On the Shoulders of Giants (Mark 4:3-9)

 Sermon: “On the Shoulders of Giants”

⚫Isaac Newton once said: “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

I first heard that quote from my favorite high school teacher, who I had for algebra and computer science. His name was Dr. Sid Kolpas, and he had a fascination with Isaac Newton. Dr. Kolpas was ecstatic when he was able to acquire an early edition of Newton’s Principia. 

When Dr. Kolpas shared that quote by Isaac Newton, I thought: “What a profound and humble thing to say.” Isaac Newton was a genius; yet he attributed his success to those who went before him. He saw his work as the continuation of a long line of scientific and mathematical thought.

We here at First Christian Church stand on the shoulders of giants. The first of these, as many of you know, is William T. Major. 

⚫Fun fact: William T. Major’s middle initial stands for Trabue, which was his mother’s maiden name. I find that interesting because Barton Warren Stone’s middle name also comes from his mother’s maiden name. I don’t know if that was a thing people did in that time, or what, but I do know that one of my own children also has Ginger’s maiden name as their middle name!

William Trabue Major arrived in Bloomington from Kentucky, built a nice home at the corner of East and Front Streets, and then decided to organize a new congregation which began meeting in his home’s parlor.

Major decided to affiliate his congregation with the Restoration movement, the early Disciples of Christ fellowship of churches that I talked about last week. Major wanted the freedom to establish a congregation that stood against slavery, and the Disciples of Christ allowed him that freedom.

This was in the spring of 1837, 188 years ago.

Major’s congregation quickly became too big to meet in his home, so Major built a church in his backyard. Ten years later, the congregation outgrew that building, and our current property was purchased.

⚫The first building on this property was dedicated on January 1, 1857. 32 years later, that building was torn down, and a new one was built (the one in the photo); that would be the third building of First Christian Church; or, if you count Major’s home, the fourth building.

In 1931, the current educational building and fellowship hall were built. In 1959, the sanctuary in which we worship today was built—the fourth (or fifth) sanctuary building in First Christian Church’s history.

In all that time, and in all the different buildings in which we have worshiped, there have been giants, on whose shoulders we now stand. Some of them have their pictures hanging on the wall in the hallway that leads to the Fellowship Hall. Some of them have their names on plaques right here in our sanctuary. Some of them are on the list of honored servants, a list that we added to today.

The very first honored servants were recognized 58 years ago, in 1967. There were eleven servants honored that year:

Aaron Brooks, Amy Broughton, Bernice Hanson, Clarence Keighin, Edgar Lebkuecher, Louise Merwin, Lula Nierstheimer, J.R. Reeves, Sherman Whitmer, Lloyd Wilson, & Louis Wollrab.

⚫It takes a lot of work to keep a congregation going. It takes a great commitment by many individuals, all coming together, all sacrificing their own time and money for the good of the church.

I’m always in awe of those who dedicate so much of their lives to the church. And this is especially true when churches are first getting started, or when they are embarking on something ambitious and audacious, like building a new building.

I received a copy of a sermon preached by John Trefzger in 1968, commemorating the 10th anniversary of this sanctuary’s construction. I almost didn’t read it, but I did, and I’m glad I did. 

In that sermon, Dr. Trefzger said that, when this sanctuary was being built it was common for people to ask him what was the largest gift for the new building. He answered by mentioning an elderly couple in the congregation who were on social security and without any other means of support, who pledged and gave $100. “They faithfully fulfilled their commitment,” Trefzger said, “by taking one dollar per week out of their funds that were budgeted for food over a two-year period.”

Trefzger then asked: “Wouldn’t you like to know what the smallest gift has been?” The smallest gift, he said, “was also $100! It came from a couple who both were employed, but were always too busy to worship or to study with their fellow Christians in the church, or to serve in any capacity through the total mission of the church. It was not surprising, then, that they thought that their one check for $100 was a generous gift.”

Trefzger also mentioned that the elderly couple who made a great sacrifice by their gift remained faithful members of the church, and I would certainly count them among the giants upon whose shoulders we stand today. Their greatest gift to the church was their faith and their dedication.

But the busy couple that could have easily pledged much more soon drifted away.

All of our honored servants today, and all those we have honored in the past, give to the church in different ways. Not all of them give the same amount of time to the church, or the same amount of money, or provide the same level of leadership. But all of them are committed to the ministry of this congregation, and they—as well as many of the rest of you—are the giants upon whose shoulders future generations will stand.

