The Jacob Chronicles 2: Promised

 

The Jacob Chronicles: Promised!

A Sermon by Brent J. Eelman

 

Genesis 28:10-19

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 

 

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 

 

This is the second sermon in a series that I have entitled “The Jacob Chronicles”.  One of the challenges of preaching a series is that each sermon builds on the former, and one cannot be sure the congregation was present for the previous sermon. Television deals with this issue by beginning a serial with a quick 30 second overview of the previous show. Today, let’s begin with a quick overview of last Sunday’s message.  Here is what we learned about Jacob?

•   He was sneaky.
•   He was a narcissist.
•  He was lazy.
•  He was selfish.
•  He came from a dysfunctional family.
•  He cheated his brother.
• He deceived his father.
•  He was smart and clever, but he used his intelligence for his own gain. 

 

His brother Esau was hungry, and Jacob traded a bowl of stew for his birthright. Later he completed the hat trick by deceiving his father into thinking he was Esau in order to steal the blessing that was reserved for his older brother. Esau was mad... really mad and threatened to kill Jacob. This would not be the first time in the Bible that brothers fought: remember Cain and Abel? So, Jacob ran away. He fled from his brother Esau into the wilderness toward Haran.  This was north in what is now Turkey, and he had family connections there.  

 

This is the second sermon in a series on the life of Jacob. At this point, one may wonder why Jacob is so important. Last Sunday, we discovered that God uses scoundrels, yet the question remains: how did God use a lazy, con artist like Jacob? How? 

 

Today we are going to look at one of the better-known stories in the Old Testament. When I was a child, we learned the song: “We are climbing Jacob's ladder... children of the cross.” First, I want to unpack the story of Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis. Second, I will show how Jacob's dream is the first step in his spiritual development. Finally, I want to look at the very nature of spiritual growth and maturity as we experience it today.

I

The story begins with Jacob on the run. He was a fugitive from family justice. He was running from his brother whom he cheated and humiliated. But should we be surprised? Jacob was a coward and cowards run away. But he was not merely running away from his brother, he was running away from his true self. He was a moral and psychological coward. He was trying to flee the reality of who he was. He had no intention of taking responsibility for his actions. No! He ran away into the wilderness.

 

There is an expression: “you can run, but you cannot hide.” Jacob does not know this yet. He believed that in fact he could hide, but the truth would reveal itself at night, when he slept. When we sleep, our bodies rest, but also that is when all our defenses rest. That is when even the most selfish person is vulnerable to the power of conscience. 

 

I remember as a child waking up because I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs where my mother was reading and told her that I couldn't sleep. She asked me “What did you do wrong?” I wondered how she knew! It was then that she explained to me about the human conscience. I can't remember what I did that caused me to lose sleep, but I learned the power of the conscience and the importance that it plays in our moral development. Many years later I learned the Presbyterian principle that “God is Lord of the conscience.” When our conscience is bothering us, it could be an encounter with God. 

 

The conscience causes us to struggle, mentally, psychologically, and spiritually. These struggles of the soul often mug us in the night when we are asleep and vulnerable. We wake up horrified, frightened, bothered, and worried. We can’t get back to sleep. 

 

St. John of the Cross spoke of the “Dark night of the soul....” and I suspect that interrupted sleep and disturbing dreams are part of the struggles of the human spirit.  Indeed, a ‘dark night of the soul.’

 

Jacob laid his head down and slept. Then he had a dream. The dream was of a staircase or ramp. It led from the very spot where he was sleeping into heaven. Angels or messengers from God were ascending and descending the stairs. That is the account that we have of the dream. It is not a complicated story or tale. Simply a vision of heaven joined to earth by a staircase. A staircase between earth and heaven: what could it possibly mean? 

 

The 20th century theologian, Karl Barth wrote:

“If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called ‘the infinite qualitative distinction’ between time and eternity.”

 

In other words, God is in heaven, and humanity is on earth… 2 different realms of existence.  In this story heaven and earth, God and humanity, are connected by Jacob’s ladder. 

