- From the Letters of the Early Church: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13
- Psalm 107:23-32 (VU p. 832 Part 3)
- From the Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
- 245 Praise the Lord with the Sound of Trumpet
- 580 Faith of Our Fathers
- 660 How Firm a Foundation
- 232 Joyful Joyful We Adore You
The Sermon title is Trust in the Midst of Chaos
Early Thoughts: When the storms of life are raging what do we do? When the waves threaten to toss us into the depths and overwhelm us what is our response?
Water can be devious. Many bodies of water can change from being calm and placid to wild and dangerous in a blink of an eye. That is why boaters are discouraged from crossing through the middle of a large lake, instead the prudent one goes along the coast. The Sea of Galilee (which really is more like a large lake) is one of those bodies of water -- indeed it is known for sudden squalls that turn it into a churning hazard at a moment's notice.
ANd yet in this story we find the disciples (who surely knew better since there were fishermen among them) out in the middle of the lake and a storm does indeed spring up. Not surprisingly they are afraid. And then they are amazed. In the midst of life-threatening peril Jesus is curled up having a nap! Does he not know or care what is happening?
When our lives are threatened by storms what do we expect from our faith? Is Jesus curled up having a nap while we battle the winds of economic turmoil and the waves of a changing worldview? We can count many many things that buffet our lifeboats these days. What reaction does faith call out?
In the Mark story the disciples wake up Jesus who then calms the storm. He also chastises the disciples for their lack of faith. How might Jesus speak to us? THe storm doesn't show much sign of calming out there. Do we have the faith to ride out the storm? Will God give us the strength and trust to conquesr our giants?
--Gord
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