In that sermon he preached in 1968, John Trefzger made use of several scriptures, including the parable of sower. Reflecting again on the construction of this sanctuary, he said:

“The truth of Jesus’ parable of the sower became evident with the passing of each day. The Word of God had come to many different kinds of people in our community through the ministry of First Christian Church. While the life in Christ had touched many, there were those who were too busy, those whose interest was too shallow, and those for whom the gospel seemed superficial; but we thanked God for the Word that had fallen upon good soil and brought forth the spirit of Christ many-fold.”

John Trefzger also told a story that, I think, he may have told more than once... 

“In 1959,” he said, “a member of our congregation, a fine young serviceman named Sydney Schmidt, returned home from serving his country in the U.S. Navy. His father had died the previous September, and his family especially rejoiced in his homecoming. He was engaged to be married. His future was bright and promising…

“Then in September of that year he was killed in an automobile accident.

“Some years before as a youngster with a paper route he had been thrifty as well as industrious… After his tragic death his mother said, ‘the $1200 in Sydney’s savings account is not ours. We shall dedicate it to the work of God in his memory.’ Like the Word that fell on good soil and brought forth plentifully, the example of the Schmidt family inspired many others.”

John Trefzger then noted that in the ten years that followed, over $60,000 came to First Christian Church in memorial gifts and legacies… And much more has come in since. 

I’m amazed and grateful for the times when, just since my arrival here in December 2023, that a worthy cause within the congregation was identified, and memorial funds were available to meet that cause.

Most recently, we used some memorial funds to purchase a new amplifier for our sound system. Before Easter, there had been some weird echoes and fading in and out of our audio in worship, which you may have noticed. But because we were able to access those memorial funds and purchase a new amplifier, we were able to resolve that problem and make a much needed improvement to our worship service.

Again, we are standing on the shoulders of giants.

188 years is a long life for a congregation. My previous congregation celebrated its 70th anniversary while I was there, and we made a big deal of that. I even invited the mayor to come, and to my surprise, he did! That mayor is now a U.S. congressperson. 

Five years later, that congregation celebrated its 75th anniversary, which would have been an even bigger celebration, except it came right at the height of the pandemic. 

188 is not a milestone year. It’s not 100, or 150, or 200. But 188 is significant, if for no other reason, than the remarkable span of time it represents. 

So much has changed… yet so much has stayed the same.

I think of the time Jesus said, on one occasion, “I came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law;” and then, on another occasion, he said, repeatedly: “You have heard so-and-so, but now, I say to you…” and what came next wasn’t exactly an overturning of the law, but it certainly was a fresh, new interpretation of the law.

In the same way, our mission has not changed. Like William T. Major, we are focused on sharing the love of Christ with the community here in Bloomington and beyond. And just as William T. Major was committed to a liberating interpretation of the gospel, so, too, are we.

And we work on behalf of the people in our community, nation, and world, to liberate them from poverty, to liberate them from despair, to liberate them from injustice, and to liberate them from all forms of hate, including racism, homophobia, transphobia, and the persecution of immigrants.

None of this represents a change in our mission. Rather, it is our attempt to live faithfully, in our modern circumstances, to the calling Christ has placed on our lives; the calling Christ places on all who follow him and commit themselves to him.

The giants on whose shoulders we stand are a great inspiration. I am encouraged by their lives and their dedication, to likewise commit my life and my dedication to the ongoing building of Christ’s kingdom. 

And I’m so happy to be doing so in the midst of a congregation that is likewise dedicated and committed to the ministry we share.

Sermon: "Calm in the Storm" (Mark 4:35-41)

Mark 4:35-41

Last November, a storm passed through northern California. It was not a historic storm in terms of size or power, but - at Lake Tahoe - it did create 30 mile-an-hour winds, 55 mile-an-hour gusts, and waves six to eight feet tall.

Surfers - in wetsuits that were extra-thick, I assume - travelled from coastal cities near San Francisco up to the Sierras for the opportunity to surf the waves at Lake Tahoe. We don't usually think of Lake Tahoe having waves big enough to surf, but when there's a storm, it can happen.

The Sea of Galilee is slightly smaller than Lake Tahoe. Calling it a “sea” is rather generous. But if a storm could create six to eight foot waves on Lake Tahoe, a storm could create similar conditions on the Sea of Galilee, with wind and waves and surf.