The home of God, is not completely separated from the earth? Angels, messengers of God, move up and down the stairs, indicating that God is involved in human history and affairs. The realm of God is not separated from ours. 

 

It is an ancient vision. Earlier in the book of Genesis, the people of Babel attempt to build a structure to connect the earth to the heavens. They were foiled in their attempt. Here we discover that such a structure already exists: a ladder hanging from the heavens, (with God) reaching down and anchored in the earth. That is the direction of biblical encounters with the divine. They begin with God and move toward humanity. This staircase facilitated an encounter.

Jacob was about to encounter God. 

 

Until that moment, God was not part of Jacob’s life. I went back and read the earlier accounts about Jacob's life and noted that there was little or no mention of God in them. God existed in those accounts only in the content of the blessing. Now, in this dream, God was powerfully present. Suddenly the story takes on a new dimension. We are not only witnessing accounts of things here on earth but also in heaven. 

 

God revealed himself to Jacob. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.” In that one statement the generations are connected. 

 

Jacob’s universe was enlarged. God, who revealed himself to Jacob that evening, was not a concept, not an idea, not a philosophical proposition. The Lord was and is a God who is in relationship with people. In that moment, the muddy mystery of history begins to clear. Jacob was no longer merely a scoundrel on the run. He was the heir of the promise that was offered to his grandfather Abraham. 

 

Jacob: a scoundrel, a cheat, a liar, and a con-artist, was claimed by God: a child of promise!  This is the good news: God claims us also and children of promise!

Jacob was awed by the dream. And when he awoke, he said: “Truly God is in this place.” and he named it “Bethel” or house of God.

II

This is the beginning of a change in Jacob. The psychologist, John Sanford, wrote that there are three ways that a human being grows spiritually.

·  The first is suffering; not merely physical suffering the suffering of the spirit; the struggle of the soul.

·  The second is through a recognition of a power greater than our own that is at work in our lives.

·  The third is by coming to care for someone. (The third one will be the focus of the next sermon!) We will see how these three transforming powers are present in Jacob's life. 

 

First, he struggled. He was a child of comfort and luxury. Genesis states, he was “a man who spent his time in the tents.” He was sheltered and cared for by his mother. But now, he was in a desperate situation. He was on the run. He had to make do for himself. He had to scavenge food. He had to do without all the comforts of life. He had to exist, by himself, in the wilderness. Ironically, Esau would have fared quite well in the wilderness, but this was a new experience for Jacob and he was frightened: running scared.  He was suffering.  

 

His struggles in the wilderness were an outward manifestation of what was occurring deep within his soul. He was struggling with his identity, who he was. He was confronting the reality of his own shortcomings. Human struggles are not an antidote to egocentric selfishness, but they have a way of opening the soul to the transforming power of God. 

 

Then he had the dream. Here God encountered Jacob. The narrative’s language changes. We read that Jacob was “afraid and in awe.” Why fear and awe? Because he realized that he was in the presence of a power, much greater than him. He realized that his cunning and deceit would be of no avail. He was forced to acknowledge that there was a power that had control on his life. 

 

What was the significance of this? Jacob, like most egocentric individuals was a control freak! He controlled events and manipulated people to his advantage. Now he knew that he was no longer in control, and there was a power greater than Jacob! 

 

What was the effect of this? It began to break down his selfishness. He would soon begin to acknowledge that there were other people and other powers in the world beside himself. His egocentric attitude was bruised and now there was room in his life for God and others.

III

So what? This is an awesome story about a spiritual journey and the growth and development of the soul. It is an account of an encounter with God, and gives us five insights into divine encounters and spiritual growth.

1. We learn again an important lesson about human development and spiritual maturation. There is a t-shirt that says: “God isn’t done with me yet.” In this story we discover that God hadn’t started with Jacob until that night in Bethel. Human beings, no matter what their history are never beyond the reach of God. Jacob’s ladder reaches from God into our lives. God initiates an encounter with us. Human beings, egocentric, manipulating and immature ones like Jacob can grow and can mature. As I mentioned last week, this is a message of hope, but also a warning to be careful in our judgments. We shouldn’t write people off so quickly. 
   
