Finding A Storm Home

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.

As the Disciples are in the boat with Jesus --- heading to the "other side", the Gentile side --- the non-Jewish 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 or job change

·         illness

·         addiction

·         death of a loved one

·         children growing up and leaving the nest

·         Floods

·         Car Accidents

·         Tornados & Wind Storms

·         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 feels 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 former host of A Prairie Home Companion, a weekly radio show on NPR. 

One of the show's best-known features was 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.  That is a big deal in Minnesota

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 Krueger's --- 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"

Let me ask you: 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 1000 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

A little over a week ago --- I sat in my back yard with some friends: Mark, Ken, Jim, and Tim --- and as we sat talking around a fire I realized that this was my storm home.

I have been friends with most of these guys for close to 35 years.

          And we have always been there for each other.

Who can you turn to in times of need?

          What are your roots?

          Who can help calm your storms?

A couple years ago I attended the Lake County 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 --- I had never heard of STAND before

·         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 an 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 have done 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

Plant your roots --- so that WHEN the storms of life blow --- you have a safe harbor

Is There Enough?

Matthew 14:13-21

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

It was 1989, I was 29 years old, married for a couple of years with a new born daughter.  On Thursday March 16^th the phone rang in the parsonage in Plymouth Indiana.  The call was from Wilber Yates, District Superintendent of the Warsaw District inviting Nancy and I to pack our belongings and move in 90 days to Warsaw to plant a new church.  I would be lying to you if I said that it wasn’t one of the most terrifying phone calls I have ever received.

A few weeks later I was on my way to meet with my Steering Committee for the first time, a group of local lay members of other United Methodist Churches who were to give me guidance and support.

Keep in mind, I had never met this group and they had not met me.  I saw two people sitting in some chairs in the lobby of the hotel where we were to meet and as I got closer I overheard one of them saying to the other: “Why in the world are we starting another church here in Warsaw, aren’t there enough churches here already?”

What a nice way to be introduced to some members of my team.

But that question has stuck with me through the years.  Especially what the question was really asking.  Not just in regard to church planting, but also as it relates to life in general.

Is there really enough . . .

In 1881, the Rev. C.C. McCabe was on a train headed toward the Pacific Northwest, he was on his way to plan, fundraise, and eventually plant Methodist Churches throughout Oregon, Idaho and Washington states

In the newspaper that morning was a copy of a speech delivered by Robert G. Ingersoll, the famous agnostic philosopher, to the Freethinkers Association of America convention that was being held in Chicago.

In his speech Ingersoll declared: “the churches are dying out all over the earth; they are struck with death.”

At the next train stop, Rev. McCabe sent a telegram to Ingersoll who was still in Chicago at the Freethinkers convention.

He wrote:

Dear Robert,

All hail the power of Jesus name --- we are building one Methodist Church for every day in the year, and propose to make it two a day.

                   C.C. McCabe

Word of the telegram leaked and someone wrote a folk hymn that became popular among the preaching missions and camp meetings.

The infidels, a motley band

In counsel met, and said:

“The churches are dying across the land,

And soon they’ll all be dead.”

When suddenly, a message came

And caught them with dismay:

“All hail the power of Jesus’ name,

We’re building two a day!”

We’re building two a day, dear Bob,

We’re building two a day

All hail the power of Jesus’ name,

We’re building two a day

In our Gospel lesson this morning, the disciples come up to Jesus ---

who has been busy all day preaching and teaching and healing

          and say:

“Hey Jesus, we’ve got a problem here ----

It is starting to get dark and this crowd of over 5,000 people (not counting women and children) have yet to eat ---- and there is not a McDonald’s in sight --- face it --- we are in the middle of nowhere.

Why don’t you do all of us a favor and sent them all home!”

Jesus reply was quite simple: “You give them something to eat.”

But the disciples went on:

Jesus, you aren’t listening --- you know we only have $1.75 in the treasury, and even if we had the money --- there is nothing out here to buy. 

Face it, all we have is these five loaves of bread and two fish, and that’s hardly enough even for us!

“Bring them here” --- was Jesus reply

The disciples looked and only saw a coming disaster --- a hungry mob and no way of feeding them.