Unlike modern surfers, most people in ancient times were not good swimmers. The boats the disciples had were small fishing boats. Boats like that were not designed for conquering six-to-eight-foot waves. Such conditions would put the boat’s occupants in mortal danger. The waves hitting their boat, splashing water into their eyes so they couldn’t see. The rocking and tossing would knock them over, causing them to fall on top of each other in the boat.  The boat’s occupants would always be just one wave or gust of wind away from being thrown from the boat and into the churning chaos.

Why were Jesus and his disciples out on the water in such conditions?

They were out there because Jesus had said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” Jesus had been teaching beside the lake in his home region, the region of Galilee, and this had worn him out. He was tired, and said, “Let’s go to the other side.”

Now, in the boat, in the storm, the disciples start wondering if maybe Jesus was so tired that he wasn’t thinking clearly. And just where is Jesus, anyway?

Oh, he’s in the stern of the boat, the back… asleep. The boat rocking violently… and he’s asleep. Waves crashing over him, and he’s asleep.

How can he be asleep? How can he not be terrified awake? How can his mind be at peace so that he is able to close his eyes and rest?

You already know that the next scene involves Jesus standing and commanding the wind and waves to be still. Did that really happen? Did Jesus really calm the wind and the waves by speaking to them?

Over the years, my study of scripture has taught me that stories like this one may or may not have happened exactly as they are described. I have reasons to believe that this story did happen just the way it is told, and I have reasons to believe that, perhaps, this story is more of a parable, told to illustrate a spiritual truth. My lifelong study of scripture provides no definitive answer to the question of whether this story happened exactly as described.

But my study of scripture does tell me that, in another very important and very real way, Jesus and the disciples were sailing into a very different type of storm.

Across the lake, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, was an area that was not their home, an area where the Roman presence was even more formidable than it was on their side.

If Jesus took his message about the kingdom of God with him, and proclaimed it there, across the sea, in an area that was so heavily aligned with the kingdom of Rome, he would be sailing right into the eye of a metaphorical hurricane.

The oppressive kingdom of Rome created an inhospitable storm that threatened life and freedom for many. And Jesus took his disciples right into that storm.

In the same way, many today who are committed to the way of Jesus, and to the kingdom he proclaimed, find themselves being tossed about by the storm that has been brewing in our lives and in our society.

In our society today there is a hurricane of hatred and a hailstorm of inhospitality. There are gusts of greed and cyclones of corruption. There is a rainstorm of racism and prevailing winds of prejudice. There is a haboob of homophobia sweeping across the land and a tumult of transphobia. We’re dodging lightning bolts of lies. There is a deluge of deception, a whirlwind of white supremacy, a monsoon of me-first mentality, a cloudburst of class warfare against the poor, a tropical depression of unjust incarceration, and a tempest of political ineptitude, all of which are working together to create a catastrophe of immorality.

That’s quite a storm.

And Jesus calls the church to boldly sail right in to this storm, to not be weak or timid or afraid.

When the disciples saw the storm, they were afraid. They woke Jesus up. “Jesus, don’t you care that we are about to drown?”

Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”

And all was calm.

Then Jesus said to the disciples: “Why were you afraid?”

No, actually, he used the present tense. “Why are you afraid?” The storm was over, but Jesus spoke in the present tense.

Maybe he was speaking of the storm yet to come; maybe this whole story is really about the storm yet to come, the storm they would encounter once they arrived on the other side, and began preaching the kingdom of God.

“Why are you afraid? Why are you frightened? Where is your faith? You cannot have a weak faith in times like these. You cannot have a timid faith in times like these. This storm is strong, and it requires you to have a faith that is strong.”

A faith like that finds its confidence in God. A faith like that knows that the storm is strong, but it also knows that as long as you follow God’s will, all will be well. All will be well.

That does not mean that life will be easy and free of struggle. It does not mean that life will be free of pain or hardship.

“All will be well” means that people may hate you and revile you, but even so, all will be well. It means that people may persecute you, but even so, all will be well. It means they may arrest you, but even so, all will be well. It means they may imprison you, but even so, all will be well. It means they may whip you, beat you, even crucify you… but even so, all will be well.

That is a bold, courageous faith. It allows you to find peace even in the midst of the storm.

This is why we practice faith. This is why we pray. This is why we worship. This is why we train ourselves in the way of love.

It’s not easy to develop this kind of faith. The disciples tried, and they were close, but they weren’t quite there yet. They had mixed feelings about sailing into the storm, proclaiming the kingdom of God in the very heart of the kingdom of Rome. They had doubts and fears.

