Facing Danger
A
sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
March
12, 2017
at
Gordonsville Presbyterian Church, Gordonsville, Virginia
Mark 4: 35-41
Daniel 6: 10-16
Let us pray,
Help us to see despite
our eyes
Help us to think outside
of our minds
Help us to be more than
our lives
For your eyes show the
way
Your
mind knows the truth
Your
being is the life.
Amen.
We talked last week, as we were heading into this season of Lent,
about Jesus heading into the desert to face temptation, and not just him facing
temptation under normal circumstances, but those ratcheted up to a great degree
by 40 days and 40 nights of fast, that he headed into his confrontation with Satan,
having crippling pangs of hunger, and a truly burning thirst, standing, being
able to stand only by and through miracle, truly not by bread alone, and that
perhaps this exactly was his way of preparing himself for the suffering of the
passion, for the excruciating pain of the cross. This led us to think about
Lent as a season of preparation for ourselves, and how difficult it is to
prepare for the real of life because it is so hard to artificially create that
realness, we can practice and practice, but if we do so in safety and comfort
our preparation is limited to that safety and comfort, and when those are
challenged, so too will we be, and hopefully we’ll be able to stand in our
faith, shine our lights, but who really knows, so like a basketball player,
shooting free throws in the gym, not just going through the motions, but trying
to create in his mind that scenario, where he is down two with two to shoot,
trying to mentally and imaginatively create the real, so too will we during
lent try to find and experience the real of that darkness with this series of
sermons, knowing there is no substitute for real and true experience, but doing
our best in the mean time.
In your bulletin you will find an insert that shows our schedule
for the weeks ahead leading up to Easter. . . in this facing darkness series we
will look at Facing Danger, Facing Disease, Facing Death, Facing Deception
(betrayed by those closest to you), and finally Facing Desertion, (when you are
left seemingly all alone). Each Sunday will include an Old and New Testament
story or episode, where we’ll find a character facing these situations of
Darkness and look for ways that they in their situations found some way to
shine their lights, and seek to see the connections between their reality and
our own. . . and so today we focus on facing Danger. . . which is good as first
because often these dangers are found only in our perception, in our fears and
worries. . . Erick has already read a portion from the story of Daniel heading
to the Lion’s Den, now we turn our eyes to the Gospel of Mark’s account of the
Storm. . . Mark 4: 35-41
35 On
that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the
other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him
with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A
great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was
already being swamped. 38 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?” 39 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?” 41 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?”
I’ve
always loved this story, mostly because the imagery is so great, even in the
typical sparseness we always find in Mark’s gospel. . . . Mark’s depiction of
things is always in such a hurry. Things
happen immediately, bang, bang. . . one right after another. We don’t get much
information here, but we don’t need it because our imagination and our
experience does the rest. We’ve all experienced storms, literal storms, and I
want to focus on the literal first because it is always good literary practice
to do so, and I speak as one who has some authority on the subject, putting on
my English Teacher hat. . . I don’t know how many times I say it in class,
focus on the literal first, it grounds you in the details, and that is
important in interpretation.
And
yes we all know what storms are like. We know what it is like to hear that
crazy noise on the radio, buzzbeepscccccrrrrrr. . . this is the emergency
broadcast system. . . and this time it is not a test, but you are in it. . .
your county made the list. . . but you really didn’t need to know that because
the rain is already pouring, and you can’t see much because the windshield
wipers, clicking back and forth back and forth, just can’t quite keep up. . .
the temperature dropped and the windshield is fogging up anyway, and even if it
wasn’t the rain drops are so close together their liquid just eats up any light
that your headlights put out, and if you
flick to your high beams all you see is a thick wave of drop upon drop, some
blowing sideways, some falling down, some bouncing off the windshield and hood
of your car, and some being splashed aside by the wipers, still going swish
swish swish. . . . and you without even realizing it you are now barely going
20 miles per hour on an interstate road, where only moments before you were
going 70. . . and from the slow moving car, the sight is impressive, what you
can make out, just the power, and then
you see the first flash of lightning, and a crash of thunder right on its
heels. . . boom, and you see trees bending, bending bending. . . you grip the
wheel tighter, your eyes bug out, you sit up straight behind the wheel, ever
vigilant, creeping along. Yes you’ve been there. . . we know what it is like,
from the time we were kids and heard our first house shaking thunder clap, we
knew that storms were a reality outside of our control. . . there to be endured.
. . safely . . . there inside, always inside, we know we have sense enough to
come in out of the rain.
