Do Not Be Afraid- It Is Well

Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 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?’ 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. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 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?’

Once upon a time there was an upstanding, Christian man who appeared to have everything. He was married to a wonderful woman. He had five beautiful children- one boy and four girls. He had a successful legal practice, and firm investments in property along Lake Michigan in Chicago. His life was like a calm sea-- sure there were a few waves here and there, but for the most part it was smooth sailing.

But then, the storm clouds gathered. First his boat was rocked by the death of his son. Then waves crashed against his boat as the great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed his rental property and he lost everything overnight. Seeking solace from the storm, he planned a trip to Europe in 1873 for his wife and four daughters to rest and recover, with the plan of joining renowned evangelist Dwight Moody and his musician Ira Swankey on their tour through Great Britain. “In November of that year, due to unexpected last-minute business developments, he had to remain in Chicago, but sent his wife and four daughters on ahead as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Havre. He expected to follow in a few days.

“On November 22 the ship was struck by the Lochearn, an English vessel, and sank in twelve minutes. Several days later the survivors were finally landed at Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, ‘Saved alone.’”(1)

He quickly crossed the deep waters to join his grieving wife in Wales. As his own ship approached the spot it was believed the Ville du Havre sank, Horatio Spafford wrote the now famous words: When peace like a river attendeth my way, and sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. In the midst of the storm of life, somehow Spafford felt the peace of the one who can calm all storms: the peace of Christ.

Our Gospel lesson this morning is a familiar one, as Jesus calms the mighty seas with a simple word. Jesus and his disciples have spent the last few days preaching, teaching, and healing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when Jesus declares that it is time to go to the other side of the sea. It is time to expand their ministry beyond the region of Galilee, and his first stop is to the land of the Gerasenes, who live across the sea. The quickest way was to get there was to sail across the sea, so Jesus and his disciples get into a boat and set sail. When they begin their journey the waters are calm, but as they get further and further out upon the water things begin to change. The water becomes rough and choppy. The winds pick up. Their boat is tossed up and down, side to side, as water begins to slap against the sides of the boat and crash down upon the deck. The disciples, who -remember- are well-seasoned fishermen, are terrified. They look to their leader, the carpenter who they are discovering is so much more, is fast asleep at the wheel. And they are terrified. They rouse him from his slumber, shouting, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we are perishing?” Don’t you care that we are perishing?

Jesus wakes from his sleep- how could he sleep at a time like this, really- and I imagine with arms spread wide he stands in the stern and commands the wind and the waves: Peace. Be still. And they obey. Then he turns to his disciples and asks, Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? Our reading today tells us that the disciples were filled with awe, but this is really a mistranslation. The Greek words that are used are kai ephobethesan phobon megan which means, and they feared with great fear, wondering, who is this man, that he holds the power to command the sea and the sea obeys him?

They have not fully realized, until this point, the extent of Jesus’ power, and now they fear with a great fear. No longer afraid of perishing in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, they fear the divine power that they have just witnessed. And like a parent, who is comforting their frightened child Jesus asks, why are you afraid?

We’ve all been there. We’ve all had moments when we are afraid. I’m sure we have all had nightmares as children, or have gone into our children’s rooms to find them crying because something in their dreams has frightened them. And as we were comforted or did the comforting I’m sure most of us heard the words: there’s nothing to be afraid of.

If only it were so simple. If only these words were true. Shhh, there’s nothing to be afraid of, we croon, because it’s the truth we so desperately want to believe but what we should really be saying is this: Do not be afraid. Not because there is nothing to be afraid of, but because Jesus is in our boat, God is with us, so no matter how our boats get tossed about on the sea of life we do not need to be afraid.

Because there is plenty to be afraid of.

