Presence in the Storms

PROPERS:          PROPER 14, YEAR A 

TEXT:                 GENESIS 37:1-4, 12-28; MATTHEW 14:22-33

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2017.

ONE SENTENCE:        Even though it is may be unseen, God’s presence remains with us during the storms of life.      

                                   

            Four years ago, I was leading a pilgrimage to Jordan and Israel.  It was something I did every couple of years.

            As a usual part of the pilgrimage, we were taking a sailing trip on the Sea of Galilee.  We were in a boat, probably 40-feet long, fashioned to look like a larger fishing boat from Jesus’ time.

            We would always stop the boat mid-lake and celebrate the Eucharist.  We would give thanks, break the bread, and sing my favorite hymn, “They cast their nets in Galilee.”  It was all very appropriate for that setting.

            But this time was different.  Even though there were clear skies, the wind was strong and the waves on the inland sea were high.  An east wind, from the adjacent land of Syria, was pouring over the Golan Heights and causing havoc on the lake. More than any other time, we were tossed about by the waters.  The boat heaved to and fro.  I could hardly maintain my footing.

            It was not the same as the storm on the sea that the disciples encountered, but it was enough for the landlubbers on the boat.

            Despite the rough waters and the pitching boat, we went ahead and offered our prayers of thanksgiving to God.

            It was, for me, a metaphorical moment.

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            The disciples likely wondered where their master had gone, as the storm rose and tossed their small fishing boat about.

            I suspect Joseph, the favored son from the first lesson, wondered where his God had gone, as he was sold into slavery by his brothers.  He must have felt alone, abandoned.  The Psalmist’s words from Psalm 130, “Out of the depths have I called to you,” no doubt, would express his feelings.

            Have you ever had such a feeling?  Have you ever wondered, “Where has God gone”?

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            Elie Weisel was a 15-year-old Romanian Jew when he, his father, mother, and three sisters were rounded-up and taken to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.  His mother and youngest sister were immediately murdered.

            Elie and his father, Shlomo, were transferred to Buchenwald, where they were assigned as laborers.

            One day, the prisoners were all called together.  It seems a young boy had been accused of stealing some bread – out of his experience of starvation.  The assembled body of prisoners were to stand and watch his execution.

            The boy was taken up to the gallows as his fellow Jews watched.  A noose was placed around his neck and the chair on which he was standing was kicked out from under him.  His death was not quick in coming. He lingered at the rope’s end for 30 minutes.

            Wiesel and the other prisoners were forced to stand there – in shocked silence.  Finally, someone standing near Wiesel, uttered these words quietly: “For God’s sake, where is God?”

            Wiesel’s words gave his silent response: “And from within me, I heard a voice answer:
‘Where is He? This is where--hanging here from this gallows...’"

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            I suspect all of us here have experienced something which would compare to the great range of experiences between being tossed by a storm on the sea, being betrayed by siblings, and being a prisoner for unjust reasons. That’s a pretty wide range.

            Most of our experiences could probably be classified as the storms of life. Under that description we could include illness, loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, depression, divorce, alienation from those we love, addiction, or just plain old disappointment.

            It would be normal human nature in those moments to say, “Where is God?”. And we would be right to wonder.

            Joseph must have asked that question. Certainly, Peter and the others in the boat had a sense of abandonment. Why shouldn’t you?

            Of course, God did amazing things through Joseph, after his being sold into slavery.  And we have 27 New Testament books and volumes of church history that were written after the storm on the sea.  Neither one of those episodes was the last word.

            Nor do we experience the last word. The truth that comes through – from the story of Joseph being sold into bondage, the storm on the sea, and, yes, the tragedy of Good Friday – is that God is with us always, in the midst of those experiences.

            To paraphrase Elie Wiesel, God is at the bedside, at the graveside, when we are clearing out our desk, in the brokenness of addiction, in the depths of depression, in the tears of betrayal… and in all moments of life.

            You may feel alone at that moment – as so many have.  But that does not change the divine reality that is so elegantly expressed in Psalm 139:

	6Where can I go then from your Spirit? *     where can I flee from your presence?
	7If I climb up to heaven, you are there; *     if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
	8If I take the wings of the morning *     and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
	9Even there your hand will lead me *     and your right hand hold me fast.
	10If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, *     and the light around me turn to night,"
	11Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; *     darkness and light to you are both alike.