Pentecost 3

The Reverend Martha Frances

Year B, Pentecost 3, Proper 7

21 June 2009 

Text:  Mark 4:35-41

Others:  1 Samuel 17: 32-49; Psalm 9: 9-20; 2 Corinthians 6: 1-13 

      My introduction to many stories from Hebrew scripture came in the form of a small record player my sister & I received one Christmas & a group of 78 rpm records with accompanying booklets.  We spent endless summer hours listening to Joseph with his nasty brothers, Daniel who was rescued from the lion's den, & my favorite, David & his encounter with the giant Goliath.

      We drop into the middle of this familiar story today as the shepherd boy David is acting as messenger between his father Jesse & his older brothers in Saul's army.  He arrives at the front lines in the midst of Goliath's challenge to the Israelite army to send a warrior for single combat.  Such challenges were fairly common in the ancient world though they were usually not issued by a giant—by some reckonings over 9 feet tall—nor did they usually settle the dispute.  Rather, a full battle most often followed the single combat anyway.

      David sees the lack of Israel's response to Goliath as shameful, since Goliath's offense is against Yhwh, the living God of the Hebrews, so he volunteers, as our reading opens today, to fight Goliath himself.  Saul's & our introduction reveals David as ordinary & unremarkable, & David the boy can surely not stand up to Goliath the giant man.  David recites his credentials for Saul, indicating his courage in protecting his flock of sheep from the lion & bear & incidentally characterizes Goliath likewise as an animal. 

      Clearly, Saul sees no option so tries to protect David with his own armor which he—ironically—does not offer to take up himself, but David quickly realizes Saul's armor hinders rather than helps him.  He will fight Goliath as he has fought other wild animals, with slingshot & stones from the wadi, their version of a bayou. 

      Goliath sees the youth David as laughable as he approaches although he is once again described as ruddy & handsome.  Goliath even characterizes himself as a dog, promising to feed David to the wild animals.  Notice that David does not rely on his own abilities but feels confident because he knows that Yhwh will protect him due to the righteousness of his task.  As David answers the challenge, the hearer is barraged by action verbs describing David's heroic action:  David ran, pulled a stone from his bag, slung it, struck the Philistine on his forehead.  David's actions indeed show the metal of the man, yet he gives the credit to Yhwh, the God of Israel, though neither Saul nor the Israelite army have exhibited trust in their God. 

      The story of David & Goliath has been seen as metaphor for the hopes of the underdog but really hopes of all when we are confronted with overwhelming & evil power.  Here trust in God is not an intellectual exercise but motivates action, the hope for a way into the future where there seems no way, a chink in seemingly impregnable armor.  Can the heroic confidence & action of David speak to us today?

      Turning to our Gospel lesson today, the impregnable force the disciples are contending with is the sea.  But first, we remember God the creator, passing over the face of the deep & speaking the separation of the earth from the seas, creating living creatures both in sea & on land.  Pretty overwhelming, huh?

      Some of Jesus' disciples in today's gospel story make their living catching fish.  The boat & the sea are home to them.  After all, Jesus has just used this same boat for his pulpit to teach a crowd of people all day.  It is evening now, & this boat doesn't have battery-operated lanterns to ward off the darkness.  Jesus is undoubtedly tired, so he curls up to sleep in the stern as the boat crosses to the Gentile side of the lake where he will begin a new phase of ministry.

      Whirlwinds like the one which arises as Jesus sleeps were believed to be caused by demonic powers.  The sea was supposedly the abode of creatures hostile to God.  Certainly, it is terrifying enough that these disciples, many of whom are seasoned seamen, are scared to death.  How can Jesus sleep through this torrent?  It's not fair for him to sleep while they're so terrified.   Is that why they wake him up?  What do they expect him to do?  Maybe they think he can pray better than they.  His response is certainly not what they expect.

      What does he do?  He rebukes the wind saying, "Peace!  Be still!"  The Greek text is better translated, "Be quiet!  Be muzzled!"  Jesus treats the sea like a misbehaving animal which he can tame with his words.  I'm sure we would be just as stunned as the disciples that the sea obeys him.  Our translation says the wind ceased & there was a dead calm.  What a contrast from the violence of the storm!