A faith that is at peace in the midst of the storm is not something we can build or construct. It is a gift from God. It is a gift of God’s grace. But we need to open ourselves up to that gift. We need to accept it and claim it.

Commanding the wind and the waves to be still - is that really the miracle that happened? You may ask that, but I don’t think it’s what we should be paying attention to. Because the real miracle isn’t whether or not one can control and command meteorological phenomena.

The real miracle is finding the faith that allows you to be at peace even in the midst of the storm.

The real miracle isn’t saying to the wind and waves, “Peace! Be still!” The real miracle is allowing your faith to grow so that your heart and mind can be at peace even when there is no peace in the world around you.

Jesus found that calm peace. The storm raged, but he was able to sleep. Jesus had that assurance.

And I suspect these gifts of peace and assurance from God came to him all those years he was growing up, listening and learning and studying the ways of God. I suspect they came to him during the forty days he spent in the wilderness at the start of his ministry. I suspect they came to him in his times of prayer, his times of silence, the times he spent alone with his own thoughts, trying to discern the will of God - those times apart that he was always seeking.

He had to find that peace and that calm within before he could work to bring peace and calm to the world.

You may know that I share my home with two dogs. And one of the things dogs do is bark. They bark at the mail carrier, especially, but sometimes they bark at other people walking down the street.

Sometimes I’m the one walking down the street, passing by a house, and that neighbor’s dog starts barking at me. Woof! Woof! Woof!

And 9 times out of ten, my human neighbor then starts yelling at the dog. “Fido! Cut it out! Stop barking! Just… shut up!”

The dog doesn’t understand the words. The dog just thinks, “Oh, good; they’re barking too! I must be doing something right!” And the dog keeps barking.

If the human is not speaking calmly, the dog is not going to calm down. If the human is speaking in an agitated tone, it’s only going to rile the dog up even more...

If the world is in chaos; if we’re living in the midst of a storm; if the voices of hate and intolerance are barking nonstop… and we start barking at them… we’re only going to rile things up.

And no one will find peace.

How I wish people would understand this!

Usually, when the voices of hate say something offensive, those who try to be on the side of love only start barking. When the agitators proclaim or tweet a message of intolerance, the barking starts, which only encourages them.

This is why we need to ground ourselves in faith, in the assurance that all will be well. With faith that is strong, and with confidence in God, we will find a way to speak that will be bold and confident, yet also calm and level-headed; a way to speak that leads to peace.

In any emergency, we know that we’re supposed to be calm. A calm mind will help us react to any emergency appropriately.

The disciples were not calm. They were freaking out. They were panicking. Things were out of control, and they could not handle the storm they were facing.

But Jesus was calm. And that calmness allowed him to control the storm, rather than have the storm control him.

I know these are difficult times. When our own government is separating children from their families and putting them in cages, and sending them thousands of miles away from their parents - my God! Of course we, as Christians, have the responsibility to speak out, to be bold, to be courageous, to be public, to contact our lawmakers, and to vote out any leader who does not act to immediately end such a morally offensive practice.

But if we just bark and yell - if all we do is make noise - if we panic and lose control of our emotions - then we lose control of the situation. The storm takes control, when what we really need is for love to take control.

If we do not search within for love, and for how love would respond, then all our noise is gibberish - a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.

I know. There are so many situations - some that affect us directly, some that do not - that make us want to yell, cuss, rant, and lose control.

But we can’t let the storm control us. We need to remember that by allowing God to work through us, God can control the storm. God can bring light out of darkness.

And all will be well.

Harvest Time (Mark 4: 26-34)

What a beautiful and glorious day to gather here and worship God.  I am glad that you are here today on this Father’s Day.  I personally am blessed by your presence here today; and I pray that you may know the presence of the Spirit of God, the Spirit that is present with you, within you, every moment of your life.

One of the things that the Spirit of God does is plant ideas in people.  The Spirit plants little seeds of wisdom.  With water, sunlight, and nourishment, those seeds of wisdom grow.  Through discernment, prayer, contemplation, and conversation with other people of faith, those ideas take root and grow into something wonderful.

For much of human history, it was believed that God created people differently, that individuals were destined to various roles in society.  Some were created to be kings and rulers; others, wealthy landowners and aristocrats.  A great many were destined to be peasants.  And some, it was believed, were destined to be slaves.  It was their place in life, preordained before they were born.

