August 9, 2020
Remember when we used to go out to nice restaurants? There you are out with a group of people and someone in your party asks you to pass the salt. Have you noticed that when that happens, the pepper is usually passed along with it? At least that is what my mom taught me. The salt might be all that is wanted, but you move them around the table in a pair. Salt adds something different from pepper and you can certainly use one without the other. Yet think of how many recipes call for salt and pepper without measurement, save for maybe “salt and pepper to taste.” Salt and pepper are at the heart of our seasoning pallet.
This morning we read two familiar passages from Matthew. Both take place on the water, both involve Jesus and the disciples who seem to lack faith, both deal with the forces of nature in a storm. I have always read them separately and they are both rich with sermon potential. Jesus calming the storm reminds us of our panic in a storm, our need to be saved, and the power Jesus has to calm them. Jesus walking on water, speaks to our fears amid trouble, Peter’s faith to get out of the boat, and how we can sink when we take our eyes off Jesus.
In preparing for this sermon several commentators made the connection between these two boating stories from Matthew and the pairing seemed to hold them both in a different light. Sort of like combining salt and pepper takes your taste buds in new of directions.
Recently I have heard many people refer to our current situation with COVID 19, our economic crisis and the looming election as a perfect storm. A perfect storm can mean a particularly critical state of affairs, arising from a number of negative and unpredictable factors. It can also refer to a particularly violent storm arising from a rare combination of adverse meteorological conditions. Do you remember that book The Perfect Storm, that was made into a movie? George Clooney was the captain of the Andrea Gail and Mark Wahlberg was one of the young sailors on his fishing boat. They put out in late October for one last trip of the season off the coast of Newfoundland. They eventually catch their fish but need to return home quickly because their ice machine breaks. But the course back takes them right through two big weather fronts and a hurricane; a perfect storm. With 40-foot waves crashing into the deck, a broken stabilizer ramming the side of the ship, and shrieking winds throwing two men overboard, the crew struggles to sail through pounding waves. As the ship is tossed to and fro and the crew unsuccessfully fights for their lives you see the power of the storm, the courage it takes to weather it and the respect one must have in the face of such force.
I doubt there was a hurricane on the Sea on Galilee, but the disciples faced a violent storm that created great fear. Remember at least four of the disciples were fishermen having spent years on this body of water. But in both instances Jesus gave them space to face the storm on their own. Jesus was asleep in the boat in one and “made the disciples get in the boat” without him, in the other. Jesus allows us, encourages us, to meet the challenges of life, to become strong people of faith and will only step in when needed. I always wondered about Jesus sleeping, it made no sense, but if we see that behavior and sending the disciples across without him as ways of Jesus encouraging our action, it works. He is with them all through one story and comes to them in their need in the other. That is how Jesus is in your life. He is right there with you in the storm or he comes to you when you need him most. Jesus comforts us too. But this is more than simply saying he is not a ghost. Jesus is declaring the power of God to calm their fears by using the same name God said to Moses. One commentator writes, “Over their cries of fear, Jesus calls to them, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear” (15:27). Jesus reveals himself — not simply as Jesus, their teacher, but as “I AM.” A more literal translation of this sentence would be, “Take heart, I am, do not be afraid.” This self-revelation is a disclosure of Jesus’ source of power. For Matthew’s Jewish Christian audience, Jesus’ words echo the divine name” (Carla Works, Working Preacher, 8/14). Either way you translate it, Jesus letting the disciples know he has come to their aid or saying I Am referring to God’s power and name – Jesus is offering divine comfort and strength to the disciples just like he does for us today.
Remember Hurricane Sandy? Karen and Bill were in their kitchen when the power went out at 4 in the morning. They could do nothing but pray for God’s mercy and help because the storm was fierce. Karen wrote, “All of a sudden, with a loud bang, the 45″ x 60″ skylight in the kitchen was shattered. Minutes later, we heard another two loud bangs. We looked out the kitchen window and saw that the whole place was enveloped by branches. The next morning, we discovered that four large trees in our property fell. One fell on the driveway, one on the garage and the skylight, and two more on the main entrance of the house. By then we realized that though we were in the kitchen, between the skylight and the main entrance, the Lord covered us with His hand. Through it all, the presence of the Lord brought us peace.” (https://tsc.nyc/stories-of-grace-in-the-storm/)
Jesus is a with us in the emotional storms of life as well. The storms of getting a diagnosis of cancer, or Alzheimer. The storms of going through a divorce or losing a loved one or facing a pandemic. I believe Jesus is in the boat, the pandemic boat, we are all in right now. Jesus is with us in this turbulent sea. It may feel like he is sleeping, but all we need do is reach out to him in prayer and we will know the comfort and peace he brings. And one day when we get to the other side of this pandemic storm it will feel like Jesus walking on water to call us out of our homes and back into the fullness of life.
Right now in this pandemic storm.
Even though we are isolated, we are not alone.
Even though we miss our face to face connections, we are spiritually connected to Jesus by prayer.
Maybe we will be like the disciples who after going through several storms with Jesus finally see who he really is.
Holding these two stories together we see a truth. We might need to go through several storms in life before we are willing to surrender to Jesus. The first storm led the disciples to ask who is this man who the sea and wind obey? They are amazed by Jesus’ help, they are relieved the winds have died down, but the storm has yet to change their relationship with Jesus. They are curious about who he is, but they have not committed their lives to him. But with another storm, and possibly more in between, Jesus coming to them walking on water, something changes. They call him the “Son of God” and they devote themselves to him. I wonder if we are much the same. We need for Jesus to show himself in the storms of our lives before we will commit to calling him the Son of God. So maybe the next time you face a storm, rather than cursing God for the storm, thank God for another opportunity to be reminded of Jesus’ faithful care and meeting your needs in the midst of the high waves of life and the powerful winds creating fear. Lean into the headwinds of life trusting in Jesus. That Jesus is with you or will come to you because that is who Jesus IS, that is what your Savior does.
Tasting these two storm stories together has given them both a slightly different flavor. May God bless the reading and interpreting of the holy word. And may we all be comforted in the storms of our lives. Amen.
