GOSPEL Mark 4:35-41
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
Jesus calms the storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves,
‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’
41 They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
This is the Gospel of The Lord

SERMON: St Margaret’s and Holy Trinity 21-06-15
What’s the matter, God! We're in trouble down here! Don't you care!
Where are you, God! Can't you hear us!
Say something, God! Wake up! Do something!
God, help us! Save us! Please !
The disciples were in a boat with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. They had started their journey in the evening, so it was dark or getting dark. There is nothing more peaceful than a boat on the water. It was quiet out there, away from the crowds. The waves slapped against the side of the boat in a steady, soothing rhythm. The boat was ghosting along under her small sail. All in all, it was a wonderful rest from the hustle and bustle of the day. Jesus, sitting on a cushion in the stern, fell asleep. He must have been tired. It had been quite a day.
But then the wind began to blow. That little sea was famous for its sudden storms, and this one came out of nowhere. It blew and it blew, and the waves smashed into the boat. The disciples panicked. It's interesting to note that at least four of them were fishermen. They had seen storms before. They had survived storms before. They knew what to do in a storm. Are we surprised that they are so afraid?
Nobody who has ever been caught in a storm in a small boat, far from shore, will be surprised. There are very few places where one is more helpless and more alone than in a small boat in a storm. The wind blows––and the rain falls––and the waves smash into the boat. Worse than that, the waves wash
into the boat.
The sailor caught in such a storm has much to do:
• If the boat gets sideways to the waves, the waves will capsize it, so the sailor must keep the boat facing into the waves.
• The sailor must also bail the water out of the boat. With any luck, the sailor will be able to bail the water out faster than the waves bring it in.
• And, of course, the sailor must try to stay in the boat. That sounds simple, doesn't it, but it isn't simple at all. Trying to keep one's footing––or even one's seat––in a small boat at sea in a storm is a full-time job itself.
• And then, of course, the sailor must pray. Any sailor worth his or her salt knows that the storm is far stronger than the boat or the sailor.

Have you ever been caught in a storm in a small boat? If you have, you know that it is scary––very scary!
The disciples, including the fishermen among them, were just as afraid as any of us would be. The fishermen were afraid, because they knew. They knew how much danger they were in. They knew the very real possibility that the boat would swamp and they would all go to the bottom. They knew that they very well might not survive the night. They thought of trying to swim––or to tread water––as the waves crashed over their heads. They weren't cowardly men, but they knew the danger. That is why they were afraid.
And through it all, Jesus slept. There he was on his comfortable cushion in the stern of the boat sleeping through everything. How could he sleep! That was pretty amazing in itself. You would have thought that the rough ride would have awakened him. But there he was––fast asleep.
That was almost as upsetting as the storm. Jesus was their leader, and right now they needed some leadership. They wanted Jesus awake and alert. They wanted Jesus to take command of the situation––to get them organized. It was frightening to think that their leader would sleep through such a crisis.
They woke him. They said, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
Don't you see what's happening! Don't you understand the danger we're in!
Don't you care! We are your disciples, Jesus! We left our homes and our jobs to follow you. Now this storm is threatening to kill us all, and you are blissfully asleep in the back of the boat! Wake up! Take charge! Do your job! Save us!
Have you ever felt like that?
You don't have to be in a small boat in a storm to feel like that! We all feel like that at times, and sometimes we feel like that most of the time. Yes, the disciples were afraid; you are afraid; and I am afraid. That is part of the human condition. Even Jesus, on the cross, would say,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When hit by the storms of life, we all say:
What’s the matter, God! We're in trouble down here! Don't you care!
Where are you, God! Can't you hear me!
Say something, God! Wake up! Do something!
God, help us! Save us! Please!

We know the story of Job. Scripture tells us that he was a most upright and
God-fearing man of immense blessing. He had seven sons and three daughters, thousands of sheep and cattle and oxen, he prayed diligently and he was respected by everyone who knew him. But then one day, Satan was looking for someone to test, to see if they were faithful to their God, and God said "Have you considered my servant Job?"
While God's reasoning is inexplicable, God gives Satan permission to tempt
Job, and in almost no time at all, Job loses everything he has. Enemies came and stole his cattle, lightening started a fire and it killed all his servants, and a ferocious wind storm flattened his house and all of his children died.
For 37 chapters, Job rails at God. He curses the day he was born, he calls God his enemy, and demands an explanation for his tragic life.
You may have heard that Job is a patient sufferer? It's a myth; Job is hurting and frustrated and angry at God. And it doesn't help that Job has three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, who try to reason with Job that God was merely punishing him for his unfaithfulness. But Job insists that he is blameless, and that God has treated him unfairly.
It’s in this 38th chapter that the student is told to be quiet, and the teacher speaks.
God answers all of Jobs questions and insults, not by defending his actions, but by reminding Job that God is God, and that he always has Job's best interests at heart.
How does God do this?
By asking Job a series of rhetorical questions:

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you're so smart!

Who determined how big the universe would be?

Who established how far the seas would flow, and no further?

Who created the clouds?

Who hung the stars?

Were you there when the mountain goats gave birth?

Did you give the horse his strength?

Did you teach the hawk how to soar?"
For three long chapters, Gods words turn Job into melting wax. The teacher is reminding the student that he created the universe.
Gerhard Frost, in his book "The Color of the Night" records this family conversation.
"Grandpa?" "Yes?"

"It's been a bad day, a really bad day! I lost my best friend, and the teacher made me sit by myself because she thought I talked too much. On my way home, I made a snowball, and I threw it, and I told God I hoped it hit him right in the heart! But after a while, I told him I was sorry, and then things got a little better."
And Dr. Frost concludes,
"This is a starkly honest report of a day in the life of a seven year old -- A oneminute, dramatic summary of the Book of Job."
When the disciples woke Jesus, they said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying?" (v. 38). Jesus didn't answer them directly, but turned instead to the wind and the sea saying, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased––and there was a dead calm. Then Jesus spoke directly to the disciples. He said,
"Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"
• I wish Jesus hadn't said that.
• I wish Jesus had said, I feel your pain!
• I wish Jesus had said, "Of course you're afraid. It's dangerous out here."
• I wish Jesus had stripped his shirt and tie to reveal a big "S" on his chest. I wish he had had said, "Don't worry. Superman will save you."
• I wish Jesus had acknowledged how difficult it is to be human––up against great odds––caught between a rock and a hard place––afraid––in despair.
But it's better that Jesus didn't do that. Jesus didn't affirm them in their despair, but instead pointed to the way out of it. Jesus said to the wind and the waves, "Peace! Be still!" and they were stilled.
Jesus spoke those words to the wind and waves, but he also meant them for his disciples. "Peace! Be still!" That was what those disciples needed to hear.
They needed the world around them to be peaceful and still, but they needed even more to be at peace within themselves. When our world is coming unglued, we need to hear Jesus say,
"Peace! Be still!"
As much as we need Jesus to calm the storms around us, we need even more for him to calm the storms within us. "Peace! Be still!"
When Madeleine L'Engle's husband died of incurable cancer, it didn't happen suddenly. She had to watch as he declined day by day––and then he died. She felt empty––and she was full of grief. It was a confusing and terrible time.
Then someone told her a story of a bishop who had lost his wife and child in a

tragic accident. The bishop said to his people, "I have been all the way to the
bottom. And it’s solid."
In the worst storm of her life––all the way at the bottom of her life––Jesus said to Madeleine L'Engle, "Peace! Be still!" And she put down her feet. And it was solid!
Jesus comes to us in the storms of our lives. When the wind and the waves threaten to undo us, we cry, "Don’t You care that we’re perishing!"
And Jesus says to us, "Peace! Be still!" He calls us to faith. He calls us to put our feet down––to discover that it is solid!
What storm are we in right now?
Is it a problem with a husband or a wife?
Is it a problem with a child? A health problem?
Financial problems? Can't find a job?
Or just plain discouraged?
Let us turn our eyes for a moment from the storm to the Saviour. Tell Jesus what is on our heart.
Go ahead and say it ––"Jesus, don't you care that we’re in trouble down here?"
And then hear him as he says,
"Peace! Be still!"
And, keeping our eyes fixed on Him -- we remember the beginning of Psalm 40:
I waited patiently for the L ORD ;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
So let’s put our feet down–– and discover that it really is solid!