In Biblical times, slavery was mostly the result of economics or war.  If you couldn’t afford to pay your debts, or if your nation lost a war against another nation, you might become a slave.

About 300 or so years ago, God’s Spirit planted a seed of wisdom which grew into the idea that all men were created equal.  It was a whole new and different way of understanding the world. 

As that idea continued to grow, it came to be understood that “all men” really meant all people:  men

and women.

However, the issue of slavery was an obstacle to this idea.  By this time in history, slavery was more an issue of race than it was of economics or war.  And soon, people began to realize that the idea that “all men are created equal” was contradicted by the ongoing practice of slavery.

In the United States, a growing number of people began to view slavery as morally wrong.  Others, however, continued to defend slavery.  They pointed out the economic necessity of slavery, how slavery was a traditional part of human society, and the fact that slavery was condoned and not condemned in scripture.

Eventually, President Abraham Lincoln decided that the idea that “all men are created equal” had been sprouting and growing long enough, and that it was now harvest time.  He issued an “Emancipation Proclamation,” ending slavery in the United States.

Communication was slow in those days.  There was a terrible civil war taking place, further slowing communication; and, in some regions, this news of emancipation was not welcome news, and communication of the Emancipation Proclamation was deliberately slowed down.

So it wasn’t until June 19, 1865 – 30 months after the Emancipation Proclamation – that word reached parts of Texas and the last legally held slave in the United States was set free.  The final harvest of that Spirit-planted idea had finally been completed.

Today, the third Sunday in June, many congregations in

the South and throughout the United States celebrate this act of freedom.  It’s a day known as Juneteeth; it’s a celebration of freedom; it’s a celebration of an idea planted by God’s Spirit – nurtured, watered, and cared for by many over countless years – and harvested for the benefit of all.

On this day of Juneteenth, I am aware of another idea that has been growing slowly, in the shadows, but which is receiving more and more sunlight.  In fact, it is an idea that has been growing for so long, that I think we are now past the time when this idea is ready to be harvested.

I’m talking about equal rights for people of different sexual orientations.  I’m talking about this church becoming – officially – open and affirming in regards to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Christians.

Over four years ago, when I was discerning my call to come to Bixby Knolls Christian Church, this congregation presented to me a mission plan that those of you who were here then worked very hard on.  Although this mission plan was obviously not written just for me, at times it seemed almost as if it were a letter written from you, to me, in which you said, “this is where we believe God is calling us; this is where we need you, our pastor, to lead us.”

And one of the items in the mission says that the members of this church want educational opportunities that will help us become “open and affirming.”

The time is right.  The plants are ready for harvest.  For two decades, our denomination – the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – has been in an official “process of discernment” on this issue.  Studies out just this month indicate that, for the first time ever, a majority of Americans favor the legalization of same-sex marriage – among them, President Obama.  I really believe that churches and organizations that do not support equal rights for people regardless of sexual orientation will soon find themselves on the wrong side of history, just like those churches and organizations of 150 years ago, which defended slavery on the grounds that it was traditional and scriptural.

I have always supported welcoming and including all people in the church, something that Bixby Knolls Christian Church does very well.  Visitors consistently tell me that we are a welcoming church.  I think many of us are a part of this congregation specifically because it really does welcome all people at the Lord’s Table, just as God welcomes us.

But most of us, I suspect, had or have ongoing questions.  The educational opportunities called for in the mission plan require much more than a sermon, but I will attempt to begin the process in the time I have left this morning.

Certainly the most prominent question is: “What about those scriptures that condemn homosexuality?”

There are a number of things to consider here.  One is the issue of translation.  Translation is never exact.  Changes in meaning are inevitable, despite the translators’ best intentions.  That’s why my son’s best friend is currently taking Hebrew classes at the Jewish congregation where he worships.  It’s why Muslims believe that to really read the Quran, one must read it in Arabic.

I just finished reading a book by the Dalai Lama.  He wrote the book in English, but several times he struggled to find an English word or phrase that accurately translates a word or phrase from other languages.

For example, he tried to translate the word chogshé into English.  He wrote: “I do not know of any simple translations of this term in English or any other western language, and since it is generally translated as ‘contentment,’ I also use that term.  However, what chogshé really means is an absence of greed. Literally it means ‘knowing [what is] enough’ or ‘knowing when to be contented.’ It means being able to find satisfaction without looking for more.”