Why are you afraid? Jesus asks his disciples, and us. We are afraid because we live in a world where there is not enough: not enough food, not enough shelter, not enough oil, not enough money. We are afraid because we live in a world where it is not safe to be a woman and to walk alone at night. We are afraid because we live in a world where it is dangerous to be a man or woman of color. We are afraid because we live in a world where acts of terror happen everyday- in the Middle East and in a small AME church in Charleston, South Carolina. We are afraid, and angry, and heartbroken because our brothers and sisters gathered in a place that should have provided safe harbor from the storms of life and instead they encountered fear and death at the hands of a stranger they welcomed with warmth and hospitality. These are the stormy seas on which our boat sails, this is our response when Jesus asks, Why are you afraid?

And yet, despite all this, we can find the peace of Christ that is strong enough to calm the seas and gentle enough to comfort a child. We see the peace of Christ in the response of the family and congregation of the church in Charleston, as they have responded with grace and forgiveness instead of anger and hate. We see the peace of Christ in those who continue to have conversations about race, and justice, and peace. We see the peace of Christ in simple acts of hospitality and love. We can be the peace of Christ by welcoming the stranger and loving the unlovable. We experience the peace of Christ when we can live into the truth that we do not need to be afraid, even though there is much to fear, because Jesus is with us in the boat.

We are told over and over in scripture: do not be afraid. It has been said that these are both the first and last words of the gospel. They are the words spoken by the angel Gabriel to the young Mary, and spoken to the women at the tomb. Do not be afraid. Even when the waves are crashing. Even when it feels like we are drowning. When the world is tossing us about and we feel as if we are perishing, we do not need to be afraid. Because Christ is with us. May the words written so long ago be true for me and you- even so, it is well with my soul.

Benediction:

As we leave this place of safe harbor to return to the seas of life let us not be afraid, because God who created the waters is with us. Christ who stills the waters is with us. The Spirit who moves across the waters is with us. May the peace of Christ who calms the storms be with you this day and everyday.

1- http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-it-is-well-with-my-soul

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 4:26-34

He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. 

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?” These are the words Jesus puts before the crowds and his disciples in our gospel lesson today, words that serve as both a challenge and an invitation for the original audience and those who hear them today to exercise the imagination in the ongoing journey of discovery of the kingdom of God. In this relatively short chapter Jesus tells four different parables. The first is the parable of the sower, which we uncovered last week. To refresh your memory, a sower went out to sow, scattering seed far and wide, on the path, on shallow soil, among thorns and thistles, and on good soil. The birds ate what fell on the path, the plants in the shallow soil withered in the sun because they did not have deep roots, the sprouts among the thorns were choked out. But the seed that fell on good soil- that seed produced a bountiful harvest. The second parable got skipped over in our reading, but we just sang it: you are the light for the world, not to be hidden under a bushel, but to be put upon a lamp stand to shed light in the darkness, so that all might see. This morning we read the final two parables found in this chapter, parables that, like the parable of the sower, find themselves in an agrarian setting, with farmers and birds and most importantly: seeds.

Before we can dig into the parables today, or begin to answer Jesus’ question- with what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it- we must first understand what a parable is. So what is a parable? The short and simple answer is that a parable is a short story that uses everyday items or experiences to relay some sort of instruction or deeper meaning to the listener. While this working definition is true, it makes a parable sound very similar to a fable.

We are all familiar with fables, aren’t we? Particularly Aesop’s fables, which we probably learned as children and later taught to our own children. Such fables include the story of the tortoise and hare, which teaches “slow and steady wins the race” or the story of the boy who cried wolf, which teaches the importance of not telling lies. “a fable is primarily didactic, a clever story meant to offer some insight into and instruction about life.”(1)

The word parable comes from the Greek paraballo. Para means beside, like parallel. They share that same root- para. Ballo means to throw. Parables, then, are “stories thrown alongside our lives”(2), They are “intended to be disruptive, to interrupt what you thought you knew and not just teach you something but actually to confront you with a surprising and often unwanted truth.”(3)

So what lesson is Jesus trying to teach us in these parables? What does he have to say that could potentially disrupt or confront us with an unwanted truth?

