Pentecost/Year B
June 20, 2021
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
I’ve noticed that in my sermons the past few weeks, I’ve focused quite a bit on asking questions…and wondering aloud…about who God is, where God is in the midst of all that has been going on in our lives this past year of the pandemic…I’ve been wondering aloud with all the questions the disciples and Jesus have been bringing up in our gospel readings every week…and I think I’m finally beginning to catch on this week…that if we are serious about getting to know who God is, who Jesus is, and what the Holy Spirit has to do with all of this…and why it even matters in our lives…we need to spend time asking questions, and wondering aloud, together….we need to allow our hearts and our minds to be stretched and opened wide to receive the Good News of God’s love present among us, in Jesus, who came to proclaim boldly and persistently…that God is love…and that even as all the windstorms of life rise up all around us, and the waves of problems and unknowns continue to come and go…Jesus reminds us, that the peace of God, the stillness of God…is always there, in the midst of any storm that may come our way…Yet, not everyone knows this…who this Jesus is….
The other thing I’m noticing today…is that every time we ask questions or wonder aloud with others, about the scriptures we’ve just read, or in the times we are offering up prayers with others, asking for help with something we have no clear answer for….Jesus rarely gives us a simple yes or no answer to any question…but he just shows up, every time we call out to him, every time we get to that point when we fear there is no possible answer that makes sense, when we feel like there is no way forward…or no way that we will survive the next storm that comes along…we can trust that Jesus is there…to offer a word of peace…and a moment of calm and stillness…. Yet, not everyone knows this…who this Jesus is….
All shall be well…all shall be well…all manner of thing shall be well…These words from Julian of Norwich help me remember that…that Jesus is there in the boat with us…always ready to offer a word of peace…and a moment of calm and stillness… Yet, not everyone knows this…who this Jesus is….
Yes, we can trust that Jesus is always there…ready to listen and respond to our next question…
Our gospel reading today, ends with a question…
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Minister/writer Bruce Prewer reflects on this last question in a poem he wrote:
Who is this Jesus? (Bruce Prewer; bruceprewer.com)
To leave the safe sheltered quay;
to rest while strong men fear;
to doze through a storm at sea:
who is this Jesus?
To display the might of the meek;
to sleep while threats are near;
to dream while fierce gales peak:
who is this Jesus?
To know what keeps you afloat;
to let another hand steer;
to be safe in a foundering boat:
who is this Jesus?
To be seen when there’s no light;
to trust when nothing’s clear;
to confront the powers of night:
who is this Jesus?
To speak the word that saves;
to know God is even here;
to command the wind and the waves:
who is this Jesus?
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Who is this Jesus? “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” That’s one of the questions we explore week after week, as we gather as a church community. Who is this Jesus?
We seek to make sense of the world we live in, which often makes it difficult to believe that there is a loving God who is even here among us, that we have a savior, whom we know as Jesus, who speaks a word of peace to our wearied and worried hearts, a word of peace that stills our troubled spirit, and whose presence among us, captures the extraordinary love and power of God to bring healing and hope to a hurting world.
Our call as Christians…is to look outside our own boats, our own personal lives, our weekly gatherings here in the church, to see that there are others out there, in different boats, who experience different life experiences who have no idea who this loving Jesus is…whose presence among us captures the extraordinary love and power of God to bring healing and hope to a hurting world…..And then to go...to go out into the community and the wider world among us…to reach out to others, to listen and learn from one another…to wrestle with the hard questions that come up in the difficult conversations with each other… And to reach out in all that we do, with love…God’s love, made known to us in Jesus…and in Jesus’ saving words: Peace! Be still!
There will always be questions about life’s difficulties and sufferings all around us… Yet, we need not fear that we will be left to face the storms of life, alone…
God is here among us, we can trust that Jesus is present with us, ready to offer a word of peace and a moment of calm and stillness….and a word of healing and hope…
Prayer: Mighty God, who speaks a word of peace to calm our troubled sea; Caring God, who nudges us away from fear and toward faith; Ever-present God, who fills us with awe but also raises many questions without easy answers; Open our eyes to see you in our boat, and in others’ boats—today, Strengthen our hearts for the challenges that lie ahead, Open our ears this hour to hear the word you speak. This we pray, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
— posted on the Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren website. http://rockhay.tripod.com/
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK