June 21, 2009 - "In The Same Boat"

scripture: Mark 4:35-41; 1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 32-46a, 49

Living in the Midwest, we know something about storms. When your school’s athletic teams are called the Cyclones, you know that you live in a place that has some serious weather.

And we pay attention to weather. We are weather watchers. As we got ready to go to the Iowa Cubs game in Des Moines Friday night, the weather people were forecasting thunderstorms and 80 mph wind. We were paying attention to the weather.

I have been taking the bus to the church about once a week, and when you take public transportation, you pay even more attention to the weather. It’s no fun waiting for the bus in the rain. It’s even less fun being caught in a storm.

There are storms, and then there are storms. Our scripture from Mark this morning is a dramatic story of the disciples out on the boat with Jesus, crossing the lake. Jesus says, “Let’s go over to other side of the lake.” This doesn’t sound like too much. But this is not the way things were done in those days. With small boats and the ever-present possibility of storms suddenly coming up on the lake, they would typically sail around the edges of the lake. This way they could always see the land; and if a storm came up they would be able to get to shore quickly.

Normally, a boat trip on the Sea of Galilee for those who lived along the western and northwestern shore meant going from one town to another along that shore. The Golan Heights tower over the eastern shore, providing few landing places. Wherever their exact location, to go across to the other side – which means not only traveling physically to the other side of the lake but crossing over religiously from Jewish to Gentile territory – to go to “the other side” meant going almost the full length of the Sea of Galilee during the night. It was quite a journey to begin in the evening with the considerable possibility of a storm roaring down from the Golan Heights.

And apparently that is what happened. Jesus, tired from the work of the day, goes to sleep in the boat. He is unconcerned. And a storm comes up suddenly. Winds are gusting, waves are lashing against the boat and it starts to take on water. The disciples are scared to death. There is no storm cellar out on the lake. “Wake up, Jesus! Don’t you even care that we are going to die?”

And then, our scripture from the Old Testament is the familiar story of David and Goliath. Goliath challenges the Israelite army, and the whole army seems paralyzed by fear. Saul had become king in part because he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He would have seemed the logical one to battle Goliath, but he seems as scared as the rest. The shepherd boy David, with his stones and slingshot, is the only one willing to battle the giant.

Two powerful stories. What do these stories have in common? The common theme is fear. The disciples are afraid. They say to Jesus, “Don’t you care that we are dying in this storm?” And Jesus says, “Why are you afraid?”

And then you have this giant, Goliath, screaming out at the Israelite army, taunting them. Various scholars have translated the description of Goliath into modern measurement and estimates range from about 6’8” to 9’ in height. He was a big guy, a scary guy. No wonder nobody wanted to take him on. The texts reads, “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

Two powerful stories, both of which hinge on fear. Well, we shouldn’t be surprised. A lot of the stories in scripture have to do with fear. One of the most common phrases found in scripture is “be not afraid.”

Out of curiosity, I got on my computer and searched the words fear, afraid, terrified, and frightened in the Bible. Forms of these words appear 853 times. Throw in anxiety and distress and you are up to 1057. Basically, take away the theme of fear and we would be minus much of the Bible.

At the beginning of Genesis, after eating from the tree of Life, Adam tries to hide from God. God asks why, and Adam says, “I was afraid.” Abraham goes to Egypt with his wife Sarah and tries to pass her off as his sister – because she is beautiful and Abraham is afraid Egyptian men will want her. After stealing the birthright from his brother, Jacob has not seen his brother Esau in years. They are about to meet again, and Jacob is “afraid and greatly distressed.” Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt - and they are afraid of him. Moses after it is discovered he had killed an Egyptian? Afraid. And then at the burning bush? He hides his face, afraid.

Later, after the Goliath episode, Saul is afraid of David and David is afraid of Saul. On and on it goes.

In Luke chapter 1, an angel appears to Zechariah. He is terrified. The angel says, “Be not afraid.” Then an angel appears to Mary, and tells her, “Do not be afraid.” In Luke chapter 2, angels appear to shepherds, who are – guess what? – terrified, and the angels say, “Do not be afraid.” Later in that chapter, Jesus is now 12 years old, and his parents are on their way home from the temple in Jerusalem when they can’t find him. They are – what? – afraid. Filled with anxiety.

Peter and James and John at the Transfiguration? Terrified. Pilate when the crowds want Jesus executed? Afraid. Herod around John the Baptist? Afraid. The disciples when they see Jesus walking on water? Terrified. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is “deeply grieved”and “anguished.” Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus’ body – he was a follower of Jesus, but a secret one – because he was afraid. After the resurrection, the disciples are meeting behind locked doors – because they are afraid. After Paul is converted on the road to Damascus, other Christians are not just skeptical, they are afraid. And later in Acts, an angel says to Paul, “Do not be afraid.”

Both the David and Goliath story and the story of the disciples in the storm have to do with fear. But they not only have that in common with one another, they have that in common with a huge chunk of the Bible. Almost all the characters in scripture at some point are described as being afraid.

What do these stories have in common? Fear. But more than that, what do we have in common with these stories? Fear. And what do we have in common with one another? Well, a lot of things, including fear.

When it comes to fear, we are all in the same boat. We are in the same boat with Jesus and the disciples.

