fear, Jesus brings peace. The storm dies away. There is dead calm.

3 (3) Friends, there are many layers of meaning in this incredible story. One important dimension informs us that, in stilling the storm, Jesus demonstrates authority over the natural elements. Jesus commands nature in the same way as God speaks a word over the chaotic waters at the dawn of creation to bring about light and life. Then there is the story of Jesus setting sail to, quote, the other side. Now, this is an important reference because, in Jesus day, the other side of the sea represents foreign territory. It is the territory of gentiles, non-jews, strangers and foreigners. These people stand outside the customary and religious circle of the people who Jesus lived with and, like most of us, such alien people could be perceived as being threatening. The question is often asked, can they be trusted? Are we secure? Will we be safe? Hence, the storm encountered here is really a statement about the anxiety and the fear that Jesus disciples experience as they sail into foreign territory. And we see that Jesus subsequently acts to subdue such fears. Another focus on this remarkable story leads us to emphasize that Jesus was in the boat with his followers when this terrible event takes place. Indeed we are told Jesus is in the stern of the boat asleep on a cushion while the others are panicking and fretting for their lives! In the life and witness of the early Christian community, the boat symbolized the church, especially as it was buffeted, swamped and persecuted by the authorities. So, in this story, the boat caught in such a terrible storm comes to signify the church in an age of persecution. And today this makes a lot of sense to Christians in Egypt who are denied basic human rights, to Christians in Iraq and Syria who are experiencing genocide and to Christians in Pakistan, Nigeria, Vietnam and North Korea who are experiencing terrible persecution. For us Australians living in a world were we do not die for our faith, the greatest threat to Christian faith is quite the opposite I believe our threat comes in the form of disinterest and indifference. The storms faced by the church here today are more akin to a dense fog, a frigid cold or a dark hole where so many

4 (4) people are waylaid by other priorities - or where authorities just overlook us and even contravene basic Christian values, leaving the church almost irrelevant to their living. Jesus command, Peace! Be still!, has currency here. This is because Jesus is present in the boat as our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Nigeria and many other places suffer and die for their faith. This is because Jesus is present in the boat we call the church here in Australia as his cry serves to critique our busyness, raise questions about our aspirations and, indeed, call into account the indifference embraced by our community - with the real peace Jesus offers! A fourth approach to this incredible story concerns our individual experiences in life. I have already raised the matter of phobias or fears. For me, I do fear the sea because that voyage in Eastern Indonesia still haunts me. And fear is a common experience, indeed it s a daily experience for us all. It may be the fear of losing control or the fear of losing one s independence. It may be the fear of being ridiculed, misunderstood, embarrassed or being bullied. It may well be the fear of change or having to the face the unknown, of dealing with conflict, of being rejected or of having to deal with strangers and foreigners. It could well be the fear of illness, losing a partner or even of death and dying. All these fears represent real storms in our lives. They unsettle, they threaten, they upset, they distress and they even terrorize us. And today God s Word comes with the assurance that, firstly, Jesus is in the boat with us. In other words, in the storms of our lives Jesus doesn t leave us alone, Jesus doesn t abandon us to sink or be devoured by these frightful and often constant threats. Rather, Jesus is in the boat with us. Jesus is with us every step of the way! And secondly, Jesus constantly speaks a word of life in that remarkable command: Peace! Be still! For in the midst of the storm, Jesus does speak. In the midst of the turmoil Jesus is there to make a difference! Simone Weil was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. She was in involved in the Spanish Civil War and then the French Resistance during World

5 (5) War Two. Along the way she came to embrace Christianity. And in the midst of a particularly stormy period Simone had a profound experience of Christ s presence. Simone says she was reciting George Herbert s poem Love when Christ himself came down and took possession of her.. I have never foreseen the possibility of a real contact, person-to-person, here below, between a human being and God. Moreover, in this sudden possession of me by Christ, neither my senses nor my imagination had any part; I only felt in the midst of my suffering the presence of a love. Simone Weil s passion for life and her zest for justice took a heavy toll. Struggling with tuberculosis and other frailties for much of her life, Simone died in England at the age of 34. But for Simone, Christ was indeed in her boat in the midst of the storm. And it is here that Simone found genuine peace. Friends, we are not meant to be left alone in life to carry a terrible burden or an ongoing trauma only to receive a magnificent dividend in heaven. Neither are we meant struggle alone with suffering or abuse now in order to gain a rich reward beyond the grave. Life is much more than that. God never wills us to suffer. God never seeks to impose fear or sanction abuse upon us. Rather, the story of the calming of the storm teaches that God, in the person of Jesus, comes to us in our suffering. God, in the person of Jesus, travels with us in the calamities and storms that invariably intrude into our lives. God, in the person of Jesus, accompanies us. God, in the person of Jesus experiences with us life s up-and-down journey. In other words, Jesus is in the boat alongside us. Jesus is there in the midst of the calamity. We are never far from the presence of God. And, importantly, God does this to offer God s peace to each and every one of us! Frederick Buechner, an American Presbyterian writes in his book, Secrets of the Dark: Christ sleeps in deepest selves of all of us, and whatever time we have left, wherever we go, may we whatever way we can call on him as the fishermen did in their boat, to come awake within us and to give us courage, to give us hope, to show us, each one, our way. May he be with us especially when the winds go mad and waves run wild, as they will for all of us before we re done, so that even in their midst we may find peace...we may find Christ.

6 (6) When the winds go mad and the waves run wild may you know Christ s peace! Never forget that Jesus is with you in all things. Never forget that, in the midst of everything, Christ comes into your life and accompanies you with a word of peace. So, do not be afraid, do not panic, do not be dismayed - rather have faith. For Christ s word of peace breaks through the tumult and the turmoil of our lives - Christ is here for you and for me! In 1735 John Wesley sailed for America. His goal was to be a missionary to the Indians. But during the long four-month voyage a storm suddenly hit creating chaos, breaking the main mask of the ship and threatening all on board. Wesley panicked. He wept in fear of his life. However a group of Moravian Christians sat quietly by. They calmly sang songs and prayed. John Wesley was deeply moved by this act of faith in the face of real danger. He observed the Moravians possessed an inner strength that he did not have. Wesley later wrote in his journal, It was then that I realized that mine was a dry land, fair weather faith. A dry land, fair weather faith - or a faith that acknowledges Christ who is present with his word of grace and peace - even in the most turbulent of times? Take a look around. In the midst of the storms in your life - do not fear. For Jesus is here. Look for Jesus. Call on Jesus. Listen to his call. For, He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! Peace! Be still in your life today and every day! Amen. John Barr