2.  We learn that often the spiritual journey takes place beyond “our comfort zone.” Jacob fled to the wilderness. There he was without bed, food, and other amenities. When he was there in the wilderness the divine encounter began. This is archetypal. Jesus sought the wilderness before he began his ministry. Some of the ancient religious communities were located in the desert or wilderness because the adherents believed that God was uniquely present there. Today, we associate the wilderness with personal growth, be it scouts camping and practicing survival skills, or the “Outward Bound” experience. Christian educators tell us that retreats and church camps are important, because so much more can be accomplished when the participants are outside of their zones of comfort and familiarity. Our comfort may be the very thing that insulates us and protects us from genuine spiritual growth.

3. We learn the lesson that we have long thought true. The struggles of the soul are redemptive. The “dark night of the soul” can be a teacher that prepares the soul for transcendence and opens it to the divine.
4. We learn that maturity and growth involve the recognition of a higher power in one’s life: God. This recognition often takes place within a powerful encounter, and it is both frightening and awesome. Jacob’s Ladder prefigures the story Saul’s conversion on the road to Tarsus.  Our spiritual struggles, our quest for identity, and our encounter with God have a way of breaking down the narcissism and egocentricity that governs our lives.
5. We discover the importance of awe. The Jewish mystic, Abraham Heschel wrote: “There is only one way to wisdom: awe. Forget your sense of awe, let your conceit diminish your ability to revere, and the universe becomes a marketplace for you.” 

 

The greatest insights happen to us in moments of awe. (as the old gospel hymn goes… “when I in awesome wonder”). Awe precedes faith; it is at the root of faith. 

 

“We are climbing, Jacob’s ladder..... It is a ladder in the earth, but anchored in heaven with the divine... we climb it fearfully... each step involves struggle, loss, and even pain. Each step requires us to let go of our self-centered immaturity. Each step, higher and higher, brings us closer to the divine, and when we gaze from that ladder... Jacob’s ladder… our vision fills us with awe and wonder... and we realize that we, too, are indeed, children of promise. This is the good news. Amen.

 

The Jacob Chronicles 1: Cheated

 

The Jacob Chronicles: Cheated

A Sermon by Brent J. Eelman

Genesis 25:19-34

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore
them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Every Sunday morning, our family would go to church.  My mother would take the four children and we would sit in the same pew every Sunday (2^nd row from the back on the right side of the aisle).  Truthfully, as a child, it was the longest hour of the week.  My mind would often wander when I sat in the congregation during worship, especially the sermon. For some reason preaching just didn't hold my attention. Consequently, I devised a host of different ways to get myself through the 30-minute sermon.

·      I would count the number of tiles in the ceiling.

·      I would take the bulletin and fill in all the O’s and zeros with a pen.

·      If I began to fidget too much, I would soon feel my mother’s hand on my knee.

·      And if I continued to squrm my mother’s hand would soon deliver the infamous “church pinch” to settle me down.  

I found the worship to be painfully dull apart from singing the hymns. But as I got older, I began to read the stories in the Bible. Something just didn't connect! They were great stories! David and Goliath was a fascinating story for a young boy to read. It spoke to me and said that a youngster like me could make a difference and didn't need to fear the “giants” (and bullies) who threatened. I grew to love the stories of the Old Testament. 

·      Adam and Eve

·      Cain and Abel

·      Noah and the flood

·      Moses and the snakes

·      The Golden calf

·      Saul and David

·      Solomon and the Construction of the Temple

·      And of course, Jacob and Esau.

 

 I wondered how the preacher could take such fabulous narratives and make them boring!