But
what about those times when you can’t? When it creeps up on you, before you can
find your way inside. . . what about being trapped outside of the safety of the
inside of manmade structures? When the wind is blowing, and you can stand and
face it, but like the comedian Ron White said about hurricanes. . . its not
that the wind is blowing, it’s what the wind is blowing, you can hang on and
face it all you want, but if that wind blows a tree branch or something large
and heavy, something else at you, its possible that holding on and hanging on,
and facing it head on just aint the right thing to do. . . and the disciples
aren’t even on land. . . and yeah at sea, the wind may not have much sharp and
heavy to blow at you, it just has you to blow, and the boat, oh yeah and of
course the water itself. . . in big waves, with the boat rocking, tipping way
up, then falling way down. . .
I’ve
been in a boat in that situation before. . . I was teaching at Christchurch. .
. teaching freshman English, and the freshmen also took Environmental Science,
which was taught by one of my best friends. Now he had this great idea. . . he
said hey what we need to do is take these kids on an immersion trip, we need to
get them out of their comfort zones. . . he was big on these types of trips. .
. I was not, but I’m a big sucker. . . he said, hey you can get them to write
journals and poems and stuff about their experiences. . . now I know anytime
another teacher has that great idea my red flags go up, exactly, what type of
experience are you talking about. He said, We’ll take them out to this island
out in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, the CBF owns an island for these kinds
of trips, right by Tangier. . . we can go, stay for a couple of days, get in
the mud, it’ll be a blast. . . ok, sure. . . why not. . . sucker. . . so we go,
no bathroom, just a hole, called by them a Clivus, but I know some Latin, and I
don’t remember Clivus being latin for “hole,” but that is certainly all it was.
. . and it was cold and wet, and we were staying with a bunch of 14 year olds,
about 40 boys and 10 or so girls. . . awesome right. . . yeah, can’t wait to
read the poems. . . now it wasn’t really so bad, but on the way back, we are
taking a small person ferry kinda boat back across the bay, and a storm picks
up. . . not a big storm. . . probably not much compared to what the disciples
were going through, but it was enough. . . enough to have freezing cold mist
rain, that froze your fingers and cheeks. . . and you couldn’t put your hands
in your pockets because you had to hold on for your life, and you couldn’t hide
your head from the wind because you needed the air, and you needed to look up.
. . because 50 kids were all seated around you, as I said 40 boys and about 10
girls. . . all getting seasick like you wouldn’t believe. . . as the boat,
shifts up and down in the waves. . . and they are all looking to me. . . at
least the ones who were not yet puking, and I stand there firm but freezing
trying to show them confidence, to be strong, and keep from getting sick myself,
and I sing. . . and the silly songs we are singing keeps faces up and laughing
and singing along, peace in the midst of the storm and the puking. . . the
storms of life, right. . . literally. . . and there I was standing strong, but
what is Jesus doing?
Sleeping.
. . look at the details directly from the text.
A great windstorm arose, and the
waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 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?”
Asleep, on a cushion, while the boat was being swamped by
waves beating into it. . . I don’t know what I would have done, if I was there
standing on that boat, holding on to a freezing and wet metal pole, keeping my
head up in the wind, lest I get sick. . . I don’t know what I would have done
if my friend was down below asleep on a cushion. . . ticked I think. . .
Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Maybe I had that experience in
mind when I wrote this. . . it’s there in the bulletin.
While you were sleeping, Jesus
The storm came upon us, Jesus
The rain fell on us, Jesus
The winds blew us, Jesus
The waves almost buried us, Jesus
While you were sleeping, Jesus
We filled with worry, Jesus
We were in danger, Jesus
We couldn’t find you, Jesus
We almost died, Jesus
I
repeated the name Jesus because it really brings it front and center. . . they
are blaming Jesus. . . if you ever wondered why the ancient Hebrews put such
sanctity on the name of God, never saying it, its because using names has
power, and repeating it like that shows it. . . it can belittle. . . it is an
act of power, using someone’s name like that. . . think about it, you are in an
argument, and you out of the blue decide to mention their name. . . it is
totally condescending. . . the disciples don’t use the name, they say, Teacher.
. . Rabbi. . .which may be worse. . . hey teacher, remember this is your job to
protect us, we are in danger and you are here sleeping. . . really?
39 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.
I finish the poem like this. . .
Then you awoke, Jesus
The wind and rain stopped, Jesus
The waves were calmed, Jesus
We were saved, Jesus
But we are so afraid, Jesus
And we are afraid. . . aren’t we. . . even though we’ve been
in storms before, still talking literal storms, even though we’ve been in
storms before we are still afraid because they are awesome and like I said
earlier, they are completely out of our control, and we don’t like that, we
like to be in control. . . and Jesus says. . . You of little faith, be not
afraid. . . or actually in Mark’s version it is so much more powerful. . . he
asks them, “why are you afraid, and says, have you no faith.” Now that you’ve
seen, now that you’ve experienced, why are you still afraid. . . and we are.