Now, imagine if the biblical translators – in the interest of accuracy – wrote a whole paragraph like this every time they needed to translate a word.  You can forget about carrying that Bible around in your pocket or even in your backpack!

Regarding the word homosexual or homosexuality:  even though these words appear in our English translations, there is no word in Hebrew or Greek that means what we mean by these words. 

In ancient times, there was no understanding of a sexual orientation. The situation in scripture refers to a man who is assumed to be heterosexual, who nevertheless has sex with another man or even a young boy.  The Greek word here is arsenokoitēs, which refers to someone who was an unequal partner: a slave; a social inferior; someone who could not say no.  This was not a consensual relationship.  It may in fact have been a young boy who had absolutely no say in the matter.  This means that, instead of homosexuality, a better way to translate this would be statutory rape or sexual abuse.  And condemnation of rape and abuse is a no-brainer.  But when it comes to consensual same-sex relationships, scripture is silent.

So that’s the translation consideration.

Now, let’s assume – just for the sake of argument – that the Bible does condemn homosexuality as we understand the term.  You’ve heard me say before that some people see scripture through the lens of their own fears, while others see scripture through the lens of God’s love.  Those who choose fear will pick and choose scriptures that reinforce their fears.  Those who choose love will pick and choose scriptures that reinforce God’s love.

We all pick and choose.  No one – not even the most literal reader of scripture – can avoid picking and choosing.

Someone recently shared with me this photograph of a tattoo of a Bible verse that is used to condemn homosexuality.  The obvious question is:  did that person choose to ignore the verse that comes after it, a verse which condemns permanent markings on the body?  Or was he just ignorant of what the Bible says?

I’m reminded of a speech Barack Obama gave in 2006, in which he asked, “Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is okay and that eating shellfish is an abomination?  How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick with the Sermon on the Mount, a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application?  So before we get carried away, let’s read our Bibles.  Folks haven’t been reading their Bibles.”

How do we choose which scriptural passages to emphasize?  Remember the door with two hinges:  Jesus said that everything in scripture – all the teachings of the law and all the words of the prophets – hang on two hinges just as a door hangs on two hinges.  One of those hinges is love of God.  The other hinge is love of neighbor.

So that is Jesus’s guiding principle when it comes to interpreting scripture:  Does it reinforce love of God?  Does it reinforce love of neighbor?

These are the questions I believe Philip asked himself when he met the Ethiopian eunuch.  Philip knew that one scripture says that foreigners were not welcome in the temple, and that another scripture says that eunuchs were not welcome in the temple, but that a third scripture declared that the temple is a house of prayer for all people, including foreigners and eunuchs.

How did Philip choose which scripture to pay attention to?  He picked and chose on the basis of love.  He recognized that love drives out fear, and that a fearful person has not been made perfect in God’s love [1 John 4:18].

Shall we officially declare ourselves an “open and affirming” congregation?  Doing so would let our community and our world know that membership and positions of leadership would be open to all, that sexual orientation in and of itself would not be a basis for denying anyone membership or a leadership role.

This is, in fact, the way we already operate, so it makes sense that we make it official.

Being open and affirming does not mean that there is no room for questions or doubts.  As an individual in this congregation, you may have concerns, and you may disagree with what I’ve said today.  That’s okay.

One of the remarkable things about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is our ability to welcome and talk with people who have different opinions than we do, and to still greet and welcome one another at the Lord’s Table.

In a recent pastoral letter to the church, our General Minister, Sharon Watkins, celebrated the fact that all are invited and welcome at the Lord’s Table.  Bixby Knolls Christian Church already has a long and proud history of welcoming people no matter their race, income level, age, gender, or political opinions.  We have become a very welcoming place for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities.  And we do well at welcoming folks with different understandings of faith and scripture.

In that sense, becoming open and affirming is consistent with our history and our identity:  We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.  As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table, as God has welcomed us.

Trust (Mark 4:35-41)

We left early in the morning. I was seven years old, and my family was going on a car trip, driving from Burbank all the way to Chicago, Illinois, in our old Ford station wagon. Mom and Dad were in the front seat (Dad was driving), Grandma and my baby sister were in the back seat, and in the part of the station wagon that my other sister and I called “the way back,” a bed of blankets and pillows had been prepared for her and me.

I say we left early in the morning; really, it was the middle of the night. It was planned that our first day’s drive would take us across the Mojave Desert, through Las Vegas, and on to St. George, Utah. It was August, and the car had no air conditioning. Dad didn’t want to be doing that drive in the middle of the afternoon.

