Sermon - Luke 8.22-25

Luke 8.22-25

Today’s gospel reading is short but carries a powerful and important message. But first I want to begin with a personal story. When I was at University I took flying lessons as a member of the University Air Squadron. One of the first times I had control for the approach and landing I encountered WIND SHEAR for the first time – a sudden loss of height and airspeed caused by variations in wind velocity – we were quite near the ground and before I could react, my instructor took control, shoving the aircraft’s nose down hard, to gain enough speed to make a safe landing.

At the time I was just glad to get back on the ground in one piece but in hindsight I learn two things from this experience:-

1. When a crisis comes, what matters is who you have with you and who is in control. If I’d been alone or with a less alert instructor I might have crashed and been killed or seriously injured. Thanks to F/Lt Mike Connell, my story had a happy ending and an important lesson was learnt.

2. Sometimes the action required to get out of danger can be ‘counter-intuitive’, meaning the opposite to the action you would normally or instinctively take. This was the case with the action my instructor took. Another example is when your car skids and you have to turn into the skid in order to recover.

By the way, in case you are a nervous passenger, don’t worry about windshear – modern passenger planes all have safety devices to protect them from this danger!

How does this story relate to our gospel reading?

The presence of Jesus

We read that, as the disciples were crossing the lake by boat, a storm suddenly began so fiercely that even the experienced fishermen on board were afraid. The boat started taking on water and was in danger of sinking. What made all the difference in this situation was that the disciples were not alone. Jesus was on board with them and, after the disciples woke him up, he was able to stop the storm with a word and restore calm and safety. The story raises some interesting questions.

1. How was Jesus able to sleep?
Because he knew where he was going, that he was doing his Father’s will and that on this particular day that involved crossing the Sea of Galilee by boat with his disciples. He also knew that he had power over the elements, which makes it interesting that he didn’t fix calm weather in advance for the whole crossing. He allowed the storm to happen and was able to sleep securely, full of faith and peace, even in the midst of chaos and danger. His faith and his faithfulness were built on his relationship of unbreakable intimacy with his Father God and with the Holy Spirit.
In effect the same person who said ‘let there be light’ (Genesis 1.3) had now also said ‘let us go over to the other side of the lake’. From Jesus’ perspective there was never any doubt that the crossing would be completed.




2. Why did Jesus sleep?
This is perhaps a more interesting question and the answer may be as mundane and obvious as the fact that he was tired! But it is also an example of the method Jesus used to train his disciples for their mission, a mission which would continue after he was taken from them. A life of plain sailing with Jesus at the wheel and the disciples sleeping the whole time will not prepare them for what they need to be able to do after his ascension. He isn’t preparing them for a life as passengers but as pilots, as crew. They need to go through a few storms and develop qualities of resilience and strength of character, learning to use the controls, if you like, the resources of faith and learning to trust God in all circumstances.
In Mark’s version of the story the disciples say to Jesus ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ Of course he cares! He cares so much that he wants to transform them into confident, effective disciples who can hold their own in the world and make a difference for the gospel.

The fact that the disciples learned their lessons well comes out strongly in the Acts of the Apostles, which we are continuing to work through in our fortnightly evening services, continuing tonight. One of the things we are noticing is the calmness and strength of the disciples, even in the most extreme and threatening circumstances. We are seeing how these qualities following the example of Jesus and enabled by the Holy Spirit, ensured that the saving influence of the gospel spread quickly and effectively throughout society.

How does this relate to our task?

In Ann Morisy’s book Bothered and Bewildered she explores big questions about the role of the church in today’s world where the majority of the world’s population finds itself living in one kind of ‘storm’ or another. Anxiety is rampant, hope is in short supply and people have by and large lost confidence in governments and religions. Ann identifies one of the greatest gifts the church can offer the world in times like these as being a non-anxious presence – in a similar way to my flying instructor, or Jesus in the boat with the disciples. One of the first steps Christians may need to take towards this may be the recognition that we are in fact ‘in the same boat’ as everybody else. We are not in a separate little Christian safety capsule carrying us smoothly and painlessly to heaven.

Jesus is with us in the boat and may appear to be sleeping, but in fact his life, his power, his Spirit is within US and so, whatever storm the boat encounters, we are required to BE the non-anxious, grace filled, hope filled, love filled presence of Jesus, as he continues to save and transform the world. During our church weekend away in May, Ann Morisy will be helping us to explore what this will mean for us in our context here in Barcelona. One thing is certain. As we take up this challenge our lives will certainly not be plain sailing. Like the disciples we need to learn to trust God through the storms of life and develop qualities of resilience and strength of character. We also need to eagerly and hungrily seek the intimacy with God which Jesus had and which he has made possible for us. It is a gift, but we have to receive it.

May we do these things and grow in confidence that no storm can destroy us and that we will reach the destination God has prepared for us.