Sermon for Trinity 4,
Two very simple and dramatic stories today - David and Goliath and the stilling of the storm. They do have two themes in common. One is that both problems are huge. The other I will talk about later - perhaps you can guess what these are. But let’s take David and Goliath first. I must admit that I used to wonder how it was possible for someone to kill a person with a sling shot. There was no chance of anyone being killed by the catapults we used to make when we were boys. However, in ancient times slings were used as weapons of war by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. And in the time of Israel’s history, the tribe of Benjamin had a special forces brigade consisting of 700 left handed men who, according to the book Judges, “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss!” One experiment suggests that a smooth pebble from a sling could travel up to 100 miles an hour. So David, as a Shepherd Boy used to frightening and even killing wolves who tried to prey on his sheep, would have been an expert. But despite all his skill with a sling, David is quite adamant that it is God who gives the victory. “The battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands.”
The story of David and Goliath is so powerful that it has come to describe anyone or any group that takes on a force much more powerful than themselves. The Post Office scandal is one example and I personally feel that the fight to get Government and Oil Companies to take really responsible action on Climate Change falls into that category. It can work the other way as sadly I believe Benjamin Netanyahu sees himself as David wiping out the Palestinians - modern Philistia is Gaza. However that’s by the by.
Now let’s look at the Gospel reading. I have preached on this story many times and once led a meditation on it instead of a sermon. I have often pointed out that when we are deeply troubled, try to imagine the storm threatening to sink the boat and then put yourself in the story and see Jesus saying to you, “Peace be still.” But I would like you to think about two or three things that I have not mentioned before. And the first thing is that it would not have been just the disciples that were frightened. There were other boats in addition to the one carrying Jesu and they too would be tossed around and almost swamped by the storm - for although the sea of Galilee is not a huge lake, it is 700 feet below sea level, and the wind coming down from the mountains could be extremely strong. And, at home, the wives, children, friends would be really anxious as they experienced the raging wind. Will the boats get to harbour safely? The relief of the other sailors and all the families must have been huge when the boats pulled into land. I’ll come back to that in a moment.
The second point I would like to make is that Jesus was fast asleep. Too often we think of Jesus as having superhuman strength. But no. He was fully human and after a long day teaching, he was completely exhausted so much so that even an incredibly fierce storm did not wake him up. The disciples had to shake him awake and we can imagine him opening his eyes, shaking his head and querying - what’s the trouble. The disciples aren’t very polite - “Don’t you care if we perish?” Then, his complete communion with God took over and through the power of the Holy Spirit he calmed the storm. “Peace, be still.” But his next words seem to be something of a surprise. He tells his disciples off! You’d think he would be sympathetic. After all, the disciples were frantic. All their efforts to keep the boat on an even keel failed and the boat was in real danger of being swamped. Yet Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Implying that surely they must know that God won’t let them be drowned. The disciples still have not cottoned on to whom Jesus is really this. “Who is this, then that even the wind and sea obey him?”
What other lessons can we draw from these two passages? For us, most of the time life carries on as normal. The disciples were accustomed to going around with Jesus and feeling safe with Him. But this one time they felt they were really in great danger - a huge problem. So it is with us. Life continues as normal for most of the time. But there may be times when we feel we are facing huge problems. These may be personal or they may be desperate worries about care for the world. I feel very deeply about people in parts of Africa. At these times we really do need to trust God. The outcome may be wonderful as has happened in the stilling of the storm - it has happened more than once in my own experience. Or the problem may be devastating and there seems to be no answer - I have experienced these times also. But it is so important to keep trusting in God. Trusting that somehow He is in control whatever the circumstances. This can be really tough and there may be a temptation to react like the disciples. “Do you not care?” But so important to hold on to faith whether we can see the answer in this life, or whether the situation is beyond our understanding until we see Jesus face to face. And we need to remember that if we are facing real problems, either in ourself or others, this will also affect people who love us like the wives worrying about the storm. The common thread for both lessons is really to trust God whatever happens - in good times as well as bad. For without God, there really is no hope, but with God, good will come in this life or the next.
Amen.
Revd Colin Hurford