Mark 4:35-41 (MSG)
Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other
side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge
storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus
was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying,
“Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the
sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as
glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you
have any faith at all?”
They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?”
they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”
A young man committed suicide and as his family tried to
understand WHY, they found a rather strange note nailed to a tree outside his
house:
This tree is the only thing in my
life that has roots.
Where do you find roots --- what provides stability in your
life?
In our story this morning, the disciples are in a boat with
Jesus.
One of the rather interesting phenomena about the Sea of
Galilee is that storms can blow up suddenly and intently --- Much like Lake
Michigan . . .
As the Disciples are in the boat with Jesus --- heading to
the "other side", the Gentile side of the lake --- a massive storm
blows up.
Jesus is sound asleep
But the disciples are panicking
The boat is being swamped by the
waves and they are fearful for their lives
They wake Jesus up ---- not really sure what they were
expecting him to do
BUT --- he tells the waves to BE STILL
and they
listen!
The wind died down
The waves
ceased
And the Disciples had no idea what had just taken place
Life is full of storms
Some of the storms of life it appears that we might have
some control over them
Others seem totally outside of our hands.
Think of some of those storms
·
Divorce
·
loss of a job
·
job change
·
illness
·
death of a loved one
·
children growing up and leaving the nest
·
Floods
·
Car Accidents
·
Tornados
·
I am sure you can add others to this list
Where
do you find shelter in the storms of life?
Who
is able to calm those storms?
Who says: "Peace, Be Still"
in your life?
If
we don't have somebodies --- it often seems like we are going to go under
I
hope you are familiar with Garrison Keilor and his tales from Lake Wobegon
Keillor
is the creator and host of A Prairie
Home Companion, a weekly radio show on NPR.
One of the show's best-known features is Keillor's "News from Lake
Wobegon", a weekly storytelling monologue, claiming to be a report from
Keillor's fictitious hometown of Lake Wobegon, "the little town that time
forgot and the decades cannot improve ... where all the women are strong,
all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."
The
opening words of the monologue usually do not change: "Well, it's been a
quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my hometown, out on the edge of the
prairie."
Garrison
Keillor tells a great story:
In
Lake Wobegon every child was assigned a storm home --- a home that you could go
to if the weather got bad during the school day and you could not get home
safely.
The
home that he was assigned to was the Krueger's --- they were an older couple
who lived in a cute little green cottage by the lake.
He
says that he used to walk past the storm home and he could just tell that it
was a good home
He
knew that he was a lucky child
This
storm home became very big in his imagination.
Many
times he thought of stopping and introducing himself
"I am the kid, that if there is a
blizzard I will come and stay with you."
He
says that he felt that they had a relationship in the world --- even thought
they had never met
He
wanted to believe that he hadn't just been randomly assigned to the Kruegers
--- but that they had come down to the school and had picked him out.
He
said:
"I often dreamed of going to see them
when things got hard --- Blizzards aren't the only storms, you know, and not
the worst things that can happen to a child."
"I often dreamed of going and knocking
on the door and she would open it and say:
"Ahh, it's you
I knew you would come someday
Won't you come in and get out of those wet clothes
Come on in the kitchen, sit down and I will make you some Hot Chocolate
--- Would you like an oatmeal cookie
It's terrible outside"
"And I would say 'Yes'"
"It's gonna get worst they say"
"Yes, it probably is"
"Carl, come down here and see what's in the kitchen"
Carl would say: "Is it our storm
child?"
"Yes, he is sitting here
in the flesh
big as life"
"I never did go --- there were no
blizzards that came during the day --- Only convenient blizzards --- blizzards
that came on evenings or weekends"
"I didn't because all my troubles were
bearable troubles.
But I am certain that they were more bearable
for imagining that the Krueger's were there --- my storm home.
When things got bad --- I always thought
--- there is always the Krueger's"
Where
is your storm home?
Too
often we make the mistake in thinking that a person is our storm home
That person can certainly be an important
part of that home --- but I think we make a mistake when we put our eggs in one
basket
When somebody looks to me --- and not the
church as their Storm Home --- they are often disappointed
Because
I often disappoint people
It just is not possible for me to be a storm home to 200+ people, any
more than it is possible for you to be
Storm homes usually are a group of people
When
I was growing up --- my storm home was my UMYF --- my youth group.
We
were a group of 30 or so
We came from 4 different high schools ---
so there were some challenges to make us a group
But we were always there for each other
After
I graduated from High School every New Years Eve one of us would hold a party
and we would all come together.
Bringing whomever we were dating at
the time
Sharing what was going on in our lives
We
all knew we were there for each other
We
were there with each other through good times and bad times.
·
Through marriages
·
And babies
·
Through divorces
·
Lost jobs
·
death of parents
·
death of one of the group
We
were always there for each other
Last
fall some of us from that youth group got together for dinner --- it was
wonderful to connect with these friends who have been there so often for me
Who
can you turn to in times of need?
What are your roots?
Who can help calm your storms?
Last
Thursday I attended the Urban League's Diversity and Inclusion Awards Lunch.
It
was a rather unexciting affair
The food was so - so
They gave out a number of awards
But other than the name of the award, and the name of the organization
who won it I could not tell you
What the award was for
What they did to win it
What they did as an
organization (unless the name gave me a hint)
BUT ---- there was a group of High School students
from Merrillville high school that stole the show
They were a part of STAND
·
Socially
·
Together
·
and
·
Naturally
·
Diverse
If you look them up on the Merrillville
High School web page you will find this statement
(Stand is a) student-led club that promotes an appreciation for diversity
through community service. The club provides its members with the opportunity
to earn community service hours through mentoring opportunities, participating
in student exchanges with other schools, creating programs that address
discrimination and other injustices, and educating and celebrating the rich
cultural diversity that exists in our community.
As
they shared their values --- and their dream for every person to find their
value and worth --- I realized that what they have built is so much more than a
extracurricular activity
Even one that promotes such a good
cause
They
have built a storm home --- you could see it in how they interacted with each
other.
They
were there for each other
And
they will be there for each other long after they graduate from High School
Where
is your storm home?
I
do a lot of funerals for people who have no church --- they have no storm home
to help them through the loss
I
often wonder how they are going to manage --- how they will survive the storm
When
the storms are blowing
when the boat seems to be filling with
water
We all need a storm home!
But
let me tell you a secret
Just coming to church isn't enough
You have to create a place for yourself
Missions
Ministry team
Choir
Usher
Book group
Bible study or Sunday school
It
is in the small group that we build our strong shelter for the storms of life
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