Sermon Notes for June 25th
June 25, 2006
“Peace! Be Still!”
Mark 4:35-41
1. Unlike my Viking ancestors, the Israelites were not seafaring people. They were people of the land and the desert. In short, they often feared the sea and its depths. They associated God with the earth and with land -- solid ground.
To the ancient Jews water was thought to be the domain of
Leviathan or even Satan. It was chaotic and under the sway of demons. Let us think no further than the famous flood in the days of Noah – a frightening thing, no doubt. And, then, of course there was Jonah, who was swallowed up by a whale. Ancient stories full of fear of nature and particularly the ocean.
Perhaps this was true of other ancient people as well. Such as the Greeks who knew that, like life, the sea could be a precarious place. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Glorious Odysseus sets sail on a balmy day … with fair winds, watching the stars for direction. But after seventeen days, the gods decide to give him some trouble. And a great storm is let loose, the seas rise, and he is in peril. Odysseus becomes fearful and cries out, “Oh unhappy, me! What is going to happen?” And that is only the beginning!
2. In these days of air travel, few of us go out on the water, unless it
is for recreational purposes. So, we forget what an adventure it was to go out in a boat or to earn a living by fishing – things like that.
And so it is with great curiosity that many people went to see the popular movie Titanic … which sank so many years ago and captivated the imaginations of people throughout the world.
Even its name, “Titanic” seems too good to be true. A metaphorical name derived from Greek mythology – literally the Titans – a race of giant gods – implying someone or something of great strength, power, and size.
But of course, it sank after hitting an ice berg in the north Atlantic partly due to the arrogance of the captain who felt that his shop was un-sinkable.
And, although we do not believe in fate or the power of Greek gods to interfere in our mortal lives … the Greeks would, no doubt have understood, for it was they would invented the word “hubris” – which means arrogance resulting from excessive pride or passion. Had the captain been more humble, one might think, he would have taken greater precautions.
3. Well, the disciples in the Gospel story for today were certainly not too arrogant about things as they, too, found themselves in the midst of a storm on Lake Galilee. They were scared stiff.
This must have been a quite widely told account in the early church. And it quite closely parallels the other story of Jesus walking across the water and also calming the wind in Mark, chapter six. The first story occurs in Mathew, Mark and Luke, (but not John) and the second story is in Mathew, Mark, and John (but not Luke).
Here is the account in John of Jesus on the water:
16-21In the evening his disciples went down to the sea, got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned. A huge wind blew up, churning the sea. They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, "It's me. It's all right. Don't be afraid." So they took him on board. In no time they reached land—the exact spot they were headed to.
4. Many people have tried to make sense out of these stories.
We can basically take them on two levels.
The first is the more literal level … which implies that Jesus (or God) has power of nature. Jesus (or God) speaks and the sea is calmed. This is a more primitive way of looking at things. In ancient times, people feared the elements, particularly the sea. And they believed, or wanted to believe, that God or the gods had the power to alter the wind and storms (as in the Odyssey, where it is the Gods who cook up the storm).
We all have perhaps been in that situation. It’s a bit superstitious but sometimes it works.
5. The other day I was talking to someone who was describing being on an airplane flying out of Bemidji and looking over and noticing that a well known local minister was also on the plane and thinking to herself, “I know things are going to be okay.”
It’s a little different, of course, if you happen to the minister, I suppose!
Once I was flying back from New York with a good friend who was a Lutheran minister. Suddenly, we were in the midst of a huge thunderstorm over Wisconsin. The plane was bouncing around, there was thunder and lightening, and we were getting white knuckles holding on to our seats.
Finally, at one point, I turned to him and said, “I’m glad there is a clergyman on this plane!” And he smiled and said to me, “I was thinking the same thing!”
6. The only problem, however, with the literal approach is that it doesn’t always work. God does not intervene in preventing natural disasters such as the recent Tsunami and the hurricane in Louisiana.
More likely, and this is now being done, the answer to tsunamis is to have better early warning devices and there are things that can be done to deal with hurricanes, as well. Human error, like in the case of the Titanic, is more apt to be to blame than God or the gods.
And the truth is that Ministers, too, are not necessarily immune from injury or accidents. I can give you plenty of examples.
And besides, we need to be careful when we attribute to God the will to cause damage and loss of life as a response to what we believe is sin or wrongdoing. Lastly, if Jesus has the power to restrain a storm, how does that work in our life?
