Weathering the Storms of Life Mark 4:35-41 Sunday, June 24, 2012 The Rev. Sharon Snapp-Kolas, preaching Scripture. Prayer. Opening. Did you see this article about the zoo in Duluth, Minnesota? Lake Superior Zoo, it s called. The rainstorm was severe, and it happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Overnight security was unable to rescue all the animals from the flash flooding that ensued. The petting zoo, in particular, was devastated. Six sheep, four goats, one raven, one vulture, one snowy owl and a donkey died (Amy Hubbard, L. A. Times, June 21, 2012). Two seals were washed away in the flooding but managed to survive. They were discovered by passersby on a major thoroughfare nearby. A polar bear escaped her enclosure and had to be tranquilized. The National Weather Service in Duluth issued a flash-flood emergency alert Wednesday morning a first for the city (L. A. Times, 6/21/2012). Police urged residents to stay home, to avoid treacherous roads and dangerous travel conditions, including a sinkhole on at least one local roadway. We know about flash floods here in California. Storms can be devastating. I. Storm stories. Storms can also be beautiful, entertaining; even fun. I remember as a young girl, maybe 5 or 6 years old, enjoying the warm spring rains in Royal Oak, Michigan. My mother would help me and my two sisters into our bathing suits the boys weren t even born yet! -- and out we d go into our front yard to play in the rain. What fun, 1
especially after months and months of cold, icy winter. Royal Oak used to be a working class neighborhood, a suburb of Detroit. Now it s a fancy, gentrified area, where celebrities own bars and restaurants with twinkly lights on the patios, and the homes are too expensive for us to afford anymore. Back in the early 60 s, it was a place to raise your kids and have a decent job at a local factory. I remember another storm. I am maybe 15 years old, living in Clare, Michigan, a rural town of about 3000. Memory is funny; I don t remember where my father is -- probably busy securing the house, the shop and the dogs. What I remember is my Grampa on my mom s side. He is old and senile by now. That s why he s living with us. I can still see him, slowing down in the hallway as my mother tries to rush him to the safety of the basement. He glances to the right and becomes fascinated mesmerized, really -- by the neartornado-level storm. He sees it through the picture window in the living room. Dark, dark skies, like nighttime in the day. Howling winds. Huge tree branches, broken off & flying by. Slamming sounds as the winds buffet the house, unrelenting. Grampa just comes to a complete, awe-filled halt in the hallway and remarks with wonder Wow! Look at the winds! He s smiling happily, like a little boy seeing snow for the first time. To him, it s magical. Mom, meanwhile, is grabbing him by the belt, from behind, frantically urging him towards the stairs. Grampa is a big man; tall and stocky. Mom is losing the battle. Meanwhile, she is screaming at us children, Get to the basement! The storm sirens are blaring from town. Our house is about 5 miles in the country, built into the side of a hill. In the basement, it s like being in one of those underground storm cellars. Well, the story has a happy ending. We all make it to the basement, gathering around a 2
radio, children and Grampa excited by the sights and sounds and mild danger, feeling safe inside our warm house, with Mom and Dad to take care of us. I remember another storm -- thunder and lightning. Josh and Chris are very young. I am pastoring a church in North Long Beach, so Chris would be maybe 2 years old, and Josh 4. Roy has flown out-of-town to a conference somewhere in another state. All I remember is blinding flashes of lightning, and the deafening noise of the thunder coming so quick and so close it feels like it s right overhead. I gather the boys close to me and we huddle under the dining room table. The boys are bright-eyed with excitement, shivering with delicious jolts of fear as each thunder clap strikes. They snuggle close, feeling safe and secure and scared all at once. II. Do not be afraid. There are definitely things to be afraid of in this world. Windstorms can be deadly. Flash floods can kill. Lightning can strike, causing wildfires and death. We face all kinds of troubles, all kinds of storms, in life. Some catch us by surprise; they assault us through no fault of our own: natural disaster, illness, death, financial crisis, home foreclosure, loss of job, victimized by abuse... Metaphorical storms can also be caused by human behavior: drug and alcohol abuse, crime, war, abusive behaviors of all kinds Take another look at the Ten Commandments on the wall there, or in your Bible, in Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5. When we go against God s ways, we can bring the storms of life upon ourselves. God s commandments are there as a help and a guide for us, not as a burden. To say there s nothing to be afraid of in life is to be less than truthful. A better phrase comes from Jesus, himself: Do not be afraid. Or, as he says it in today s passage, Why are 3
