My husband Tom is in Las Vegas visiting his father for Father’s Day weekend. If you asked him what his favorite memories of his father are, he would tell what I think a lot of people would tell you about their dads. Dads help you define who you are and who you are called to be. They do this by loving you unconditionally, and they do this by calling you into new places and new challenges.
Tom remembers the fun times, the times when his dad called the family out of normal life into new adventures, the times that are special family memories. In Tom’s case, his dad was extremely fond of boats, ships, fishing and anything to do with the sea – so his family spent a lot of time on the water. They tell the story of numerous family excursions, with the whole family plus the dog in the boat while the kids water-skied. Tom was a good skier but his sister, Ellen, apparently was not. When Tom was skiing, the dog would lie down in the boat and go to sleep. But when Ellen skied, the dog stayed alert, and the minute she went down, the dog would go diving into the water after her, so their dad would have two family members to rescue, not just one.
It’s one of those stories that the family tells quite often when they get together, one of those stories that in some way defines who they were as a family. And it talks about a father as someone who calls you into new adventures, but also will always make sure you are safe while you are out on the water.
There’s a good reason that Jesus called God his “Father.” We see it in gospel today. Jesus had absolute confidence that God would not only call him out into new adventures, new risks for the faith, but that God would also care for him. Take a look at what Jesus is doing here – he gets into the boat and tells the disciples to go to the other side. It’s not obvious from the story, but the “other side” of the lake is Gentile country. In other words, Jesus is leaving home and every place he’s comfortable and going to people that are different, the strangers, the others, outsiders to Israel Jesus is crossing the Sea of Galilee to a foreign country, leaving his comfort zone to bring his mission to new people. Not leaving the old people behind – the disciples and people in other boats go too. But Jesus is showing his passion and compassion for every single person by extending his mission beyond the easy and familiar places.
He is bringing whole group along on a mission to strange and unfamiliar territory, when a storm blows up and threatens their lives, and Jesus stills it. Jesus had no doubt that a simple command would still the storm. And Jesus’ simple command, “Peace! Be still!” is excellent advice for us, when storms seem to threaten our control over our lives. lesson is simple: we may feel threatened by all the things that toss us around in our lives – but we can count on Jesus to see us through. In other words, when troubles of life overwhelm us, we should never forget that Jesus is here in the boat with us. And it is Jesus we should call out to.
And this is a really good lesson– but it’s not all that Mark wants us to hear. For Mark, the punchline to this story comes in the last 2 sentences: “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?’"
In our translation it uses pale, lifeless words – they were filled with great awe. But in the original Greek – it says “phobos megas” – they feared with enormous fear. Now note: this is AFTER he had calmed the storm. Their lives are no longer in danger, they know that he can do things only God can do – and they are more afraid now than they were during the storm. Being confronted with the power of Christ and the dawning realization of who he was – was even more frightening than the life-threatening storm.
It’s like Mark is saying: if you think life is frightening, wait till you see Jesus! Because if you see the real Jesus, he will blow you away. Like a father who calls us out into new adventures, Jesus will call you out into places you never dreamed of going, and sometimes those places will be more adventure than you ever wanted to have
I think everyone here will agree that Jesus is still calling us out of our comfort zones. No one who is part of a new mission church like this one could deny that even 2 millennia later, Jesus is still leading people into new adventures. Our language reflects what we already know: a church is a “nave” – a little boat. After 2,000 years, we disciples are still in the boat with Jesus, sometimes afraid, sometimes full of wonder and awe.
We started this church almost 3 years ago, imagining a church that didn’t exist yet, a church that would make its mission “transforming lives with the love of Jesus Christ.” In 3 years we’ve come a long way – averaging 133 people in worship this year, sponsoring lively children’s and youth programs, making beautiful music together, reaching out to the needy in our community and abroad with amazing outreach ministries – we can be proud of the lives we’ve transformed.
And yet Jesus is this amazing and incredible savior, whose passion for those who don’t yet know him never stops, whose call to us is never silent, whose leadership is never comfortable. And I believe that Jesus, like a faithful father, is calling us into new adventures even now – adventures in faith, adventures that will lead others to know the love of Christ and experience the life transformation that he brings.
This week you will receive a letter from our senior warden Mark Dobbins and me. Our Bishop’s Committee and a number of other people have spent a great deal of time in meetings, discussion, prayer, and discernment of God’s will. We believe that God is calling us to keep the wonderful, traditional worship service that we have, and also to start a new worship service in a format that is still true to our Episcopal roots but branches out in terms of music to reach out to new people. I am really excited about the possibilities for us and for the people Jesus wants us to touch with his love – strangers we don’t know yet, but who will become dear to us as members of our church family.
We felt it was important, because of our strong commitment to children’s and youth ministries, to do this new service at a time when it could include Sunday school, meaning Sunday morning. The new service will be at 11:00, which means beginning in September this service, our traditional one, will shift just a little bit to 9:30. I am really excited about the opportunities this offers all of us for new options and new ways to engage with our faith, and I think it is a big step forward in the kind of joyful, loving, engaging ministries we can provide. This is all part of our vision and our mission to transform lives with love of Jesus Christ.
You will be getting a letter this week that explains this in more detail. I invite you to read it and think about it. I also invite you if you wish, to come to a meeting next Sunday, June 28, after the 10:00 service, and the BC and I will tell you more about the new schedule, what is the reasoning behind it, and how all the different parts fit together, and you can ask questions and make comments. And of course, you can call or email or come visit me anytime, with your questions or comments.
Mostly, I hope that you will find many things to love about this new venture, as I do, and trust and pray that Jesus will be with us every step of the way. Everything we have done from the beginning is a risk, and this is too – we don’t know how things will turn out. But I hope that you will be here in the boat with us, going where Jesus calls us to go as his church.
Because God calls us into new places we wouldn’t go on our own. No matter where God calls us to go, I can tell you without doubt and without reservation that Jesus is here in the boat with us. Christ's peace can still the wind and the sea, and Christ's peace can lead us through change and growth in our church. We are all here because we have been touched by the grace of God, and we have seen that grace reflected in this church community that God has created, against all odds and nearly miraculously, seemingly out of thin air.
I believe it is true, in the words of John Newton, a ship captain from two centuries ago: "'Tis grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace shall lead us home."
I believe that wherever we go, Christ will lead us. Our enthusiasm and our confidence in Christ as our leader will make all the difference as we take our little boat out on the water.
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