7. Which leads us then to the second interpretation which is that
The peace which Jesus brings is not so much literal … but spiritual. William Barclay points out that Jesus brings peace in the midst of the storm of sorrow; he brings peace when life’s problems cause doubt, uncertainty, and tension; And he brings peace in the face of anxiety and fear.
Perhaps this makes more sense to us in the more modern world where we tend not to see God controlling natural events.
And this is a valid viewpoint. Yet, we must be careful, as in all scriptural accounts, not to push it beyond reasonable conclusions.
One pastor writes about how he “flinches at stories of people killed when tornadoes are tearing off the church roof or hurricanes are flooding their houses – even as they pray for Jesus to rebuke the wind and the waves. He doesn’t. They die, why they shouldn’t have been afraid.
And at the same time he says,
“I don’t like this “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’ business. Of course Jesus’ disciples are afraid!”
8. We have to be careful, then, not to imply to others, or even ourselves that we can or will always be strong enough to remain calm in the midst of a crisis.
It’s like when you complain to your friend about something … and they cut you off by telling you to “just be patient.”
And, yet, people do find peace in the midst of trouble. People do somehow reach down deep somewhere and find the courage to face up to trouble in their lives. It happens.
This same rather cynical pastor goes on to tell about a woman whose husband had recently died after suffering many years with a stroke … and people asked her “how did you keep on going.” And she said, “I didn’t know either,” but somehow, once the time came, she explained that she had experienced something “from beyond” in her Christian faith which gave her the strength to sail in peace through even that sea of troubles. “It was a miracle,” he writes.
9. Now every time this Gospel story comes up in the lectionary, I have to retell the account of Charles Albert Tindley. Rev. Tindley is someone whose name is hardly remembered. But, what he did, you will all recognize, in a moment. It’s a great story.
Charles Albert Tindley was one of the earliest and most influential writers of gospel music. His two most popular songs are "I'll Overcome Someday" (which is popularly know as "We Shall Overcome", the anthem for the civil rights movement) and "Stand By Me." "Stand By Me" became a national hit when Ben E. King and the Drifters sang their version during the 1960's.
Charles Tindley was born in Berlin, Md. As a child, he never received any formal schooling. In fact, he taught himself to read and write. He married Daisy Henry around the age of seventeen then moved to Philadelphia to make a better life for both of them. In Philadelphia, Tindley worked as a hod carrier and a sexton in John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. He wanted to become a minister but lacked a formal education.
10. How could this poor young black man earn enough money to take care of his family and get an education? Well, Tindley took correspondence classes so that he could keep his job and support his family. The classes he took enabled him to pass his examination to become a minister. Afterwards, he pastored congregations in New Jersey and Delaware. In Wilmington, Delaware, Tindley was appointed elder of the Wilmington District. Then a wonderful thing happened! Tindley was asked to become the minister of the church he had been a sexton when he first moved to Philadelphia!
He accepted becoming the new minister of Bainbridge St. Methodist Church, as the church was now called. Starting with 200 members, Tindley used his intellectual ability, eloquence, and spiritual singing to amass a congregation of over ten-thousand members. During this time he worked for civil rights, took care of Philadelphia’s poor and disadvantaged and wrote over forty-five hymns. Tindley died in 1933 at the age of 82.
11. What a remarkable story … of one man’s faith and ability of overcome difficulty and to share his life with so many people
And so we marvel, not just at how Jesus calmed the waters, but at how many times it does happen in peoples lives that there comes, in the midst of trouble, a peace from beyond us somehow, that transforms us, strengthens us, and helps us to deal with life and all its problems.
So, rather than talk about it, let’s end this sermon today by singing about it … as only a black gospel song can do …
Let’s turn in the Red Hymnal … to Page 512 … one of my favorites … STAND BY ME …
And pay attention … to the words … what is it that this song is about … its about
1. THE STORMS OF LIFE
2. ITS ABOUT TRIBULATION – TROUBLE
3. ITS ABOUT OUR FAULTS AND FAILURES AND BEING MISUNDERSTOOD
4. ITS ABOUT PERSECUTION AND TRIALS
5. AND ITS ABOUT GETTING OLDER, AND ILLNESS
Can we all relate to this? And who are we asking to stand beside us ...