The first parable that we heard today is the story of the seed that grows in secret. Jesus uses common knowledge about the life cycle of a seed to teach the people about the nature of the kingdom of God. It teaches the listener about who and what does the work of bringing about the kingdom. A farmer plants a seed, and then goes about their everyday lives. It says nothing about watering or tilling, weeding or tending. The farmer does nothing special after planting the seed. Instead, it is God who causes the seed to grow and bear fruit. This, Jesus says, is how it is with the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of God is dependent upon God’s grace and upon human initiative” (4). The farmer takes the initiative to plant the seed, but it is God who finishes the work. Thank goodness the coming of the kingdom does not rely solely on us!

Last week I mentioned that we have a garden at our house. What I failed to mention is that I do my best to stay as far away from it as possible because I have a tendency of accidentally killing any and all plants entrusted in my care. I like gardening- in theory. I can plant the seeds, but then I forget to water them. Then, when the soil is bone dry, I remember I didn’t water them and then I over water them. I put off weeding way too long, saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” until the weeds grow up and I can’t tell the sprouts from the weeds. I am so bad at taking care of plants that I have killed bamboo. Twice! That’s pretty impossible! Thank God the coming of the kingdom is not dependent upon gardeners like me!

The second parable is the well-known story of the mustard seed. Now, a mustard seed was the tiniest of seeds, but could grow into a huge tree or bush. It wasn’t planted on purpose- in fact, it was considered a weed. It took over the place where it was planted and was difficult to contain, even difficult to kill.

Sort of like bamboo.

Now, I have another bamboo story. Once upon a time I lived in my grandparent’s house in Timonium, Maryland. I was looking after things while they were no longer living there. In the spring I decided I wanted to putter around in my grandfather’s garden beds, and I discovered a very interesting shoot. It was bamboo, that had travelled from my neighbor’s yard into mine. I tried pulling it up- that didn’t work. I tried chopping it down- that didn’t work. I tried not watering it- that didn’t work. I tried over watering- that didn’t work. Finally I asked my neighbor if he knew of a way to kill the bamboo. He suggested pouring gasoline on it, but I didn’t want gasoline to seep into my soil, so I learned to live with the bamboo.

Maybe the kingdom of heaven is like that bamboo. It crosses borders and fences. It refuses to be contained. It is indestructible. It provides nourishment for those that eat it leaves, and shade for those who sit under it. Maybe this is the story that was thrown alongside my life at that time. Maybe this is the parable I can use to describe the kingdom of heaven.

But let us return to the mustard seed, because our story today takes place in ancient Palestine, not Timonium, Maryland.

“The mustard seed was a common metaphor in Palestine for ‘the smallest thing’... Like the mustard seed, the followers of Jesus are a bunch of ragged folk, full of doubts, full of fears, unable to comprehend much of what Jesus says or does. The reign of God bursting into history rests on these kinds of folk?” (5) “Jesus emphasizes, ‘Yes, this is the scruffy seed from which the reign of God will be proclaimed’” (6).

The followers of Jesus are the mustard seed.

YOU are the seed. Each one of us has been planted, like a seed, so that God can work in and through our lives, causing us to grow in faith and love. You have been planted, like a seed, so that you might be a safe space for the lost and broken in the world. You have been planted, like a seed, to provide nourishment to those who are hungry, filling bellies with good food and spirits with the truth of God’s love. You have been planted, like a seed, so that the kingdom of God might dwell here on earth.

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?”

May the grace of God help you to grow from a scruffy seed, the smallest thing, into a strong and bountiful tree, a sign of God’s presence in the world this day and everyday.

1- http://www.davidlose.net/2015/06/pentecost-3-b-preach-the-truth-slant/

2- Nibs Strouse

3- http://www.davidlose.net/2015/06/pentecost-3-b-preach-the-truth-slant/

4- Nibs Strouse

5- Nibs Strouse

6- Nibs Strouse