Sermon Notes June 24 Mark 4:35-41, I Sam. 17

I love the story of the stilling of the storm. I particularly like the detail in Mark that Jesus speaks along with the healing of the treacherous weather, “peace be still.” In the movie Good Will Hunting, the genius who has become of patient of a widowed teacher and therapist, played by Robin Williams, latches on to a paint by numbers picture of a fisherman struggling through a storm.(It seems to be a combination of different Winslow Homer pictures, the Gulf Stream and Fog Warning and maybe some impressionist work on fisherman).Few things make us feels so powerless as a desperate struggle on the water. The disciples are frightened. Jesus is asleep, like Jonah during the storm. Jesus acts as a classic calm presence in the crisis. It appears that Jesus can sleep through anything, or maybe he had just witnessed an early version of golf. He does not respond to their anxious blaming in kind, but does the work that needs to be done. (Of course, I would think that is easier for Jesus as he can actually do something about the storm).We are in mythic territory here, as God is a god of storm, and ancient gods of ancient Canaan, such as Baal were storm gods as well.In those- Neptune quiets a storm in the Aeneid. My mind almost immediately moves toward the internal storms we all face. It coudl be the sudden storm of a bad diagnosis.It oculd be the daily sailing through a stormy relationship. Sturm und drang the Germans say. about emotive, romantic art that reflects the turbulent inner seas of us all. In the Big Book of AA we read:’as we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves that we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day,”thy will be done.” We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions...We do not tire so easily for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves.” One of the oldest symbols for the church was a little boat.The waves sometimes seem so big and our boat seem so small, like the fishing vessel in the George Clooney movie, the Perfect Storm. We were already swamped in the waters of baptism.David did not have such an advantage in facing Goliath. He too shows the calmness of Jesus as he selects five smooth stones as the taunts echo in the valley. He seems defenseless as he could not move in the heavy armor offered him. In 12 step programs, detachment is one of the tools.It can take much practice and personal power to learn that, to be able to disentangle one’s mood from circumstance or the attutdes of others. I was not prepared for the welter of emotions that accompanied our daughter's wedding. some I expected: overweening pride in our daughter, a wistful turning of the page as her back turned toward me as she faced her soon to be spouse, I was in an emotional storm surge. We all face storms, internal and external; we all face Goliaths at some point. Ethan is given spiritual weapons to fight the good fight today, as we too have been granted. In baptism, we are all given five smooth stones as warriors in the spiritual realms. the god of all, the god of creation has pledged to be a loyal companion to Ethan, and to us, all of our lives. Deep in the valley of Elah, in a storm, or on the heights, God has pledged eternal loyalty to the cause of kindness.