Jesus on the other hand saw not a disaster, but instead saw possibility.

Jesus saw the chance for a miracle --- an opportunity to trust in God

Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of the famous book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, has said:

God is like a mirror.  The mirror never changes, but everybody who looks at it seems something different.

There is a marvelous little movie about an eccentric old woman titled: “Ruth Stout’s Garden”.  I wish I had a copy of it and could show it to you.

In the movie Ruth tells about herself and her unique gardening techniques

She has this garden, and she would till the soil and weed it, and carefully place each of her vegetables in neat rows with a stick identifying what it was that was growing there.

          One day – Ruth decided that this method was a waste of time

So instead she just cast the seeds and lets nature take over

          They grow anyway she would say

People used to love and watch her garden --- she said it was so strange that people would just stop and stare --- maybe it was because she liked to garden in the nude . . .

In the movie Ruth tells about a time when she was a little girl.

She said that she was sitting in front of a window looking out and watching her brothers bury her beloved dog.

While she is looking out the window, with tears streaming down her face, her grandfather comes over to her and says:

Ruth, do you remember that rosebush that you planted last year?, come and look a the beautiful rosebud that is blooming on it.

Why Grandpa? Ruth asks

Because Ruth, you are looking out the wrong window.

God is like a mirror.  The mirror never changes, but everybody who looks at it seems something different.

In 1941, Rev Herman Thomas, was pastor of the Methodist Church in Algoma, Wisconsin.  One evening Rev Thomas was walking through his neighborhood when he decided to stop at the home of Robert G. Ingersoll III, a brilliant engineer and grandson of the famous agnostic philosopher.

The Ingersoll’s had moved to Algoma a year earlier.

Mrs. Ingersoll was a strong believer and had joined the Methodist Church and sang in their choir --- Robert visited occasionally.

Outside the Ingersoll house, Rev Thomas prayed: Asking God for strength before he knocked on the door.

Ingersoll answered the door saying: “Pastor Thomas, I am glad you dropped by, I’ve been saving some questions for you.”

He asked his questions and seemed to appreciate the understanding and clarity of Rev. Thomas’ replies.

Ingersoll asked: “Pastor Thomas, how can I become a follower of the way?  Will you help me?”

Herman Thomas explained that the Spirit knocks at the door in one’s heart --- and that the person who opens the door will experience the grace of Christ, and know that they belong to him.”

Before he left, Rev. Thomas led a prayer with the family.

The next Sunday, Ingersoll came to church and during the singing of the closing hymn he walked forward and asked to be baptized.

The following year, in 1942, the Algoma Methodist Church had another memorable service.

During the service Pastor Thomas baptized two infant boys into the Christian family.

          One was his own first born son

          The other was a baby boy named Robert G Ingersoll, IV

Had the church been silent for just a moment I am willing to bet they would have heard some singing in the distance:

We’re building two a day, dear Bob,

We’re building two a day

All hail the power of Jesus’ name,

We’re building two a day

It is easy for us to look at the negative side of everything.

It is easy for us to sit in front of the window of sorry --- rather than the window of joy.

It is easy for us to be like the disciples and say: "Lord, there is not enough!"

The hard part is for us to recognize and accept what Jesus told us:

Matthew 9:37-38 (NRSV)

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

People tell me all the time that we do not need to reach out into the neighborhood, that the people who live close to the church are already involved in a church.

According to the Pew Research Center

·         71% of American's claim Christianity as their religion

·         6% are other non-Christian faiths (Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc)

·         23% are what we call "the nones" today

And when you read that data --- it indeed sounds like most people are involved in their faith journeys.

However, the group that we call Christians --- 71% of the population can be broken down into three categories

·         Cultural Christians ---- They call themselves Christians because of heritage or culture.

·         Congregational Christians --- They have some connection to a local church but do not attend regularly (We have a little over 1,000 members here at Meridian Street)

·         Active Christians

Only about 25% of those who call themselves Christians practice their faith in an active way.

The greatest mission field in the world is in our neighborhoods.

Most of our friends, many who call themselves Christian --- do not attend any church.

The question of abundance is two-fold.

·         Yes --- we know that there is plenty of opportunity for us to reach out and share our faith --- most of our neighbors and friends are not active in their spiritual journey.