you afraid? Michael L. Lindvall comments: Time and again in Scripture the word is, Do not be afraid. It is, you might say, the first and the last word of the gospel. It is the word the angels speak to the terrified shepherds and the word spoken at the tomb when the women discover it empty: Do not be afraid. Not because there are no fearsome things on the sea of our days, not because there are no storms, fierce winds, or waves, but rather, because God is with us. The novelist Emily Bronte lived and wrote in a rectory set in the bleak moors of Yorkshire. She lived a grim tragedy with her half-demented father and alcoholic brother. Nevertheless, she was able to write words like these: No coward soul is mine, no trembler in the world s storm-troubled sphere. I see Heaven s glories shine, and faith shines equal, arming me from fear. III. Order and Chaos. Traditional theology depicts God as the bringer of order out of chaos. In today s passage from Mark, Jesus uses his divine prerogative to bring order out of the chaos of the storm. It is reminiscent of God as Creator. In Genesis chapter 1 we read, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Out of the waters of chaos, God created an ordered world. Order out of chaos can be a good thing. I wish someone would come and bring order to the chaos in my closets at home. I am grateful to Bill Harps and the many volunteers who are bringing order out of the chaos of some of our church rooms and closets, as we prepare for the arrival of the Yucaipa Christian School! At the same time, chaos can be a good thing, sent from God. The formless void and 4
darkness, the deep, itself, does not pre-exist. All things come from God, including the chaos. I believe there is a creative chaos that precedes any new and good thing. God, at times, sends chaos into our lives, to wake us up, to remind us we are not in charge, to move us out of our ruts. At other times, devastating chaos assaults us, not through the direct action of God, but through our own human choice, or through catastrophes of nature. In all times of chaos, whether created by God or caused by human behavior, or results of natural disaster, God is with us. God is always creating us, sustaining us, redeeming us. Whether in times of calm or times of storm. In the midst of order and in times of chaos, God is with us. Lindvall refers to that great classic of Christian literature, The Pilgrim s Progress, by John Bunyan: A scene near the end of [this] allegorical novel finds the chief character, Christian, the archetype of a person struggling to lead a life of faith, nearing the end of his symbolic journey. This journey requires him to cross a great and fearsome river. He is desperately afraid. Together with his friend Hopeful, they wade into the waters with trepidation. Bunyan has Christian cry out, I sink in deep Waters; the Billows go over my head, all His waves go over me. Hopeful replies with what may be among the most grace-filled words in all of literature; Be of good cheer, my Brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good None of us escape suffering in this life. Some of us are suffering this morning. All we see is chaos. We find ourselves overwhelmed. We are so distracted by the storms we are facing that we drop glasses; they shatter on the floor. We can t find our keys; they are in our hands. We forget where we are going; it doesn t seem to matter. Nothing matters. We are buffeted by gale-force winds; we are assaulted by howling storm sirens, and walls and windows slammed by hurricane and torn by tornado. 5
Closing. Writes Beverly Zink-Sawyer: A photograph taken shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in the fall of 2005 shows the devastation of a cemetery in the historic district of the city, with trees toppled, debris covering the ground, and several burial vaults broken and smashed. But in the middle of the devastation, untouched by the storm, stands a statue of the risen Christ, arms extended wide, offering a benediction of calm amid the chaos. Such is the image conveyed by [today s passage from Mark]: the image of Christ with his arms extended wide over the chaos of our lives and world, saying, Peace! Be still! Whatever storms are raging in your life today Whatever chaos swirls in your life today Christ is present. God is in charge. God in Christ Jesus is more powerful than any threats you or your loved ones may face. Do not be afraid. Have faith. Amen. 6