Later, in college, I discovered the Danish Philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard.  He gave voice to my thoughts about the Old Testament.  He wrote:

“Let other complain that the age is wicked; my complaint is that it is paltry; for it lacks passion. Men's thoughts are thin and flimsy like lace, they are themselves pitiable like the lacemakers. The thoughts of their hearts are too paltry to be sinful. For a worm it might be regarded as a sin to harbor such thoughts, but not for a being made in the image of God. Their lusts are dull and sluggish, their passions sleepy...This is the reason my soul always turns back to the Old Testament and to Shakespeare. I feel that those who speak there are at least human beings: they hate, they love, they murder their enemies, and curse their descendants throughout all generations, they sin.”

The stories in Genesis have all the components of good drama. There is nothing dull about them. They are filled with:

·      romance,

·      conflict,

·      lust,

·      war,

·      humor,

·      and perhaps, most interesting…..sin.

 

During the next 6 weeks I will be preaching using the stories in Genesis about Jacob and his extended family. His importance to the Old Testament cannot be overstated. Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. These engaging stories reveal a great deal:

·      about human nature,

·      about God,

·      about relationships,

·      and about spiritual development. 

 

They are also contemporary stories, and it is not hard to place ourselves in the midst of them and understand our own lives in terms of them.  That is my intention for the next 6 weeks.  I want us to experience these ancient narratives as contemporary drama.

I

Let me retell this story of Jacob and Esau as though it occurred today.  It is about a squabbling family: The Abrahamson family: Isaac and Rebecca and their two sons, Esau and Jacob.  We might use the word “dysfunctional” to describe it. In our day, they would be referred to a family therapist.   I imagine her report might read something like this:

 

“ Case # 3244. The Abrahamson family is highly conflicted. The primary reason for the referral to therapy was because of an intense conflict that developed between the two sons: Jacob and Esau. They are fraternal twins, but there is little similarity, physical, psychological, or social.
Esau is muscular, ruddy and large boned. His preferences are for physical work and he enjoys the outdoors. He has a high need for immediate gratification and often makes poor choices because of this. He has a quick temper and often threatens violence. He recently threatened his brother's life claiming that Jacob cheated him out of his birthright. 

 

“Jacob has finer physical features. He appears to be somewhat introverted. Nonetheless he practices risky behaviors, relying on his intuition as a guide. He prefers domestic environments and eschews physical labor. He is an accomplished cook and is more intelligent and craftier than both his father Isaac, and his brother Esau. 

 

Jacob also has several pathological personality traits. His personality has not matured. He is highly self-centered and believes that the world exists for his needs only. He is also sneaky and manipulative.  This appears to be the source of the conflict. Jacob has a vivid imagination but has not found a productive use for it. He is also narcissistic, and I fear this will impede any maturity or psychological development. It is apparent that he indeed cheated his brother on several occasions. 

 

“The conflict between the two siblings is exacerbated by poor parenting. Both parents play favorites with their children. Isaac, the father, outwardly favors Esau. Esau is the natural heir of Isaac's possessions and family stature. Esau is aware of this favoritism and plays on it, often bringing his father game from his hunting to curry favor. Isaac also has a lot of unresolved personal issues. He appears to have endured some type of trauma as a child. This trauma is related to his relationship with his father, Abraham. It has impacted Isaac's social interactions. Consequently, Isaac is withdrawn both emotionally and spiritually. Although he comes from a very religious family, he rarely speaks of this, which indicates some type of religious trauma or abuse. His life is also complicated by his progressive blindness. 

 

Isaac is of low/average intelligence, but he is able to function in his reasonably unsophisticated world, but complex situations, especially relationships, bewilder and frustrate him. He shares this with his son Esau. 

 

Rebecca, the mother, is quite intelligent and seems to be the unacknowledged leader of the family. In order to survive in this patriarchal culture, her intelligence is often manifest in passive and manipulative behaviors. She favors Jacob and shares these characteristics with him.