It must have been about three in the morning when we left. I don’t really remember. I have this vague memory of being woken up—it was dark out, obviously—and walking out to the car. I don’t think the car was even out of the driveway before I was back asleep.

Then I remember waking up, some time later, just as we headed up a freeway offramp. It was still dark out, mostly, although the sky directly ahead of us was beginning to glow. I rubbed my eyes and said, “are we there?”

We weren’t there. We were in Barstow, and something was wrong with the car. Turned out to be the wheel bearings. It took most of the morning to get the wheel bearings replaced. We waited, and—Barstow being a train town—my parents bought me a book all about trains to keep me occupied while we waited. I remember that the book had stickers, and a page that explained how to interpret the whistles: two short toots meant that the train was starting up; two long toots followed by two short toots meant that the train was approaching a crossing.

Finally, the car was ready, and we were on our way. I remember stopping in Las Vegas for gas. It was the middle of the afternoon. An electric sign across the street from the gas station said the temperature was 120 degrees. Dad wasn’t happy.

The rest of the trip was much better. We took our time getting to Chicago, seeing some of the sights along the way, and then spent a good week and a half in the windy city, staying with relatives while Dad attended a convention. On the way back, one of the places we drove through was Yellowstone National Park, and I remember watching Old Faithful just before sunset, and eating dinner at the Old Faithful Inn. Our plan was to spend that night in Jackson Hole, which meant we still had a ways to drive after dinner, so we finished eating and hopped back into the car.

Now, I had looked at the map. Even as a kid, I loved to look at maps. A few years later, those Chicago relatives moved to Santa Maria, and we drove up to visit them in their new home. After being in the car for several hours, we reached the sign that said “Santa Maria, next eight exits,” and it was then that my parents realized they had forgotten to grab the map & directions off of the refrigerator door, where they had of course posted it so that they wouldn’t forget it. The phone number was also on that piece of paper, and my parents didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, I had taken a passing glance at that map once when I opened the door to get myself a glass of milk, and led my parents to my relatives’ house, no problem.

If only I could remember people’s names as well as that.

Anyway, I had looked at the map that showed the road we would be taking from Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, and I noticed that we would pass right by a part of Yellowstone Lake called the West Thumb. On the map, it even looked like a thumb. Well, that sounded interesting; but because it was evening, and we’d had a long day, I knew that there was a good chance that I would fall asleep before we got there. So I told my parents to make sure I was awake when we got there. I didn’t want to miss seeing the lake that looked like a thumb.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up to a bright morning sun at a campground in Jackson Hole. That was my one big disappointment from that trip, that I didn’t get to see the West Thumb.

As curious as I was about all the sites we drove past, I’m sure there were other times besides these when it all caught up with me, and I fell asleep. As a child, I could always fall asleep when Dad was at the wheel. I had complete trust in him. Until I started learning how to drive myself.

It’s a lot harder for me to fall asleep in the car now, when someone else is driving. It doesn’t matter who it is. I know how quickly unexpected hazards can make a peaceful drive treacherous, and I just don’t have that same level of trust that I had as a child. Plus, I some-times worry that, if everyone else falls asleep, perhaps the driver will, too…and we won’t arrive safely.

It was at the end of a long day that Jesus invited his disciples to sail across the Sea of Galilee with him to the other side. Jesus took his place on the cushion, which served as the pilot’s seat; he was driving this boat. He was in command. The disciples were willing to follow Jesus anywhere. They were, in some ways, like children, trusting in Jesus to lead them, all the while learning from him. They hadn’t been his disciples for very long; they were all new recruits. When Jesus stepped into the boat and said, “Let us go to the other side,” they didn’t even question it. They just got in the boat.

The scripture says that Jesus got into the boat “just as he was.” What does that mean, “just as he was?” Does it mean he wasn’t wearing his traveling clothes, that he was still in his teaching clothes? Does it mean that he hadn’t yet washed up after supper, and still had some pieces of food stuck between his teeth? Does it mean that the effects of the wine he had with dinner hadn’t yet worn off?

Perhaps it means that he was just exhausted. After a long day of teaching, answering questions, training his new disciples… he was wiped out. In fact, that may have been why he wanted to go across to the other side in the first place. He wanted to get away from the crowds. He wanted to go someplace quiet, someplace where he could rest and restore his soul.

He got into the boat, just as he was, and the disciples did, too. And if Jesus was tired, then probably his disciples were tired, too.