Let’s sing it now.
“Peace! Be Still!”
Mark 4:35-41
1. Unlike my Viking ancestors, the Israelites were not seafaring people. They were people of the land and the desert. In short, they often feared the sea and its depths. They associated God with the earth and with land -- solid ground.
To the ancient Jews water was thought to be the domain of
Leviathan or even Satan. It was chaotic and under the sway of demons. Let us think no further than the famous flood in the days of Noah – a frightening thing, no doubt. And, then, of course there was Jonah, who was swallowed up by a whale. Ancient stories full of fear of nature and particularly the ocean.
Perhaps this was true of other ancient people as well. Such as the Greeks who knew that, like life, the sea could be a precarious place. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Glorious Odysseus sets sail on a balmy day … with fair winds, watching the stars for direction. But after seventeen days, the gods decide to give him some trouble. And a great storm is let loose, the seas rise, and he is in peril. Odysseus becomes fearful and cries out, “Oh unhappy, me! What is going to happen?” And that is only the beginning!
2. In these days of air travel, few of us go out on the water, unless it
is for recreational purposes. So, we forget what an adventure it was to go out in a boat or to earn a living by fishing – things like that.
And so it is with great curiosity that many people went to see the popular movie Titanic … which sank so many years ago and captivated the imaginations of people throughout the world.
Even its name, “Titanic” seems too good to be true. A metaphorical name derived from Greek mythology – literally the Titans – a race of giant gods – implying someone or something of great strength, power, and size.
But of course, it sank after hitting an ice berg in the north Atlantic partly due to the arrogance of the captain who felt that his shop was un-sinkable.
And, although we do not believe in fate or the power of Greek gods to interfere in our mortal lives … the Greeks would, no doubt have understood, for it was they would invented the word “hubris” – which means arrogance resulting from excessive pride or passion. Had the captain been more humble, one might think, he would have taken greater precautions.
3. Well, the disciples in the Gospel story for today were certainly not too arrogant about things as they, too, found themselves in the midst of a storm on Lake Galilee. They were scared stiff.
This must have been a quite widely told account in the early church. And it quite closely parallels the other story of Jesus walking across the water and also calming the wind in Mark, chapter six. The first story occurs in Mathew, Mark and Luke, (but not John) and the second story is in Mathew, Mark, and John (but not Luke).
Here is the account in John of Jesus on the water:
16-21In the evening his disciples went down to the sea, got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned. A huge wind blew up, churning the sea. They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, "It's me. It's all right. Don't be afraid." So they took him on board. In no time they reached land—the exact spot they were headed to.
4. Many people have tried to make sense out of these stories.
We can basically take them on two levels.
The first is the more literal level … which implies that Jesus (or God) has power of nature. Jesus (or God) speaks and the sea is calmed. This is a more primitive way of looking at things. In ancient times, people feared the elements, particularly the sea. And they believed, or wanted to believe, that God or the gods had the power to alter the wind and storms (as in the Odyssey, where it is the Gods who cook up the storm).
We all have perhaps been in that situation. It’s a bit superstitious but sometimes it works.
5. The other day I was talking to someone who was describing being on an airplane flying out of Bemidji and looking over and noticing that a well known local minister was also on the plane and thinking to herself, “I know things are going to be okay.”
It’s a little different, of course, if you happen to the minister, I suppose!
Once I was flying back from New York with a good friend who was a Lutheran minister. Suddenly, we were in the midst of a huge thunderstorm over Wisconsin. The plane was bouncing around, there was thunder and lightening, and we were getting white knuckles holding on to our seats.
Finally, at one point, I turned to him and said, “I’m glad there is a clergyman on this plane!” And he smiled and said to me, “I was thinking the same thing!”
6. The only problem, however, with the literal approach is that it doesn’t always work. God does not intervene in preventing natural disasters such as the recent Tsunami and the hurricane in Louisiana.
More likely, and this is now being done, the answer to tsunamis is to have better early warning devices and there are things that can be done to deal with hurricanes, as well. Human error, like in the case of the Titanic, is more apt to be to blame than God or the gods.
And the truth is that Ministers, too, are not necessarily immune from injury or accidents. I can give you plenty of examples.
And besides, we need to be careful when we attribute to God the will to cause damage and loss of life as a response to what we believe is sin or wrongdoing. Lastly, if Jesus has the power to restrain a storm, how does that work in our life?