Isaac and Rebecca seem to have a working relationship, but it is neither developed nor intense. Rebecca became pregnant with the twins at a later age and had a very difficult pregnancy. Part of the family legend is that the conflict between Jacob and Esau began in her womb, causing the difficult pregnancy. Rebecca, despite her cunning and often manipulative behavior, is quite devout and spends a great deal of time in prayer and reflecting on spiritual matters. 

 

One might conclude from this analysis that the Abrahamson family is highly dysfunctional, and that conflict will continue unless there is some intervention. There is a strong possibility that this conflict could even become violent. All of this is fueled by Isaac's poor health and questions surrounding the family inheritance.” 

 

Do you get the picture? Why is this story so important? I have updated the events and even made them modern in terms of psychological theory, but the question remains: “So what? One more dysfunctional family!”  The biblical answer is: this is the foundational family for the history of Israel….

And they are a mess!

II

This story, and the ones that follow are important for our generation because they reveal a great deal to us about God. The events are like a soap opera, with one exception. God is the primary player in this drama.  

 

In this narrative, we discover that God is not bound by human weakness and inabilities. God uses:

·      dysfunctional families,

·      immature and self-centered young men,

·      manipulating spouses,

·      and hard-working stiffs

    to accomplish God’s purposes. 

 

God's choice of people, to be God’s people, does not make always sense to us. (There must have been healthier families around... why didn't God choose them?) This quality of God is both mystifying and hopeful! Why does God choose whom God chooses?

But then, consider Jesus. He picked some very ordinary individuals to lead an amazing revolution of the spirit. Fisherman! Tax collectors! Harlots and outcasts! This is the story of God that is revealed to us in the pages of the Bible. It is a strange and intriguing story – a very human story. But most importantly, it is a story of hope!

·  It is hopeful because it reveals that human beings have the capacity to change and grow. We can mature and our lives can be purposeful.

·  It is hopeful, because it tells us that God can take the most messed up family, and bring forth from that family leadership that makes a difference in the world.

·  It is hopeful because it says to every person who comes from a dysfunctional context... “You can rise above it.” 

 

It also reminds us to be careful in our judgments of others. God sees people differently!

                                         III

Finally, this narrative reveals the way that God works in the lives of individual human beings. It reveals that God does not accept the limitations of custom and norm. God disregarded the patriarchal culture of that day. The instrument of God’s plan and intention was not Isaac, but Rebecca! 

 

The custom of that day would bestow everything on Esau, (the family blessing and the inheritance,) because he was the older, albeit by a few minutes. God is neither a respecter of patriarchal human tradition nor custom. Jacob, the second son, received the birthright. 

Most importantly, it reveals that amidst the soap operas of our lives, with its intrigue and craziness, there is purpose. God is working toward an end that we may not perceive. God may be calling you or me to a task that we may not understand nor believe is possible. This is the significance of “the Jacob Chronicles.” A spoiled brat, a self-centered, “momma's boy”; a kid who people thought would amount to nothing... becomes the parent of 12 tribes and a nation that would bear his future name: Israel. 

 

This transformative history begins in this mixed-up mess of a family.  The next five sermons will take us on a journey where we see God at work in the lives of families and individuals:

·      Shaping them.

·      Changing them.

·      Interceding in their lives.

·      And calling them. 

 

But today the story is about a muddled mess of a boy, in a dysfunctional family. It is the story of that same boy cheating his older brother. That is where it begins... yet it ends in hope...

Consider, your beginning... your family of origin, your current context, your secret sins, and flaws... they are the strands that are woven into the tapestry of your personal story. It is purposeful and indeed, it too, will also end in hope... by the grace of God. Amen.

 

Stormy Weather

 Stormy Weather
A Sermon by Brent J Eelman
Preached at Harmony Presbyterian Church
Fort Collins, CO. April 24, 2022


Isaiah 43: 1-3a 

But now thus says the Lord,
    he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.

