Turbulence
A Song of Ascents • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 18:09
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· 353 viewsHow to respond in times of turbulence.
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A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
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, “Quiet! 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!”
For those of you who fly in airplanes often, perhaps you are used to turbulence. But for those who do not fly often, it can be startling when the plane runs into a pocket of rough air. Maybe you grab onto the armrests of your plane seat; maybe you hold onto your drink instead of leave it on the try table. We go in expecting a smooth flight. We hope there will not be any serious turbulence. But sometimes a storm comes along. So, what do we do when turbulence happens? Today’s Psalm and gospel story are all about turbulence.
If you are tuning in to watch this message on video, then of course you are aware that many public social gatherings are banned right now in Michigan due to the coronavirus—or COVID-19—outbreak. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that our world and our society has hit a bit of turbulence. For students who must now stay home from school, the disruption is real. For parents and families dealing with students staying home from school, the disruption is very real. For elderly who live in nursing homes and can no longer receive any visitors, the disruption is real. For business people who are now required to work remotely from home, the disruption is real. For employees who now find themselves not able to work and without a paycheck because the business has slowed or temporarily closed, the disruption is very real. For those who were hoping to cheer on the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA March Madness tournament, I feel your pain. Some of this turbulence we make light of and have fun with; some of this turbulence is very serious and nothing to laugh about at all.
But here is the reality that is common. Life has turbulence. Storms happen. Disruption comes along and gets in the way. Now then, how do we as followers of Jesus take that? How do we react? How should we react? This is worth stopping to think about for a little while.
Denial
Denial
God, make it go away
You see, I think one possible reaction is denial. This isn’t turbulence; there’s no disruption here. There seems to be plenty of that going around this week. It was just five days ago at the Admin Board meeting of this church that I brought up the subject responding to the threat of coronavirus in our community. The discussion of the board was that we develop a plan so that our church could be proactive instead of reactive in our response. But even so, there was a bit of denial. I don’t think we grasped at the time that we would be putting this plan into effect three days later.
I’ve seen denial take shape in other ways too. I remember in my time as an emergency room hospital chaplain the times when an incredibly serious incident would come in. Fatality was certain. It was seldom good news when the chaplain gets called into the ER. Often the family would ask me to pray for a miracle. It is not as though I dismiss miracles. I do believe in miracles. But I would also recognize denial. I recognized people who were not in a position at the moment to cope with the turbulence.
Can we be honest? It seems that sometimes we approach God in that way. I have accepted Jesus as my savior. I have faith in God. I believe. So why is there still turbulence? Why do storms still come? I thought that following Jesus would take care of all that. But it doesn’t work that way does it. In the stages of grief it is said that after denial comes anger.
Anger
Anger
God, don’t you care?
Once I realize that God does not always smooth every storm and remove every hurdle and take down every barrier, it leaves me a little annoyed. But when those storms and hurdles become serious in life, I am more than a little annoyed. It just feels like sometimes my life is like a boat that is getting slammed by the waves on every side. The water is coming in and I find myself not being able to keep up. And it feels like God still isn’t stepping in the way I think he should be. It feels like God is asleep. And I find myself beyond annoyed and I just want to yell out, “God, don’t you care if we drown?”
In Mark 4, Jesus gets up after the disciples ask him that question. And Mark tells us that Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” And then he turns to ask his disciples, “Why are you so afraid?” In fact, maybe Jesus wasn’t just talking to the waves in the last verse. Maybe his rebuke was aimed at more than just the storm.
Response
Response
acknowledge there is turbulence in our world around us, and in our own hearts
Jesus responds, “Quiet! Be still!”
Yes, we are all living in a week right now of disruption and chaos. We are all just trying to learn and figure out how our lives and schedules are going to be tossed around and thrown out of place in the days ahead for at least the next few weeks. There is turbulence. And listen to this now: it is a turbulence in our world around us, and it is a turbulence in our own hearts. And for the turbulence in your own heart Jesus stands up and says, “Quiet! Be Still...Why are you so afraid?”
That’s not an invitation to go backwards to denial. It is not a response of, “no big deal; forget about it.” It is a reminder that, even when God does not always take away the storm, he is always right beside us in the storm. God never promises you a life that is turbulence-free. But he does promise you a life in which his love and grace will never leave you, even in—especially in—times of turbulence.
Psalm 124 reminded the Israelites on their pilgrim journey, if the LORD had not been on our side, then the flood would have engulfed us. If the LORD had not been on our side, then the torrent would have swept over us. If the LORD had not been on our side, then the raging waters would have swept us away. You see Psalm 124 reminds us that we still live in a world where floods come. It reminds us that there are still torrents. It reminds us that there are still raging waters. The word of God reminds us our lives still exist in turbulence. But the word of God also reminds us that God is on your side. Jesus remains beside you. God’s love and grace never leave you.
Psalm 124 reminds us that life will sometimes still take a bite out of you, but those teeth will not tear you to pieces. Sometimes life trips you in a snare, but God will not leave you trapped forever. And if you find yourself crying out in those moments of turbulence, “God, don’t you care that I am drowning?” then hear the response of Jesus today, “Quiet. Be still.”