Weathering Storms: Sermon

Dr. Seuss the writer of children’s books, often captures deep truths in simple statements. A quote I read of his in preparation for this sermon reads:
 

Troubles of all sort come throughout our lives – some develop slowly over time, some happen suddenly and shockingly, some have a nasty habit of reappearing time and time again. And while we wish we had a big bat with which we can fight back – it’s not actually that simple.

In the last few weeks – we as a congregation have faced trouble, have seen heartache and have weathered storms. Yesterday we assisted with the funeral of a beautiful young girl, the daughter of one of our families.

And the reality is that each of us, at some time, has gone through trials and difficulties, has suffered and has journeyed through valleys of pain and loss and heartache.

This morning I’m going to be looking at weathering storms. Looking at what we can use to hold us and help us, to get our lives through rough seas and dark clouds.

We will be looking at multiple readings this morning but I’m going to start with one from the book of Mark – a well-known story of Jesus and his disciples. Its Mark chapter 4 – and I’ll be reading from verses 35-39

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

May God bless to us this reading of his Holy Word.

Let us pray:

Father, as we come to your word this morning speak to our hearts, guide us and encourage us. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing to you and bring you glory. Amen.

The storms that happen in the sea of Galilee are fierce, unpredictable and extremely dangerous to small boats. Because of the relatively shallow waters, the winds are able to create a great disturbance. In our reading we are told that the waves were breaking over the boat to the point of them being swamped.

Storms have the ability to grab our attention, to question life, at times to shake us to our core. Whether the waves carry labels of illness, or financial strain, or broken relationships or loss – each of them can frighten us, intimidate us and at times even leave us devastated and in despair.

How do we survive in our little boats? If we are honest we know we are fragile. The Bible describes us as grass – in 1 Peter 1 we read

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall…”

Those beautiful little flowers we see in the veld – we are as fragile as that. And while we like to hold on to the idea of us being strong and in control – it’ll often take just one wave to shake our strength, and we realise that we have very little power at all.

But we do have some things that never change and are a gift of strength to us as we journey on these seas – and the first is the gift of hope as an anchor

Hebrews 6:19 reads:

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

The hope that we have is that this is not all there is. That while it may seem that what we can see and touch here is the only reality – there is a beauty and reality far more permanent and true than this.

And so our hope rests in a God who not only created us, but who longs to be known by us. A God who loves us so much that he became one of us that we might love Him. He then died for us to enable us to live forever, and that we may know Him and know his love.

He then gives us his Spirit, who lives inside us as a promise, as a foretaste of what awaits us when our journey here is finished.

And so we have hope knowing that there is meaning and purpose behind all that happens. We have hope because we know God has not left us but rather is intimately involved in our lives. One of my favourite stories is of a painting depicting a burnt down cottage, and in front of it an old man, who has clearly just lost all that he has. Holding the hand of this old man is a young boy sobbing. The Title of the painting is “Hush Child – God ain’t dead”.

We serve a living God who is on the throne, and who has promised us that one day – all that is wrong will be made right. That one day injustice, evil, cruelty and heartache will be destroyed. That one day cancer and corruption and abuse and slavery will be abolished… and that he will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.

We do not need to fear death for it has been conquered. Our anchor is lodged in the truth of hope. No matter what waves and storms may beat our boat – our hope, our anchor can hold firm.

As the old hymn tells us

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,

For ’tis well secured by the Saviour’s hand;

And the cables passed from His heart to mine,

Can defy the blast, through strength divine.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul

Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,

Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,

Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

The second gift we are given is the Word as our light.

Psalm 119:105 reads

In stormy waters one of the most comforting sights for a boat is the lighthouse. Not only is it a promise and encouragement of land nearby, but it also provides guidance and direction around dangerous rocks and shallow areas.

The young adults group that meets here on Tuesdays are studying a group of psalms called the psalms of accent. And what we keep discovering more and more is that every human emotion, every struggle seems to be captured in the psalms. We have the writer crying out for deliverance, for guidance, for favour. There are moments of questioning –

Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favour again?

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?

There are moments of great joy and trust–

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant and everything in them – Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” Psalm 96:11-12

The Lord is my shepherd – I shall not be in want…” Psalm 23:1

God’s word for us can be as that lighthouse is – an incredible source of encouragement and promise. But it also is His chosen way of speaking and guiding and comforting us.