 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Mark 4: 35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

We have seen a great deal of stormy weather during the last two weeks.  Not necessarily the rain storms that we have been hoping for, but rather powerful winds with gusts over 60 miles per hour.  That coupled with the low humidity and drought has also created additional hazards for many farmers, ranchers and homeowners.  As recently as yesterday there were more than a dozen wild fires burning in Colorado.  I really don’t like this weather and there is a part of me that is whining, wanting a few nice days and a break for this “stormy weather”.

“Stormy Weather” is the title of an old jazz standard, but the song is not about the weather, it is about life. Indeed weather is often a metaphor for our experience of life itself.  Do you remember the lyrics?

    Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere, stormy weather
    Just can't get my poor old self together
    I'm weary all the time, the time
    So weary all the time, stormy weather.

There are storms in life!  Though we may be fearful, we are not alone in the midst of them. Today I will look at the storms that often blow through our lives:  1) first, in terms of the story of Jesus and storm at sea. 2) Then I will look at the storms that often hit our lives. 3) Finally, I will conclude with a message about discipleship.

I

The story of Jesus and the storm at sea is a primal narrative that expresses human hopes and fears. My grandfather was a sailor in the Dutch merchant marine in the early 1900’s. When I knew him, he was quite old and very religious, but one time I got a glimpse of his chest while he was shaving and realized that he had a huge schooner ship tattooed on his chest; perhaps a sign of earlier times. My father told me the stories of how his sailing friends would come over to their home in the Netherlands and they would tell stories of the sea late into the night. As a young child, he often hid under the table so that he could listen to the sailors tell the tales of the sea. There were stories of exotic places; stories of humorous events, but also stories of near disaster.

But there was another story that seldom was told on those occasions. It was not my grandfather’s story, but my grandmother’s. She would wait on the tiny Dutch island in the North Sea, for months, sometimes years for her husband, Simon, to return. Tales would come in about storms and other disasters that occurred on the sea, but there would be no word until his ship sailed in. I cannot imagine the anxiety with which she lived. She ultimately had a nervous breakdown and required hospitalization.  Her physician recommended that my grandfather give up his life on the sea.  But there is a strange irony in that situation. The sea provided the family with a livelihood. It gave them the means to buy shelter and food. But the same sea also was a raging beast that could bring disaster and death at anytime.

Four of Jesus’ disciples were fisherman and were dependent upon the sea for their living. The sea also provided the ancients with a means of transportation from one place to another. But the sea could at any time become a ravenous beast. We have no record of the ancient Hebrew people being able to swim and so if the boat was capsized, it would mean certain death. Storms at sea were frightening and consequently the disciples were panicked. Jesus was sleeping! What an amazing gift to be able to sleep during a storm. But the disciples didn’t appreciate this and they screamed at him: “Don’t you care about us? We are all going to die?” (This is really a dumb question…. Of course he cares. He is literally in the same boat!) Then he calms the storm, looks at them quizzically and asks: “Don’t you have faith?”

Mark told this story in his gospel because he wanted to establish from the very beginning that Jesus was the Son of God. He wanted to show the amazing things that Jesus could do. In the process he also told the story of humanity caught in the midst of the storm. The disciples acted all too humanly and without faith. They were afraid. Mark is telling us that the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is fear!  Theirs was a fear that controlled them.  They believed there were going to perish. What a contrast this is to Jesus. He wasn’t afraid… he could sleep during a storm.

II

The destructive winds that we have experienced for the last two weeks are not the only storms in our lives. There are more significant storms that threaten the little boat that we know as life. There are waves that smack into us, jarring us and raising fear within us. There are events that cause us to realize that we are mortal.

• We are still in the midst of the pandemic.  A virus that has taken nearly a million lives in this country and has upset the rhythms of life.  The last 28 months have hit our society like a tidal wave and have produced a deep seated anxiety.
• We are in the midst of the first major land war in Europe in 80 years.  The reality of nuclear weapons contributes to the storms of anxiety that are engulfing us.
• The pandemic coupled with the war in Ukraine have upset supply chains and the availability of resources and food.  
• We also are in the midst of the storm of social and political unrest.  This storm has divided families, and has shattered friendships.  It has also divided communities and churches.  
• These storms have us asking,  “Does God care?”