      Jesus's focus turns from nature to the nature of the disciples when he says, "Why are you afraid?  Are you still without faith?"  Jesus must be pretty exasperated with them at this point.  After all, they've been spending a lot of time with him, yet they still don't fully comprehend who he is or from where his power comes.  To their credit, the disciples are filled with great awe as they say, "Who then is this, that even the wind & the sea obey him?"

      We in the 21^st Century might easily criticize the dense disciples who just don't seem to get it, even when the evidence is right before their very eyes.  We are apt to say, "Those dummies!  If I had been there, I would certainly have understood that Jesus is the Messiah & his power is God's power.  I would surely have believed in Jesus if I had seen him in the flesh."

      Yet we, too, are traveling on the sea of our lives, often in boats which we didn't choose any more than the disciples chose to cross that sea when Jesus commanded it.    We handle the oars or the sails pretty well when the seas are calm & the breezes gentle. Our lives might not be exactly what we want, but things are going pretty well, aren't they?  In fact, we may not even acknowledge God's presence daily, or at least we don't give God credit for good weather & fair crossing.  But sure, we trust God.

      Then, the storms gather.  Rain batters us, & the whirlwind sweeps us up in it!  The world all around us is a storm, & we definitely feel alone.  What do we do?  We, like the lieutenant in Forrest Gump's shrimp boat, are likely to look up to the heavens, shake our fist at God, & holler, "Wake up, God!  Don't you see what's going on down here?  Do something!  Save me!"  We get pretty demanding of God when chaos reigns supreme in our lives, don't we?  It is now that we utter our most fervent prayers:  "God, help!" 

            How many of us trust God when all is going well but get pretty shaken up when the bottom falls out of our lives & God doesn't rescue us the way we expect?  In my profession, I hear a lot of people complain about the bad things that happen to the good people--they themselves!  We're pretty quick to judge whether occurrences in our lives are good or bad.  When an alcoholic or addict hits bottom, seldom does she realize that only then is she vulnerable enough to let God intervene, perform a miracle, & start her on the road to new life.  Losing a job is traumatic, & the results are often terribly frightening.  Only then can a person sometimes be open to a healthier way of viewing the world & his place in it.  I won't even go into how frightening & costly our health care system can be, leaving us with difficult choices.  Savings & investments aren't nearly as secure as we were led to believe they were, leading us to tighten our belts & live more cautiously.

      How do you react out there on the sea in the boat when the weather turns nasty, the rain batters you, & the winds blow so hard you're afraid your boat will capsize?  Do you realize that Jesus is there with you?  Do you turn to him & trust him completely, even in the midst of the storm?  This story is about our recognizing who Jesus is, the power which Jesus can have in our lives if we let him, & how much we can let ourselves trust him.  Are we ready to have our excuses which keep us from living our lives fully washed away?  Can we really trust Jesus that much?  God's grace is sufficient for us to trust more & more if we only accept the grace which God offers.

      (Seldom do I find music for our worship which better expresses the spirit of the scriptures than we have today.  At communion today, we will sing, "Jesus, Savior, pilot me."  The images of the sea & the storm pour through that old hymn.  In the 2nd verse, we equate Jesus' ability to still the storms of our lives with the mother who calms her child's fears.  As you sing in a few minutes, rest in the arms of Jesus who can comfort you like a mother.)

      David in our first story & Jesus in the 2^nd offer us a gift which we're encouraged to take:  courage.  We're assured that God is with us & will give us all we need to respond to the storms in our lives. 

      We at Hope can become pretty discouraged at times, especially when we're struggling financially & seem to lack people to carry out the mission of our church.  Yesterday at the reception after Jackie Cockrell's funeral I was privileged to chat with the doctor who had cared for Jackie over the past 12 to 15 years.  She assured me that she never saw Jackie that Jackie didn't tell her about this community of Hope.  Dr. Anderson knew of our struggles but also the many ways we have grown as an intentional multicultural community.  Jackie's prayer for us was—& I contend still is—for us to exhibit the courage to move forward to reach out to others & to care for one another in Christ's love.  The doctor's words encouraged me & reminded me that we often get hung up thinking that the mission of Hope is all up to us, yet both these stories invite us to align our efforts to the hope which God can fulfill in us if we continue to live out of our trust in God.  Let us claim the promise from our psalm today, "Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, for you never forsake those who seek you, O Lord."  Amen.