A few years ago, the crew from a Japanese fishing boat was rescued from the Sea of Japan. But when the authorities questioned the crew about what had caused their boat to sink, the authorities immediately put all of the crew members in jail. They all claimed that a cow had fallen from the sky, struck their boat dead center, shattering the hull, and causing the boat to sink within a matter of minutes. The authorities, of course, were not about to believe that explanation. They threw the crew into jail, figuring that they must have been operating the vessel under the influence of alcohol or drugs to have come up with a story like that.

The crew remained in jail for several weeks, until one day the Russian Air Force informed the Japanese authorities that that fishing boat crew was telling the truth. It seems that a cow had wandered onto the edge of an airstrip in Siberia. So the Russians forced the cow into the plane’s cargo bay and took off, figuring that they would be set with a good supply of beef for quite some time. But apparently that crew wasn’t prepared for just how angry that cow would get. The cow began to storm and thrash about inside of the plane until finally, to save the aircraft and themselves, at about 30,000 feet, the crew shoved the cow out of the cargo hold as they were flying over the Sea of Japan. And it just happened that that fishing boat was right beneath them.

When you go out to sea, you can never be entirely sure what will happen. It’s usually not a cow falling from the sky, but adversity can come without any warning.

Our lives are whipped with wave after wave of adversity. There is no escaping it. And the natural reaction is fear.

Many have been battered by economic storms in recent months. I know several folks who have lost their jobs after years of service. Just as many are hanging on, fearful of what the future may hold.

Others are struggling with health issues, facing a future that is uncertain, and it is scary.

Still others are worried about children who seem to be following paths that lead to heartache.

There is no lack of things to worry about, things to be fearful over. Things big and small. Terrorism. Crime. Global warming. The cost of education. Swine flu. Strangers. People who are different. Spiders. Heights. Clowns.

Craig Loscalzo shared that his father, who passed away a few years ago, was a big man, six foot two, two hundred and some-odd pounds. He had always seemed to be a pillar of strength. Six months before he died, they were going to do some tests, and Craig went to be with him. When he got to the hospital, they were just wheeling his dad back from a lung biopsy. His stepmother stepped out of the room to talk to a nurse. Craig had never seen his father so frightened before. He said, “Dad, what’s the matter?” He said, “I’m scared.” Craig asked, “What are you scared of?” And his dad said, “I’m scared because I don’t know.”

That encapsulates it for a lot of us. “I’m scared because I don’t know.”

Fear has always resonated with us, especially “I’m scared because I don’t know.” It has been true since the time of Adam. And isn’t letting up. It seems that there is more and more to be afraid of, more and more opportunities to be “scared because I don’t know.” Much of our politics feeds on fear. You will lose your social security or be taxed to death or be forced to give up freedom or your guns or the socialists will take over or the fascists will take over.

Much of our economics feeds on fear. You won’t fit in if you don’t have the right consumer goods. Somebody came around door to door the other day selling educational software. “Do you want your child to fall behind?” was the pitch. All about fear. “The markets are unsafe – invest with us.” Or “The markets will rebound – do you want to take a chance on not being invested?”

And we have to admit that more than a little religion revolves around fear. Not just fear of hell, which is a longtime tradition, but fear of not being good enough, fear of not being acceptable.

Maybe more of an issue for us is, “How does the Church confront a changing culture?” There is genuine fear for the future as demographic trends bend away from involvement in church and congregations struggle with issues of vitality and ministry. We certainly struggle with these questions.

Churches vary in the terms they use for parts of their building. In historic terminology, the entry area is the narthex, the front is the chancel, and the main part of the church where we gather to worship is the nave. We generally call it the sanctuary, but it can also be called the nave. In Latin, the word nave means ship. A ship or boat has long been a symbol for the church. We are all in the boat together with Jesus. And this boat, like our own individual lives, is rocked and challenged by storms and waves that may threaten to sink us.

When it comes to the many fears that threaten us, it is important to remember who is with us in the boat. The disciples said, “Jesus, don’t you care? Don’t you care that we are going to die?” But Jesus was right there with them. He calmed the storm. And he said, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Jesus had healed a man with a withered hand. He had healed a leper. He had healed Peter’s mother-in-law and many others. He had cast our many demons. They had heard his preaching and teaching. They had spent time with Jesus. But still they were lacking in faith.

We can be the same way. God has been with us before. God has been with us all along. Jesus has been there, helping us through the hard times, seeing us through the storms. But it is still difficult not to give in to fear.

In those times of anxiety and doubt and worry, we need to remember that we are in the boat together. As the church, we are to care for each other and encourage each other and support one another. And Jesus is right there in the boat with us.

E. Stanley Jones wrote,

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.” But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; we are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.

In a similar vein, Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote:

Fear imprisons, faith liberates;
Fear paralyzes, faith empowers;
Fear disheartens, faith encourages;
Fear sickens, faith heals;
Fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable;
And, most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of all,
While faith rejoices in its God.

Some years ago, comedian and actor Tim Allen being interviewed by James Lipton. After talking about Allen’s career, his ups and downs, his struggles with addiction and so forth, Lipton asked a series of short questions. In one of them, he asked what Tim Allen thought God would say to him when he got to heaven.

Allen thought for a moment, and then responded, “I told you there was nothing to be afraid of.”

Which is basically a paraphrase of Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Amen.