How similar we are to the disciples, wondering if the sleeping Jesus cares about us, forgetting that he is with us. Here is the good news:  Just as Jesus was in the same boat with those disciples, God has cast his lot with humanity. He is with us.  If you can excuse the cliche, God has chosen to be in the same boat as us.

There are other storms that hit us personally.  There are the developmental storms that we experience when the little boats of our lives threaten to capsize. It can be the storm that is rooted in our personal identity. There are different times in our lives when we confront the question, “who am I, and why was I created?”

• At times this question hits us like a storm.
• Suddenly the job doesn’t give us the pleasure that it once did.
• Suddenly we no longer get the same satisfaction out of our hobbies.
• Something feels missing.
• Our toys, be they the new computer or the red sports car, just don’t have what it takes to lift our spirits.
• Who are we?

This I believe is a question of faith, and when we battle the elements of this storm, we often feel all alone and abandoned… Where is God? Why is this so painful? And then we realize that the faith we once knew is there, asleep in our soul.  It is awakened, and we hear the words: “I was with you always. I am here.”

There are also the storms that hit us with tragic personal events.

• It might be the loss of a loved one.
• It might be a tragic event or accident.
• It might be an illness that has afflicted you or someone close to you.
• It might be a broken relationship.
• It might be an event that shakes the easy peace that we enjoy so much. 

Once again we ask, “Where is God?” Fear holds us in its grip and we realize that fear, not doubt, is the opposite of faith.  These are lonely times. These are times when feel rejected, unloved and uncared for: Our desperate prayer might be,” Don’t you care about me God?” “Can’t you see that I am sinking?”

Jesus was there on the boat with the disciples… the spirit of Christ is with us in the midst of our storms. We read that God sheds a tear for the tiny sparrow when it falls from the nest. God’s tears mix with ours in our pain. He is with us and will not jump ship. 

III

Let me conclude with a word about discipleship. The church, the Christian community, is called to represent Christ to the world.  Indeed we are the body of Christ. The story of the ship caught in the storm gives us a unique insight into our calling as a community of faith.  Listen carefully: we need to learn to sleep in the midst of the storm.

The Christian community needs to be a calming presence amidst the panic and fear that grips the world. Sadly, tend to be an argumentative presence.  We need to be a calming and reassuring presence.  Jesus showed phenomenal strength by sleeping during a storm. Can we show that same strength?  

One of the major influences on my thinking about church and leadership is the late Edwin Friedman. He was a rabbi who brought a systemic vision to congregations and leadership. One of the terms that he coined was “non-anxious presence.” Leadership, he maintained, in this age of anxiety and fear, is manifest in being present to the anxiety, but not controlled by it. Jesus, on the boat, modeled this. We should strive to be that presence. This requires two things.

First it requires us to be present with people when they are afraid. It requires us to be present when the storms of life hit them. Presence is healing, and it has the power to calm storms. When I was a teenager and my uncle died, my father was crushed at the loss of his youngest brother. When he got that bad news, my older brother just held my father in his arms. It was an event that impacted me.  My father was a seminary professor and a respected theologian. What could a teenager say to a theologian at the time of death? But holding him.. be present was healing.  We need to be present with people in the storms of life.

Second, we need to keep our focus, because that is the source of our calm. Our focus is our faith in Christ and the belief that our lives are in God’s hands.  We need to reaffirm that regardless of what happens, God is with us, and that the resurrection is the final word in all things. If that is our focus, if that is the content of our faith, we will be able to sleep during the storms…and truly represent the Christ in this age.

There will be stormy seas for all of us. There will be waves we ride that will threaten our very being. Know that just as Jesus was on that boat with his disciples, he is also with you in the midst of your storms. With that assurance, let us go forth in Christ’s name, into this world, filled as it is with storms, fear and panic.  Let us calmly and assuredly proclaim this good news. Amen.