Sermon II for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Year B June 23, 2024
“Let’s Go to the Other Side” (Mark 4:35-41)
When I was growing up in Arizona one of my favorite things to do was go tubing down the Salt River. My friends and I drove about an hour, rented tubes, and made the lazy float down the river. It was like the lazy rivers we have today at many water parks. So, Imagine my surprise when I was living in Tennessee and my friends invited me to go white river rafting, I was all for it. Excited to be doing something I knew; except I didn’t know…you see white river rafting is a lot more thrilling than floating down the salt river in Arizona. When we approached the first rapids, I was freaking out, what if the guide couldn’t keep us safe, what if I fell out of the raft…what if…
Have you ever wondered what the disciples thought and felt when after a long exhausting day of teaching the crowds, Jesus says to them, “Come on, let’s take a boat to the other side”?
Maybe they thought, yes, let’s take a break from work,
let’s relax and unwind,
let’s go to the other side where no one knows us,
where we can have a vacation from this hard work.
A place where instead of caring for needy people they can rest, be pampered, and waited on.
A place where it was just them and Jesus with no world intruding on their time with their teacher.
What a treat! What a great idea! Let’s go!
The disciples weren’t just tired; they were emotionally and physically drained.
They needed a break more than anything, so even though it was night, and they weren’t going to see anything, they were eager to go with Jesus.
Eager to have valuable alone time with their teacher. Eager to relax, enjoying one another’s company
Unfortunately, Jesus wasn’t inviting them to go to the other side for rest and relaxation! Jesus was inviting them to step out of their comfort zone and experience new challenges. He was inviting them to care for other people… non-Jewish people, people of other nations, in other words Jesus was inviting the disciples to care for the Gentiles.
So, they boarded the ship totally unaware of what was ahead.
Instead of a calm smooth sailing, the disciples encounter a terrifying storm!
The wind was swirling and howling around them,
the waves of water are breaking and flooding the boat,
the disciples fear for their lives.
Several disciples had been fishermen, they knew the danger of storms on the water, especially at night.
This was crossing was not what they expected, they were too tired to deal with a terrible storm.
And to make matters worse, Jesus, their master, their teacher, was sound asleep, totally unaware of the storm raging and the danger all around them.
The disciples panic, they awakened Jesus and ask him why he doesn’t care that they’re all going to die.
In other words, they pretty much scream at Jesus, “How can you sleep when we are dying?!” Much like we scream at the storms and insurmountable challenges in our lives…
In essence they’re crying out the words of the psalm 22- “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The age long cry of the people of Israel when they felt abandoned by God. When the challenges of the world overwhelmed them.
In this story we see that the disciples truly do not understand who Jesus is or what his purpose is…
Jesus is inviting the disciples into his ministry,
his mission to bring the kingdom of God into the world, sharing God with all people, not just the Jews.
For this to happen the disciples,
must learn to trust God completely,
we can’t second guess the outcome.
A few weeks ago, at Synod Assembly, Bishop Rafael Malpica Padilla put it this way: crossing the lake/ sea is symbolic of Jesus ‘invitation to address the divisiveness and pervasive unholiness of the unclean vs clean, the division between those that are in and those that are out.”
It’s the breaking down of the walls of society that say, I am better than you or that my race, my country, my beliefs are better and more important than yours.
Jesus invites us to go with him to the other side to introduce God to those who may not have heard of him – so that his love and grace may be introduced to them, a new, freeing way to live as community, the community of God.
It is the breaking down of walls. Of truly seeing one another as brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God, working for one another, pulling together instead of pulling apart.
It’s a ministry of walking the walk, not just talking the talk.
It’s easy to be Christian when we limit our contact to people who look like us, talk like us, think like us, and believe like us,
it’s easy when it fits into our schedule… when our lives are calm and predictable…
but Jesus calls us into unknown challenges at inconvenient times.
We are caught unaware, just as the disciples are caught unaware of who Jesus really is as they accept his invitation to go to the other side.
Where are we, the community of Grace Lutheran Church in Lakeland, Florida being called to help break down the division within our community?
Are we prepared for new unforeseen challenges, within our church, within our community, within the world?
Will we trust God completely in the face of our challenges?
Or will we too call out to Jesus, “Why are you letting us suffer, don’t you care about us?”
Is Jesus inviting us to get into the boat with him and cross to the other side?
And are we aware that in extending the invitation
Jesus comes with us,
the Spirit guides us,
we are not alone,
God has not forsaken us or our efforts to free the world
from hate, oppression, and violence with God’s love and grace, and compassion.
During covid-19, we were basically prisoners in our own homes.
Many people turned to DYI home projects- redecorating, updating their current house. Others bought existing houses and gave them a makeover.
The do-it-yourself craze was already big before the pandemic but during the pandemic it really boomed!
I watched tons of shows, to help escape the feeling of being stuck at home,
to escape the feeling of being isolated.
My favorite DYI show is Property Brothers on HGTV. Here’s how the show goes:
Basically, a couple wants to move to a bigger space, and has a long list of “must haves” for the new space but of course they have a limited budget.
During the course of the program the Property Brothers show them many properties that have potential—if the couple can see past the current state of disrepair.
Of course, right off the bat the couple is shown very bluntly that their “must haves” are too pretentious to be found in a turnkey home.
And that in order to get their “must haves”, they must look at a home that can be renovated.
In recent years “open space” is what most of the couples want.
Have you ever considered why we want this open space in our homes? Perhaps it’s so we can feel more connected to one another,
not shut off,
not alone,
more of a family, a tangible part of a community
For me, this recalls Jesus and his “open” concept of God’s people.
Jesus spent a lot of time during his ministry breaking down the walls that we humans construct.
Jesus refused to be boxed in by the laws and traditions, the “must haves” of the day.
St. Paul tells us in Galatians 3: “in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus.”
And in 2 Corinthians 6, Paul tells us that now is the day of salvation, we’re not putting any obstacle in anyone’s way. He encourages the Corinthians to open wide their hearts as he and his fellow followers of Jesus have opened theirs.
Paul tells us Jesus refused to live as the world lived.
He refused to divide people with an “us vs. them” mentality.
Jesus was all about tearing down walls to bring the marginal members of society into his circle that is God’s kingdom.
Jesus not only taught but touched those considered unclean by society… sinners, the poor, the sick, the tax collectors, the widow, the Gentiles…
He gave a voice to those who had never been heard because as outcasts there were too many walls separating them from those within the community.
In the end we tried to exclude Jesus by killing him, by breaking his body through death on the cross.
But God took our exclusion mentality and turned it into a gift…
instead of Jesus being excluded by the Temple leaders,
Jesus becomes the gift of grace, a gift of forgiveness.
Jesus is the one who came to renovate the world in order that we might no longer exclude one another by building up walls, but instead include one another by living in a world consisting of fewer walls and barriers.
An open concept of grace and love and freedom for all.
This is our goal as we continue God’s mission in the world.
How is Jesus inviting us to go to the other side with him, in the world today?
More importantly, will we trust Jesus and follow him into unknown challenges and dangers?
We pray:
Holy Spirit, be with us as we live into our faith, open our eyes and hearts that we may see and respond to others in need, especially those without a voice, help us to share God and our part in his story in ways that allow others to see that God is love, grace, and forgiveness. Help us to value beliefs that differ from ours, to actively listen, and to respond with compassion and love to all the people you place before us. Help us to say “yes” to the unexpected challenges of life. Help us to trust you are by our side always.
Lord, we ask your blessing as we serve you in our community and in the world. Amen
