A PERFECT STORM A sermon preached by the Rev. Aaron Billard St. John s United Church, Moncton, NB August 7, 2011 ~ 8 th Sunday after Pentecost I blessed a fleet of fishing vessels in Inverness, Cape Breton once. The priest wasn t available so they called the next best person, and as I stood there I ll never forget how seriously they took this. The boats weren t going to leave the wharf until the blessing was given. As we stood there, we prayed for weather, for soft winds, for full catches, and for safe returns. These weren t first generation fishers: these people represented families who had made fishing a way of life for generations. And, just as important as keeping the gear well greased, and painting and repairing the boats and making sure that there was enough equipment, was making sure that the boats and the people were properly blessed. They made sure that this activity, and the people doing it, were dedicated to God. I ve always been curious about the Roman Catholic notion of blessing things. I was raised to believe as a Protestant that we blessed people, not things. And yet, from time to time, I do get asked to bless something, because for the person it has a special meaning. It is a reminder of God, of something sacred, and to bless it means that it has been set aside for a special purpose, whether it is a book, or a room, or a journey. Once, I was asked to bless a church, to which I responded, This is God s house, what more can I add? But now I see where the request was coming from. So now I m open to blessing anything. I did a wedding a long time ago for a couple whose best man forgot the rings. We laughed about it then, and used the rings of the 1
fathers, but I was surprised when the couple appeared in church a few weeks later asking to have their real rings blessed. It meant something to them, and because it did, it meant something to me. For example, in the fall, we will bless the back packs of our children because those backpacks represent a lot more than just books and pencils. They represent carrying things on your back. And it s easier to carry something when you have a blessing. You bless someone when you pray for them. Blessing is something we all have the ability to do. I feel blessed when someone says that they have prayed for me. And I feel more blessed when I know that they actually have prayed for me. To set aside a few moments of thoughts, gather them up into a prayer, and speak it to God, whether out loud or in directed thinking to God. Sometimes blessings are in the form of thoughts and prayers. Sometimes they come in the form of someone laying their hand in yours, or on your shoulder, or even the blessing of having a pedicure. Someone ministering to your feet is a pretty humbling thought, even if it does cost a bit. Blessings sometimes take the form of specific acts of kindness, too. One of my daughter s eyes is weaker than the other. In order to prevent her from wearing glasses, her optician told her to wear an eye patch for at least half an hour a day. So, she does this. She puts on an old, black eye patch that doesn t fit well and that my wife has modified several times over. Last week, a friend of mine who is a United Church minister (Annika Sangster) stopped by the house, and she gave Allie a new, pink, decorated eye patch for her to wear, and she knitted her a fairy who is also wearing a little eye patch. What an incredible blessing to minister to the specific need of someone else. 2
Yet, I think we have to be careful how we use blessing language because often when people say that they are blessed what they really mean to say is that they are lucky. Whenever I hear people say, for example, that they are blessed to live in Canada, I get a shiver up my spine because it s as if to say that God has chosen Canada to be a good, safe place, and that the continent of Africa is on its own. We re lucky to live in Canada, and we are to be a blessing upon others. Sometimes we are unlucky, but, as people who believe in God and follow Jesus, we are never alone. Depending on the situation, and upon our perspective, sometimes we may think we re more cursed than blessed. A few years ago there was a book and subsequent movie that were released called The Perfect Storm. I loved the book more than the movie, however, even more, I loved a companion book written by Captain Linda Greenlaw called, The Hungry Ocean in reference to Shakespeare s Sonnet 64 that says, When I have seen the hungry ocean gain advantage on the kingdom of the shore, and the firm soil win of the watery main, increasing store with loss, and loss with store. Linda describes why it is that fishing vessels often get caught in storms. She says that storms are often undecided on which course they will take. They intensify, diminish, and change direction all of a sudden. By the time a hurricane gets its act together, sometimes it s too late. Fortunately, many low pressure systems fizzle out or go ashore before they reach fishing grounds. Linda always found it disconcerting to hear a meteorologist say,...and the storm went safely out to sea. Because, that s where the fishermen and fisherwomen are. 3