7. Which leads us then to the second interpretation which is that
The peace which Jesus brings is not so much literal … but spiritual. William Barclay points out that Jesus brings peace in the midst of the storm of sorrow; he brings peace when life’s problems cause doubt, uncertainty, and tension; And he brings peace in the face of anxiety and fear.
Perhaps this makes more sense to us in the more modern world where we tend not to see God controlling natural events.
And this is a valid viewpoint. Yet, we must be careful, as in all scriptural accounts, not to push it beyond reasonable conclusions.
One pastor writes about how he “flinches at stories of people killed when tornadoes are tearing off the church roof or hurricanes are flooding their houses – even as they pray for Jesus to rebuke the wind and the waves. He doesn’t. They die, why they shouldn’t have been afraid.
And at the same time he says,
“I don’t like this “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’ business. Of course Jesus’ disciples are afraid!”
8. We have to be careful, then, not to imply to others, or even ourselves that we can or will always be strong enough to remain calm in the midst of a crisis.
It’s like when you complain to your friend about something … and they cut you off by telling you to “just be patient.”
And, yet, people do find peace in the midst of trouble. People do somehow reach down deep somewhere and find the courage to face up to trouble in their lives. It happens.
This same rather cynical pastor goes on to tell about a woman whose husband had recently died after suffering many years with a stroke … and people asked her “how did you keep on going.” And she said, “I didn’t know either,” but somehow, once the time came, she explained that she had experienced something “from beyond” in her Christian faith which gave her the strength to sail in peace through even that sea of troubles. “It was a miracle,” he writes.
9. Now every time this Gospel story comes up in the lectionary, I have to retell the account of Charles Albert Tindley. Rev. Tindley is someone whose name is hardly remembered. But, what he did, you will all recognize, in a moment. It’s a great story.
Charles Albert Tindley was one of the earliest and most influential writers of gospel music. His two most popular songs are "I'll Overcome Someday" (which is popularly know as "We Shall Overcome", the anthem for the civil rights movement) and "Stand By Me." "Stand By Me" became a national hit when Ben E. King and the Drifters sang their version during the 1960's.
Charles Tindley was born in Berlin, Md. As a child, he never received any formal schooling. In fact, he taught himself to read and write. He married Daisy Henry around the age of seventeen then moved to Philadelphia to make a better life for both of them. In Philadelphia, Tindley worked as a hod carrier and a sexton in John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. He wanted to become a minister but lacked a formal education.
10. How could this poor young black man earn enough money to take care of his family and get an education? Well, Tindley took correspondence classes so that he could keep his job and support his family. The classes he took enabled him to pass his examination to become a minister. Afterwards, he pastored congregations in New Jersey and Delaware. In Wilmington, Delaware, Tindley was appointed elder of the Wilmington District. Then a wonderful thing happened! Tindley was asked to become the minister of the church he had been a sexton when he first moved to Philadelphia!
He accepted becoming the new minister of Bainbridge St. Methodist Church, as the church was now called. Starting with 200 members, Tindley used his intellectual ability, eloquence, and spiritual singing to amass a congregation of over ten-thousand members. During this time he worked for civil rights, took care of Philadelphia’s poor and disadvantaged and wrote over forty-five hymns. Tindley died in 1933 at the age of 82.
11. What a remarkable story … of one man’s faith and ability of overcome difficulty and to share his life with so many people
And so we marvel, not just at how Jesus calmed the waters, but at how many times it does happen in peoples lives that there comes, in the midst of trouble, a peace from beyond us somehow, that transforms us, strengthens us, and helps us to deal with life and all its problems.
So, rather than talk about it, let’s end this sermon today by singing about it … as only a black gospel song can do …
Let’s turn in the Red Hymnal … to Page 512 … one of my favorites … STAND BY ME …
And pay attention … to the words … what is it that this song is about … its about
1. THE STORMS OF LIFE
2. ITS ABOUT TRIBULATION – TROUBLE
3. ITS ABOUT OUR FAULTS AND FAILURES AND BEING MISUNDERSTOOD
4. ITS ABOUT PERSECUTION AND TRIALS
5. AND ITS ABOUT GETTING OLDER, AND ILLNESS
Can we all relate to this? And who are we asking to stand beside us ...
Let’s sing it now.
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