We can read of his faithfulness to David as he faced giants and Daniel as he faced lions.

We can read of his provision as he leads his people through dry and desert areas.

We can read of his power as we see Him create the world and split the oceans.

We can read of his love as we look at a cross that he went to for you and me.

And his word can be a light to us in dark places.

Going back to a verse that we read earlier from 1 Peter

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall…”

The last part of that verse reads – But the word of the Lord will stand forever. The light never goes out.

We have hope as an anchor and his word as a light.

And finally, we have Jesus as a companion.

In our first reading for today in Mark 4, we read of the disciples in the storm and in a boat that is ready to sink. And then we read;

Jesus was in the stern.

Jesus was there. While the storm was terrifying them all – they had the creator of water and lakes and storms there with them.

 The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

I love the power in those words. He rebuked the wind and said to the waves…

Our boats as they are tossed about by waves and storms, always have Jesus in them. We are never alone.

“Never will I leave you – never will I forsake you”

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.”

“I will not leave you orphans – I will come to you.”

“In this world you will have trouble – but be brave – I have overcome the world.”

We are not made to weather storms alone. Not only is he present with us in the boat – but he also understands. As he walked here among us, as one of us, he experienced grief, betrayal, fear, exhaustion, frustration, loneliness and pain. He is not a God who cannot sympathise or who stands far off – but rather one who knows, who understands, who loves us – and who has the power to change things.

And we are not by any means promised a storm free life. We are not even promised that when we turn to Him that he’ll click his fingers and everything will go smoothly as we would want.

There is a saying that says – “Sometimes God calms the storm… sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.”

The biggest storm is often the one that rages within our hearts and in our souls. And in the midst of whatever rages around our little boats – may we hear the words deep within – “Quiet. Be still.”

In the Narnia series, C. S. Lewis writes of Aslan, who relates to the world of Narnia as Jesus does to our world. In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the books characters are sailing a ship into unknown seas. They come to a patch of darkness and in rowing into it find themselves in a terrifying situation – a situation where their worst nightmares become reality. They have rescued a man who has been trapped there for many years – and now are struggling to get out themselves. In this dire situation Caspian, the King turns to the ship’s captain Drinian:

"Drinian," he said in a very low voice. "How long did we take rowing in? - I mean rowing to where we picked up the stranger."

"Five minutes, perhaps," whispered Drinian. "Why?"

"Because we've been more than that already trying to get out."

Drinian's hand shook on the tiller and a line of cold sweat ran down his face. The same idea was occurring to everyone on board. "We shall never get out, never get' out," moaned the rowers. "He's steering us wrong. We're going round and round in circles. We shall never get out." The stranger, who had been lying in a huddled heap on the deck, sat up and burst out into a horrible screaming laugh.

"Never get out!" he yelled. "That's it. Of course. We shall never get out. What a fool I was to have thought they would let me go as easily as that. No, no, we shall never get out."

Lucy leant her head on the edge of the fighting top and whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now." The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little - a very, very little - better. "After all, nothing has really happened to us yet," she thought.

"Look!" cried Rynelf's voice hoarsely from the bows. There was a tiny speck of light ahead, and while they watched a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship. It did not alter the surrounding darkness, but the whole ship was lit up as if by searchlight. Caspian blinked, stared round, saw the faces of his companions all with wild, fixed expressions. Everyone was staring in the same direction: behind everyone lay his black, sharply-edged shadow.

Lucy looked along the beam and presently saw something in it. At first it looked like a cross, then it looked like an aeroplane, then it looked like a kite, and at last with a whirring of wings it was right overhead and was an albatross. It circled three times round the mast and then perched for an instant on the crest of the gilded dragon at the prow. It called out in a strong sweet voice what seemed to be words though no one understood them. After that it spread its wings, rose, and began to fly slowly ahead, bearing a little to starboard. Drinian steered after it not doubting that it offered good guidance. But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's.”

Courage dear heart.

In life storms will come – some will do damage to our boat, some may even feel as though they may overwhelm us. But as the disciples saw, as Lucy found out – we are never alone. We have Jesus as our companion.

Three things to hold us together – to enable us to weather storms. We have hope as an anchor firm and secure. We have the Word as our light to encourage and comfort. And above all, we have Jesus as our companion.

And Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble – but be brave, I have overcome the world.”

Courage dear heart.

Let us pray. 

The Last Week of Jesus Series: The True Worshipper (Mark 14:1-11)

We began this series in Mark 11, with the triumphant entry, and the clearing of the Temple, the scribes questioning Jesus goes into chapter 12, and his teaching on that Tuesday goes into chapter 13. This morning we begin chapter 14 – the longest chapter in the book of Mark.

We’ll be starting in verse one:

“Jesus Anointed at Bethany

14 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ² “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages^[a]and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you,^[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

 In all our stories that we have gone through in the past four weeks, I don’t believe any are as foreign to us as this. I mean we understand the basics – but to ask the hard question of – “what does this actually mean for me today?” “How does a story like this impact my life?”

The title for today’s sermon is “The True Worshipper” – what does it mean to truly worship? And so to help us answer this I’m going to ask three straight questions of the text.

And the first is “What is it that she offered”?

 In climates where it is incredibly dry and dusty, the use of oil in anointing the person is still a common practice and it certainly was in ancient Greece and Rome. It keeps the skin cool and soothes it, and is believed to be healthful. In any house where Jesus was an honoured guest, it would have been likely he had His head anointed with oil. It was like the washing of the feet, a refreshment. And so the act of Mary was not something embarrassing and peculiar as it may seem in our culture today, but rather the very highest form of a service which was expected and welcomed. The difference however was that instead of the anointing with oil, which would have cost less probably than a few coins, she provides a rich anointing oil. Judas estimated its value at three hundred silver pieces. So, except in drops, it was only used in this fashion by kings and by the richest classes; and was costly enough to be made a royal present. So there are two thoughts, either Mary must have been a woman of property to be able to bring such a holy anointing oil; or, the more probable explanation is that this amount was the total of her life savings – really the only thing she had of value. What this means then is that with this gift she is just like the widow we spoke about last week, who with her few small coins, gives all she had to the Lord in the Temple offering bag. She is sacrificing all she has.

It is enclosed in an alabaster vase or jar, the expression in the original language is simply, "having an alabaster of ointment." The commentators explain that perfumes were best preserved in alabasters. The vessel, because it is made of alabaster, was called an alabaster, just as we would call the glass container we drink from - a glass.

And so what she brings, while foreign to us, is well understood at the time. The practise of anointing would have been standard but the gift of the perfume was well beyond the expectation. As she broke the jar then, the smell of this perfume would have been overpowering and would have filled the room – it couldn’t be missed. Everyone would know, as we saw the comments flying, that this was excessive. And thus the cause for the criticism.

But Jesus rebukes them instead. He recognises that this is an act of love. Generous, Lavish, all-encompassing devotion. And he praises her for it.

And so the question that we can ask ourselves from this is – what do we give Jesus? Do we give him generous, lavish, all-encompassing devotion – or do we give him our left-overs? There was a beautiful
sermon written where the preacher wrote of this act saying:

“Away with the cheap bottles of stale perfume when you may fill the banqueting hall of Christ with exquisite aroma. Paul had made great speeches before, but he made his best speech for Christ. John had warmth of affection in other directions, but he had his greatest warmth of affection for Christ. Jesus deserves the best word we ever uttered, the gladdest song we ever sang, the most loving letter we ever wrote, the healthiest day we ever lived, the strongest heart throb we ever felt.”

The second question we can ask was How did she offer it?

Almost every time we encounter Mary she is at the feet of the Lord. In the well-known story of Mary and Martha – where Martha criticises her, it is because she is doing exactly that – sitting at his feet and listening to her Lord. A place where we must understand, in that time and culture was reserved for men, in the privacy of her own home, Mary breaks with social conventions and follows her heart.

And this seems to continue into our story today. While the anointing would have been normal, she was doing it in someone else’s house, and with expensive and excessive lavishness. When John tells this story in his Gospel – he adds a detail we don’t read about here.

In John 12:3 we read,

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

This is an act so demonstrative of love that it feels somewhat inappropriate, and would have been uncomfortable for those at the meal. A woman’s hair was seen as her glory, and thus kept tucked away only to be seen by her husband. And yet here, Mary lets her hair down and uses that which is her glory and crown – to wipe Jesus feet.

