RIDERS ON THE STORM

Mark 4: 35-41

“The expression a ‘Perfect Storm’ originated from the 1997 book by the same name,” according to Wikipedia. It refers to that time when a simultaneous occurrence of weather, which taken individually, would be far less powerful than the storm resulting from their chance combination. The phrase “The Perfect Storm” has been used so often since the George Clooney film came out in 2000, that Lake Superior State University in its 2007 listing, said that phrase was one of the top ones that should have been banned in everyday use, in their 2007 publication! Other phrases that caught on over the ages but often get overused are “A Catch 22” situation, and “Pay it Forward.” But the perfect storm was a phrase brought to light when author Sabastian Junger spoke with Boston Meteorologist Bob Case, w said that the 1991 Halloween Nor’easter had three different weather-related phenomena to create the perfect situation to generate a storm-thus, the title of Unger’s book. We are all, at times, riders of life’s storms, aren’t we? The damage we sustained in Volusia County from storms in 2004 was second only to Hurricane Andrew in South Florida because we had four hurricanes in a row: Charley blew our shingles off, Frances and Jeanne laid down days of ceaseless rain, and Ivan made us wonder if storms would ever stop coming. From those experiences came new codes, new roofs, and new ways to plan for storms. But even through all of those storms, there were some people who were shrill, some who were quiet, some who were calm, and some who were frantic. What made the difference between all of them? Remember that as Jesus and his disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee, some of them panicked while Jesus slept! What made the difference?

Clearly in most situations, preparation makes a great deal of difference. Sometimes in your plans you can just get hit broadside by something unexpected, and it can leave you reeling! Sometimes even preparation can’t prepare you! But there are times when it can. If you go overboard from a ship with scuba gear and air tank, going overboard is far less traumatic then slipping over the side without a life vest. If you are laid off from work, the process of picking oneself up is more familiar if you have been out of work before. I remember having Eastern Airlines employees here in the church when Eastern shut down; and General Electric employees when their local operations shut down. People lost their pension, their sense of self-worth, and their good salary. There were some who lost their way in those hard times, as they traveled on “stun” to company networking sites to try to find work. It was a time from which some recovered and some did not. And some in our world have had to work hard to overcome the dread of people dying: those in the armed forces, doctors, nurses, chaplains, and family members. Even with the death of strangers, some struggle with those losses. But with the death of friends or family, the loss is something from which some do not recover. Still, pre-need arrangements, advanced directives, and the Five Wishes booklets help people be more prepared than others. As I was taught growing up: “Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” It does not protect you from all danger or sorrow; but it does help you through the storm. Was Jesus, who was calm through the storm, prepared? As the Son of God he was exposed to nature with all its beauty and fury. He knew that winds and rain could come up suddenly on the Sea of Galilee; they still can. Around Florida we have gotten rather used to sudden storms and the good work of meteorologists. People from some other parts of the country don’t know how to take dry sunny weather one minute, and pummeling hail the next. Preparation and experience help us survive life’s storms.

Second, as Jesus pointed out in his Sermon on the Mount, becoming anxious about a situation never wrought one good thing. Anxiety is a response when preparation has been neglected. Instead of anxiety, we could begin planning how we will do better next time since all we can do is become a victim for now. In our Body, Mind, and Soul Health Ministry, we have even had speakers describe how to avoid having your home become a target for a burglar, your purse or wallet a target for a thief, and your body a target for molesters. Certainly those who have been victims once make plans not to be a victim twice. But plenty of people are walking around who will be a new victim in the future. Anxiety doesn’t help; planning helps. In the boat, anxiety rose among the disciples because they had not fully planned for such a storm: they may have dreaded it; they may have avoided that mode of travel because of a fear of sudden storms; and they rarely if ever crossed to the other side by themselves because as an area, it was considered unclean. So they were caught flat-footed when Jesus himself gave them an instruction: “Let’s cross over to the other side.” No on would have chosen to walk to the other side by way of the land; it was way too far and they would still have had to ford the Jordan River. No; ready or not, they were going with Jesus. They were not well prepared- true. And they were not comfortable with their destination or their means of travel, so they became anxious. But a third help-a lifeline if you will-was with them, and it still didn’t seem to matter: Jesus himself was with them. They panicked as he seemed to have fallen asleep or didn’t care about their predicament. Instead our Lord Jesus felt safe in the everlasting, rocking arms of the Almighty. Like children in the protective arms of their mother or their father, anxiety changes to calm, fretfulness to sleep, and pain to peace. Jesus was so connected with his Father that he felt like that. The beautiful point is this: we too can connect with God the way Jesus did: with trust, a sense of protection, and an experience of love and trustworthiness. What is it like to have that kind of trust? The story is told of a small ocean liner making its way through a treacherous night crossing of the Atlantic. This particular night was not a Titanic night with icebergs, but it was one with crashing waves and insistent spray, so that occasionally the bow went under the waves and the stern rose out of the water. A young girl was in the public area reading a book while anxious and seasick people hurried by her. One of them stopped and asked her: “Young lady, there’s a terrible storm outside. How can you be so calm? To which she stopped reading, and looked at the woman, and said, ‘Because my father is the captain!”

Because my father is the captain. There are plenty in peril on life’s seas, the ones we call oceans, and the ones we call predicaments. You can choose to panic from unpreparedness, and let anxiety overcome you. Or you can remember who is your Savior; and who is your Father; and be rocked in the arms of God. Perhaps your prayer today can be like the one Edward Hopper put into the form of this prayerful hymn: Let us pray:

“Jesus Savior Pilot me, over life’s tempestuous sea; unknown waves before me roll, hiding rocks and treach’rous shoal: chart and compass came from thee—Jesus, Savior Pilot me! As a mother stills her child, Thou canst hush the oceans wild; boist’rous waves obey Thy will, when Thou say’st to them ‘Be still!’ Wondrous Sov’reign of the Sea- Jesus Savior, pilot me!” Amen.

Jeffrey Sumner June 21, 2009