·         But the second question is really the more important one --- do we believe that there is ENOUGH that if we invite others we will still have a place here, for us, at Meridian Street.

And the answer to that is, of course, YES.

Like the people in Matthew's story --- we have been called to share what we have so that all can come to know the love and grace of Jesus.

There is a commercial that is very old that has always stuck with me.

The commercial was about a man named Bill Demby. 

Bill is your pretty typical person: a father, a patriot, courageous.

The commercial went something like this:

When Bill Demby was in Viet Nam he dreamed of coming home and playing a little basketball, a dream that all but died when he lost both legs to a Vietcong rocket.  Then researchers discovered a DuPont plastic that could make truly lifelike limbs.  Now Bill is back, and some say he hasn't lost a step.

Bill was interviewed and said that he really didn't like the recognition that the commercial gave him.  But, he said ---

there was a time when a man came up to me.  He explained his troubles and told me that he had given up on everything.  But he said seeing me in that commercial had turned him around.  He thanked me for changing his life.  ME?!

Bill said that he had to walk away so that the man wouldn't see him crying.

What kind of witness are you to those that you meet or even to those who know you?

Do any of you remember Squeaky Fromme, she was a member of Charles Manson’s “family” but never charged in the Tate/La Bianca murders.

In 1975, Squeaky Fromme attempted to assassinate President Ford, she waved a gun at the President, but did not shoot.

Years later she was interviewed by a leading psychiatrist who concluded rather interestingly that if instead of meeting Charles Manson, if Squeaky Fromme had met some Christians who had invited her to get involved in their church that she probably would have.  Her life would have been totally different.  She was just looking for a place to belong.

Each of us are called to do our part --- to see the possibilities --- rather than the dead ends.  To see God's multiplication in action

We’re building two a day, dear Bob,

We’re building two a day

All hail the power of Jesus’ name,

We’re building two a day

Let us do our part, as we go out into the neighborhood, knowing that the harvest is rich, and that there is more than enough!

The Ministry of Jesus

Matthew 6:9-15

“Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.
    Your will be done,
        on earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    And do not bring us to the time of trial,
        but rescue us from the evil one.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Is there anybody here this morning who doesn't know this prayer from memory?

It is the greatest prayer in Christianity --- but it is also the strangest.

• It is prayed by all Christians --- yet it never mentions Jesus
• It is prayed in all churches ---- yet it never mentions the Church
• It is prayed every Sunday --- but it does not mention the "Lord's Day"
• We call it the "Lord's Prayer" but it never mentions the "Lord

Strange isn't it?

• It never mentions --- the inspired inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth, miracles, Jesus atoning death or even his bodily resurrection --- yet this prayer is central to fundamentalists
• It never mentions that we should evangelize --- or even the gospel --- yet it is central to evangelical Christians.
• It never mentions charisma --- or the Holy Spirit --- yet all Pentecostal Christians embrace this prayer

This is indeed the strangest prayer

No doctrine is mentioned

Sacrificial atonement for sin is not mentioned

It never mentions heaven, hell or the next life

This is a prayer that is prayed by people who emphasize what this prayer does not

But it is also prayed by people who ignore what it says.

But what if this prayer is really none of those things that we have often thought it was?

What if this prayer is really a prayer (as John Dominic Crossan calls it) --- a prayer from the heart of Judaism on the lips of Christianity for the conscience of the world?

What if this prayer is a radical manifesto and a hymn of hope for all humanity in language addressed to all the earth?

Why would I say that?

Why would I call this a revolutionary manifesto and a hymn of hope --- and what does that mean for you and me today?

I call this prayer revolutionary because it proclaims God's radical vision of justice

It is a hymn of hope because it follows the tradition of biblical poetry in offering hope for a better world.

Justice is one of the most important concepts in the Bible ---- but What is justice?