And there are a few things we can learn from this:

Firstly – this reminds us of what we see Jesus do the following night with his disciples. Just as she has poured out oil on his feet and wiped it with her hair, so Jesus stoops down and washes his disciples feet.

I’m sure you’ve experienced those times where you catch a scent of something and immediately it takes you somewhere else. There is a certain salty sea breeze smell that takes me back to my childhood holidays in Port Alfred. There is my Mom’s perfume that I recognise from a mile away and it reminds me of precious times spent with her. Our smell receptors in the brain are closely linked with memory and emotion.

And you have to wonder when Jesus knelt to wash the feet of his disciples – whether the memory of the smell of the ointment came  back to mind for the disciples as they reflect on Mary’s act of love.

Secondly, we live in an age and belong to a denomination where right thinking and understanding and belief are all important. We often experience our faith very cognitively, we believe in Jesus because historically its most likely that this is how things happened, we understand logically the need for the cross when we see our own failure and we respond with a belief and a faith that is quite knowledge based. And yet here we see an act not just of knowledge and belief – but huge affection and love. An act that is so extravagant that it defies common sense and seems out of proportion. Its worship.

 This is not a head thing.

This is a heart thing.

This is an act of deep raw emotional love.

The last time we encounter Mary she is falling at the feet of her Risen Saviour – the one who was crucified, and yet is alive forever more.

The final question we need to ask is Why?

We have looked at the love that has prompted the action, we understand the social custom of the time, but was there more to this – Jesus certainly seems to think so, he says to those criticising her,

⁶ “Leave her alone, why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Jesus is talking about his burial… even here this moment of beauty, of love, of generosity – the cross overshadows it all. It points to the coming death, in just two days he would be lying in a tomb. Our passage today begins with saying

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.

And the passage ends with

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

 And sandwiched in between this political manoeuvring, this betrayal, this darkness – is an act of light.

Remember Jesus had told his disciples again and again that he was on his way to be killed. He told them that this would be his final journey to Jerusalem – and emphasised it so much that they wondered at the courage with which he led them on towards his death.  Did Mary actually get it? Was she the only one who was really listening? Was she prompted by the Spirit of prophecy to point out that they were heading out into the murky depths of darkness?

We don’t know.

But Jesus points to what she has done – and he says… it is a beautiful thing.  Worship is a beautiful thing.

Where does this leave us today – what is the story – that as Jesus says, “wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” What is it meant to teach us?

Firstly – what we give is important. And Jesus values it. In fact our gifts to him can be beautiful. But there is a caution I believe… In 2 Samuel chapter 24, we read this story about David, who needs the Lord’s intervention – and so in verse 18 we read:

¹⁸ On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. ²⁰ When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to theLord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”

²² Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³ Your Majesty, Araunah^[d] gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

Let me restate that final line – I dare not give to the Lord my God, that which has cost me nothing.

Our warning is against giving God the dregs because it’s expected. Mary gave it all. The widow last week gave it all. And we do it because we understand the cross – because we see the love poured out for us. Our verse for this period reminds us that he gave his life. And so when we survey the wondrous cross - as the old hymn tells us, it leads us to a response of -

“Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were an offering far too small

Love so amazing, so divine –

demands my soul, my life, my all.”

The second thing we can take from here; is a reminder that this man called Jesus – he isn’t an academic exercise. He is a person that we know and love with affection and heart. That our faith and our worship while we can understand and explain it – at times needs to be experienced and expressed. And we aren’t all demonstrative people who are about to break out into interpretive dance – I get that. But there does need to be a point where we offer ourselves and all we have as a love offering. Just as we stand at the alter with our wives or husband and promise allegiance based on a love that is both a choice and a deeply felt heart experience – so too with our Lord – we choose him with our heads, and we love him with our hearts.

So to end off, I’m going to ask you to close your eyes and imagine yourself as we pray, kneeling at the feet of Jesus. In the time of silence I offer, offer him whatever you have. Your heart, your time, your affection, your focus, your skill, your life – whatever it is that you have – make that your offering… break open your alabaster jar and pour it out for him in an act of love. If this is too personal an action to do here – may I encourage you to set some time aside when you get home, or this evening before you go to bed – and do the same exercise.

The incredible news that Scripture tells us – is that Jesus wants us. And that which we offer he sees as beautiful.