And, that s where we find ourselves in today s Gospel: in the perfect storm. Jesus has just fed the 5,000 hungry souls who came to hear him teach. I m not sure, but it sounds like hard work. The act of blessing is sometimes hard work. And he needs a rest. So, the disciples leave without him going to their next destination, and in that time, Jesus goes into the hills to pray after dividing the loaves and fishes. I wonder what he smelled like. I used to ride a bike past a fish plant every day. You don t forget the smell. I wonder if he prayed that he wouldn t smell like fish anymore. Maybe he prayed to God that he would never have to serve fish again? Or did he pray to God for strength after such a laborious task? These disciples knew how to fish. They understood the water, and they would have definitely been able to read the weather signs before they went out. But, like Linda Greenlaw, if they were to take every breeze too seriously, they never would have fished. So off they went, into the waters. And, without warning, a storm was upon them. Even though the waves were getting higher, it probably made more sense to press on rather than turn back. And in the middle of their terror, in the middle of their worst possible nightmare, Jesus started to walk towards them. But, they didn t recognize him. And when the panic hit, and it hit hard, he spoke out to them immediately. Take heart, it is I, have no fear. Rabbi Harold Kushner has said that more than anything else in the Bible, it is written, Have no fear. Fear not. Do not be afraid. There s a lot I don t know about scripture, but I do know enough about water to say that when you try to walk on it, you sink. 4
Not that long ago, Lori-Ann and I took our friend Rob to West Mabou Beach in Cape Breton. Rob has spoken here at anniversary recently. When I was out swimming, I started to notice that it took me two or three strokes to get closer into the beach than it had before. As I began to tread water, I couldn t help but notice the sensation that I was moving farther out, if only slightly. That s when I panicked and started to swim harder. And no matter what I did, I seemed to stay in the same spot. Rob and Lori-Ann noticed what was happening, and Rob was able to get his arm to me so that I could get a breather, and eventually get my foot to touch the sand. Needless to say, I sank. It s why I wonder why Peter said what he said? Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water. Water then is like what now. It s liquid. You sink. It s salty. It is bright in the sun, and it is rough in the clouds. That is why Peter is one of the people Jesus loves. Peter is saying to Jesus, I believe in you. Now believe in me. To which Jesus responds, Come. And that s when it gets interesting. And that s why Jesus loved Peter so much. Because Peter put his foot out of the boat, and focused on Jesus, he actually stood on water. But only for a moment; because, you see, that s what makes this story real for me. It s what makes Jesus and God and faith relatable. If Peter had skipped across the water and done a few back-flips, I would have closed the book. But he didn t. He stood for a moment, and then he gloriously, wonderfully started to sink. And Jesus looks at Peter, and says, You of little faith, why did you doubt? Barbara Brown Taylor writes, They are words none of us ever wants to hear addressed to us, and yet they are the same words many of us ask ourselves every day. Why 5
don t I have more faith? Why can t I trust God? Why am I afraid to let go and let God care for me? Why do I doubt? Why do we doubt? We doubt because we are afraid. Have no fear. Fear not. Do not be afraid. There was once a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. So he went out and bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do - impossible feats that would surely amaze anyone. Then he invited his neighbours to go duck hunting with him. After a long patient wait in the boat a group of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to shoot a few of them down. Several ducks fell in the water. The farmer looked at the dog and said, "Go get em!" The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked up a bird and returned to the boat. As soon as he dropped the duck in the boat he trotted off across the water again and grabbed another duck and brought it back to the boat. The owner kind of swelled up with pride as his dog walked across the water and retrieved each of the birds one by one. Kind of smugly, he looked at one of his buddies and asked, "Do you notice anything unusual about my dog? One of them sat back and rubbed his chin and thought about it for a little while and finally said, Yeah, come to think of it, I do! That stupid dog doesn t know how to swim, does he? The Good News from this story is that when you fail, you will not fail alone. And the rest of the Good News is that once in a while, you will walk on water. Amen. 6