2nd Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 130
Prayer to start
May the words of my lips and the thought of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
AMEN
Introduction
Coping with life’s storms – is something the world is going to have to do – more and more –
What with Hurricanes, whirlwinds – Tsunami’s – flooding – it seems as if we may be in for a rough ride – in years to come –
But not all storms – are down to global warming
Some of them are home grown – and can be just as destructive – marriage breakups – bankruptcies – redundancies – loss of a loved one
When such storms hit our lives – how do we cope
How do we keep faith – with the One that can see us safely through them –
In our readings this morning – we have examples of people having to cope – with extraordinary circumstances-
We are going to look at these – to see – if their experiences – can help us discover how we should respond – when life’s storms – rock our boat –
Point 1 Job – God’s presence
Surprises are something we can always count on when dealing with God – After 37 chapters of dialogue – heart rendering prayers – and life – and death questions hurled– at God – by Job –
God finally speaks back to him – but instead of that still small voice – He thunders a series of – questions – back at Job – from the center of a whirlwind –
‘Who is it who darkens – council with words – devoid of knowledge –
where were you – when I laid the earth’s foundations –
when the sea burst in flood from the womb –
when I wrapped the earth – in a blanket of cloud – and swaddled it in dense fog’
God who – is the engineer and architect – of the universe – and in complete control – of His creation – instead of answering Job’s questions – reminds Job – of what he cannot do or know –
Job had been through – an extraordinary amount of suffering – raiders had stolen his possessions – killed his servants – fire and strong winds had destroyed his livestock – his house – killed his family – and Job himself – had come down with a horrible – painful disease –
And he wanted to know why – why me? – what had he done to deserve this –
But by replying in this way – God was not only reminding Job – that there are many things in this world – that he cannot hope to understand –
He was also telling – Him – that in fact He’s asking the wrong question –
His question shouldn’t be why – but who-
His need isn’t understanding – but trust
Job’s complaints were typical of the simplistic response to suffering – of the time – that suffering is a form of punishment – for sin – and that a Godly life goes hand in hand with health, happiness and prosperity
But – one thing we can count on in life is trouble – troubles – that we cannot even begin to understand – troubles that fly in the face of all we believe –
But the important thing to realize – is that God is there to help us!
Job wanted acquittal – justification for what had happened to him – but God called Him to worship-
Job wanted to understand – why me – but he was reminded that – knowing God is more important than getting answers to our moral dilemmas
Suffering is something most of us find hard to swallow – like Job – we can’t understand how is it that a loving and caring God – can allow so much pain and misery – in our world
But like Job – we too need to realize – that as fierce and inevitable – as the storms may be – our real need when they happen – is not to know why – but to know that someone – is there – to help us through –
The real question is Job’s faith – not his suffering – faith- that God – will always answer our concerns – but not always – in the way we expect-
Point 2 The disciples – God’s power
The sea has always been a symbol of wild untamable power – we only have to stand by the ocean – even on a clam day – to sense something of its vast uncontrollable nature – but when that wind gets up – and a storm – erupts – there’s no worst place to be –
Imagine then – what it would have been like – for Jesus and His disciples – as they found themselves right in the middle – of one of the most violent storms they had ever experienced –
The disciples were seasoned fishermen – and spent most of their lives on the water – so coping with Galilee storms – was for them – an everyday experience – They knew – that when the winds start to blow – a boat on the lake can get tossed about like child’s toy
But- as this storm blew – and the boat was swamped –they panicked – their faith went out of the window – and they wanted Jesus to do something about the situation – but Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat –
“teacher we are sinking, do you not care?”
they thought they had been left to fend for themselves – but Jesus wanted them to discover that His presence was all they would need to survive –
– Jesus rebukes the wind and calms the sea – and turns their question around –
“have you no faith, even now” says Jesus
They had been with Him for about a year –seeing Him – say and do extraordinary things – listening to Him teaching all day – yet still they hadn’t realized – His true identity as God –
And what His presence and power really means –
This story was written around 65AD about the same time as the persecution of the Christians in Rome – under Nero – and would have been told over and over again to those early Christians – reminding them – of Jesus’ power over nature – and that just as – Jesus could control the wind and the sea – so He can also bring His peace and power – in the midst of fear of death –
One thing is certain – there will be storms in our lives – but they will not last forever – and the calm will return – through the presence of Jesus –
And – what matters most – is that we face our fears – and turn to God – when we need His help – and not turn away from Him – when we need Him most –
To have Jesus on board – does not mean we escape life’s storms – rather we find the strength and courage of His living presence enabling us to cope
The message from Jesus is – don’t be afraid – just believe – these words may ring rather hollow when its us – and not someone else facing a fearful or life threatening situation – Yet its only in the face of real danger we discover just how much faith we really have
Through this story – we are invited to wake Jesus up – to pray to Him – in our own fear – and anger at things – but not to be surprised when He turns towards us as our storm subsides – and asks us – when we – are going to get some real faith –
Point 3 Paul – God’s Grace
So from God’s presence and power with us – we now move to our NT lesson – and to God’s Grace
Don’t waste grace – says Paul – don’t put Grace off
even in adversity – our behaviour – must be worthy of the gifts of the Spirit –
Within the Corinthian church – some new teachers had come on the scene telling the church people – that they were doing well – the trouble is – they weren’t – they were not using God’s presence and power to full effect –
Paul reminds us – that God is always – ready – to offer His help to us – whenever we need it – and – we just have to recognize it – and respond to it in the correct way –
A lifeboat reacted to a faint distress call – from a sinking pleasure boat – ‘What’s your position? Repeat – What’s your position? – shouted the radio operator into the microphone – A faint reply – was heard over the static- ‘I’m the Executive of the First Global Bank – please hurry!’
(Alternative story- No doubt – we‘ve all heard the story of the man adrift at sea in a leaking boat – who prayed for God to rescue Him – When a passing ship saw him – they asked him if he was alright – “Don’t worry’ he shouted back – ‘God will save me’ – so they went away – some hours later – a helicopter flew near – again he shouted – ‘Don’t worry – God will save me’- and the helicopter went away – then the waters parted – and a submarine turret appeared – are you alright? – yes – don’t worry – God will save me – I will be rescued’ – and the submarine went away – eventually the boat flooded and the man went into the sea and drowned – and when he went to heaven – he saw God – asked Him – why didn’t you rescue – ‘I tried said God – but you didn’t listen – I sent a ship, a helicopter, a submarine…..)
Paul urges us to – respond to God’s grace – immediately – it is given – not to wait for tomorrow – today is the day – says Paul – we must not throw away the opportunities of the moment –
Paul points to himself – and those with him – to show what he means – endurance – stickability – our fire for God should not be extinguished – by what is thrown at us –
the things that happen to us – are always opportunities – for us to be ambassadors of the Grace of Christ –
we each – have God’s treasure inside us –and we need to allow Him to change the way we live – and give ourselves to each other –
There’s only one way – that really works – and that’s to follow the steps Jesus – would take – keeping God’s presence – power – and grace – with us – always –
Conclusions
So how should we respond when our faith is tested?
In times of Crisis – Do we have the courage to depend on Jesus?
Faith in God changed the lives of Job – the disciples – and those early Christians – and it can change ours – as Jesus says – we just have to believe it –
If we understand that – we have learnt the most important lesson of all –
Prayer to finish
In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit
AMEN