Perhaps the disciples would have fallen asleep as the boat drifted across that large lake, but as soon as they started sailing, as soon as they got out on the water, the weather started turning rough. The wind kept getting stronger and stronger. Before long, waves started washing over into the boat.

They had been in boats before; some of them were experienced fishermen, and knew how to read the weather, and what the danger signs were. This was no gentle breeze; this was developing into a full-fledged windstorm. It doesn’t matter who you are, you have no business being out on the water in a storm like that. This, they knew. It was too dangerous.

And yet, there on the cushion, on the pilot’s seat, the person who should have been in charge, the person in whom they trusted to keep them safe, to get them to the other side—Jesus—lay fast asleep.

The disciples saw Jesus asleep in the boat. They saw the wind and the waves. The felt the boat tossing and turning. Then they felt the water; it was coming into the boat.

In the story world of the Bible, water is the home of monsters and demons. It’s not just that the disciples were getting wet. It’s not just that they were in danger of drowning. It’s that the boat, which was supposed to keep them separated and safe from the demon-infested waters, wasn’t doing its job. It wasn’t up to the task. The wind was too much. The forces of evil were threatening to overtake them.

Obviously, they were afraid.

They woke Jesus up. They woke him up, and said to him, “Teacher! Do you not care that we are perishing?” It was a question filled with fear. It was also a question filled with anger. After all, they felt that their trust had been betrayed. Jesus, their leader, had fallen asleep at the wheel!

Jesus woke up, and rebuked the wind. “Rebuke” is a word usually reserved for use in relation to demonic forces; Jesus rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: “Peace! Be still!”

And then that great howling wind, and that mighty roaring sea, instantly became calm. It wasn’t just that they lightened up a bit; no. Things went from a tremendous tumult to a silence so great that the only sound the disciples could hear was their own heartbeats. It was a dead calm.

I’m reminded of the scene in the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” that cartoon with Mickey Mouse in the movie Fantasia. Amidst the great swirling flood, with the soundtrack in a crescendo, the sorcerer appears, and with a wave of his outstretched arms, sends the water away. Then the music quiets down so dramatically that it can barely be heard. And Mickey looks at the sorcerer; and the sorcerer looks at Mickey.

In that great, silent calm, Jesus looked at the disciples, and the disciples looked at Jesus. I imagine that the words Jesus spoke were barely a whisper, and yet they seemed to the disciples to be even louder than the roaring wind.

“Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?”

And the disciples wondered, “Who is this man?”

As followers of Jesus, we certainly do place our trust in God. But let’s be honest: there are certainly times in life when it is hard to trust, times when—no matter how tired we are—we can’t help but keep our eyes open, because we’re afraid.

There are times when the storms are pounding against us. There are times when we struggle to make our way, but the wind keeps pushing us back. There are times when we work so hard to stay afloat, and yet the waves come beating in so fast that we cannot bail the water out fast enough.

There are times when demons and forces of evil threaten to overtake us. Now, most of us stopped believing in monsters a long time ago. Many of us aren’t even sure about demons. I’ve never gone to the beach and heard of someone refusing to go swimming in the ocean because they were afraid of demons. But we know that there is evil, and there are temptations, and sometimes that evil and those temptations do threaten to overtake us and drag us down…

And then there are times when it seems that God is asleep at the wheel. For whatever reason, that is a common experience. The psalmists felt God’s absence, and Jesus did, too, on the cross. “Where are you, God? Don’t you care that we are perishing?”

In such difficult times, it is easy to lose one’s faith. In the face of difficulty or evil, it is easy to abandon hope. It is easy to be overwhelmed by fear.

And yet, that fear just may be the greatest, most terrible demon of all. Because fear really can drag you under. Without faith in God, without trust, without hope, the boat will not make it to the other side. Without faith, hope, and trust, you might as well give up now, because you’re not going to make it.

Fortunately, we have each other. We’re not in this boat alone. When one of us becomes frightened or loses faith, others will step in with encouragement. Others will provide the hope that was thought to be lost. They’ll remind us: that even though it may appear that God is asleep at the wheel, the truth is that God is in control of the wind and the waves; and no matter how hard they may beat against us, we will make it to the other side.

The disciples thought that Jesus didn’t care. He was asleep during the storm! Had he given up? Was it just too much for him? Was he having a mental breakdown? Was he not aware of the danger?

No. He simply trusted. He trusted in God to bring him safely to the other side.