Though we’ve been in storms before, and have made it through, we still have
those moments of doubt and fear. . . and
of course there is more to this story than the literal. . . there are also
figurative storms. . . look at Daniel. . .
Known, trusted, interpreter of dreams and the writing on the
wall, living in peace and comfort in the palace of the King, even given and
dressed in his own purple robes of royalty. . . but then the wind shifts, and
other advisors plot his demise. . . before he knows it, he finds himself in a
completely different world, one where the rules have changed, and the simple
act of worshipping his God is no longer allowed. . . he remains firm, prays to
God, but the advisors, accuse him of breaking the new law, and the shifting
whirlwind lands him with a death sentence, a night with hungry lions. . . a
perfect picture of the out of Daniel’s control storm, plenty to be afraid of. .
. at the control and whims of others. . . and the thunder rolls. . .
We’ve been there too, songs are written about such things. .
. the thunder rolls and the lightning strikes, another love goes cold on a
sleepless night, as the storm blows on, out of control, deep in her heart, the
thunder rolls. . . . we often find ourselves in the storms of life when things
feel like they are out of control, when there seems to be danger, when the
world is shifting and turning, and change is all around us, the rules, the
things we counted on, our ballast, our systems are failing and flailing in the
blowing winds of change. . . be it politics, or economics, or personal
relationships, we feel it, and we are afraid because we do not have the control.
. . but what do we do with our fear. . . what are we? Who do we become? It’s
quite a question:
DeAnna and I watched a movie this week, serendipitously and
providentially so. . . I had no idea it would be perfect for this sermon, we
were just looking for something to watch, but it was perfect, because the movie
was all about who do you become when you are facing dangers. . . what does fear
do? It was called Unthinkable, and it
was a situation where this terrorist had placed three nuclear bombs in three US
cities, but he didn’t say which cities, he just said they would go off Friday,
it was Monday. . . the authorities caught him by Wednesday. . . and they needed
to get out of him where the bombs were, to save the lives of countless
Americans. . . and the main plot of the movie was all about how far Samuel L.
Jackson, who was the “Special Interrogator” would go in torturing this man. . .
physically and mentally. . .at first the FBI and CIA and military operatives
also there tried to hold him back, but little by little as they were overcome
with fear of the reality, they let him get away with more and more, until
finally it included the murdering of the guys’ wife in front of him, and then what
was “unthinkable”bringing in his children. . . until finally the FBI agent had
enough and pulled the children out saying it was not worth it. . . and the
movie ended right then. . . we don’t know whether the bombs went off. . . the
movie wasn’t about that, it wasn’t about the bombs, but about our values, when
placed in front of the real. . . I’ve said, character is who you are when the
pressure is on and it is real. . . Jesus says. . . why are you afraid, do you
still have no faith?
What does he mean? I think he means, don’t you see that I’m
with you. . . that it will be alright, that if I can control the waves and the
winds, then you don’t need to worry about not having control yourself. . . that
you can rely on me. . . even when it looks like you are sleeping? And silent?
And that you don’t exist? Jesus. . . especially then. . . he says.
Do we remember that Jesus has led us safe thus far, and that
he will lead us home, that God Our Help in Ages past is also our hope for years
to come? Do we remember such things in the depths of the storm. . . and what
difference would it make if we could remember such things. . . I hate being
cold, I hate being wet, and I have a history of motion sickness, but for some
reason on that boat with all those kids, I knew that if I stayed firm, they
could look to me, and they needed that. . . It wasn’t much, but it was something,
and I was given the strength to make that stand. . . in the face of that
darkness I was given a light to shine. . . it was not one I could have planned,
it was not one I could have said, yes that’s me, I have that skill, let me be
that guy in that moment. . . I wouldn’t have chosen it, I was just there. . .
and it was enough. Unlike, Jesus, I couldn’t rebuke the wind and calm the
storm. . . I could only have faith that He would, faith that in the midst of
the storm I could find enough peace. . . it makes a difference. . . it makes
all the difference in the world. . . it is a little thing. . . but it makes all
the difference in the world. . . the very power of faith. . . and often being a
standing witness to that faith. . . is enough shining light to reveal the
illusion of the darkness to someone faltering in doubt. . . may God give us
strength, we’ll need it because storms are only apparent danger. . . there is
more to come. “We do believe, Jesus, help our unbelief” amen. Next week,
“Facing Disease”
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