For most of us --- when we hear the word JUSTICE it means retributive justice

          Somebody has to PAY for what happened

If you are to look up the word in a dictionary you would find a definition like this:

the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals

But when you look at the Biblical concept of Justice the meaning is a bit different

In the Biblical context --- justice does not mean retribution --- it means distributive justice

To be just means to deliver everything fairly

It is equitable distribution of whatever you have in mind

          Even if that is retribution or punishment

The Bible constantly talks of God as a God of "justice and righteousness"

Psalm 99:4

Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

Isaiah 33:5

The Lord is exalted, he dwells on high; he filled Zion with justice and righteousness;

Jeremiah 9:24

but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.

Justice and Righteousness really express the same concept

A God of Justice and Righteousness is a God who does what is just by doing what is right and does what is right by doing what is just.

God's world must be distributed fairly and equitably among all God's people.

It derives from the experience of a well run home, household or family farm.

If you were to walk into this home or farm how would you judge the householder?

You would probably look around and ask yourself questions like:

• Are the fields well tended?
• Are the animals properly provisioned?
• Are the buildings adequately maintained?
• Are the children and dependents well fed, clothed, and sheltered?
• Are the sick being tended too?
• Are responsibilities and returns apportioned fairly?

That is how God visions the kingdom.

God is the householder and wants everybody to experience justice and righteousness.

          Everybody to have a chance and opportunity.

And God asks us those questions on a global scale.

That's what the Lord's Prayer is really all about.

But it is also a hymn of hope.

Especially for those on the outside --- the Lord's Prayer --- this greatest prayer is one of hope for a better --- more just world.

Let's take a look at it

          Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name.

The first thing we should note is how personal this prayer is.

In the Greek it is not a stuffy word like father that is used --- but what the word really suggests is Daddy.

Jesus is telling us that we are in a relationship with a very personal God

Luke's version has no mention of heaven, but Matthew's does but it is a vision of God's Kingdom:

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

The heart of Jesus message is the coming of God's kingdom

A kingdom that Jesus life and ministry illustrate time and time again --- a kingdom of justice

Micah 6:8    (NRSV)

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

Isaiah 2:4    (NRSV)

He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war any more.

Throughout the scriptures this message of Justice is always there.

God is a God of Justice and the kingdom is one of justice.  Not just for us --- but for all

          Give us this day our daily bread.
   

The people Jesus ministered with were the common peasants of 1st Century Palestine.

Every day was a struggle

There was no guarantee of food on the table

Bread was the staple of life

But is this request for daily sustenance?

or for the bread at the messianic banquet?

Regardless, it is a petition to God asking God to distribute to all of God's children the bread that they all need.

The next petition in Luke is different than that in Matthew.  In Matthew we hear that common phrase that we pray each week:

          Forgive us our trespasses (or debts)

Luke changes it to:

And forgive us our sins,
        for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

Again, regardless of sins or debts or trespasses the message here seems pretty simple.

A recognition that in order to truly experience forgiveness, we need to be offering it.

The kingdom will be a place where love reigns and not retaliation or retribution.

Finally Luke ends with:

And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Again in Matthew it is different for Matthew says

And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one

In some ways those are two very different requests.

Matthew is reminding us that we have a God whom we can call on for strength when we find ourselves in those moral quandaries.

So what do we do with this radical prayer?

KEEP PRAYING IT.

But let me offer some tips on how to do that.

1. Think of it as a "choke" to get a cold engine started.

Pray the Lord's Prayer to "warm your spirit" so that you can more easily enter into other praying and meditation.

2. Pray it, thinking about the meaning of each petition.

Ask yourself questions such as,

"With this line, what am I asking God to do?"

"What am I (or should I be) offering of myself in making this petition?"

"Which petitions are the hardest for me to really mean when I pray them -- and why?"

"What do I need to rethink, redo or repent of in light of what I am requesting?"

"What else should I pray for as a result?"

3. Use its lines as the topics of a prayer journal.

Keep notes under each petition about how you have responded to, changed, gained new understanding or still need to learn about the subjects of that petition.

4. Use it as model for your own prayers.

5. Pray it when your mind rebels against praying your own prayers.

Praying something is better than praying nothing.

6. Pray it when your heart is aching so bad that you can't form your own petitions. It may become a channel through which God's Spirit can flow to you.

7. Let it be a shorthand way to teach your kids about talking to God.

Most importantly --- let the words of this prayer fill your hearts and minds with the radical – unconditional love of God ----- and let that be a sign of hope in your life!