(From my sermon for today, the Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7B-RCL)
I have a riddle for you. Why did Jesus and his disciples cross the big lake in the little boat?
To get to the other side!(snip)
The only way to go and do the work of Jesus is to cross the lake, and that means confronting our storms. Jesus has power over these storms, but to confront the storms as we see in the disciples response to them tells us much.
Going to sea means confronting storms we cannot control.(snip)
...a boat is not designed to protect us from the storm—even modern cruise ships, container ships and ocean liners with all the hi-tech stabilizers in the world cannot stop the storm! No, ships are meant to convey us through the storm.
I learned something (again) in my time at my first General Convention these past two weeks. I learned that we in the church are just like the disciples were. When faced with a storm, whether we are working hard to keep the boat afloat, or down below being sea-sick, we have anxiety, worry, fears, and can be so preoccupied with bailing the ship that we at once forget our objective—to get to where the mission is. We can also forget that right on board with us is our hope and our salvation. We carry with us the Lord of All Creation.
(snip)
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