1^st July 2012

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 24 June 2012

Lessons - Jonah 1:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Mark 4:35-41

The disciples woke Jesus and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care
if we perish?' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,
'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(Mark 4:38ff)

This is one of the great missionary passages in the New Testament. It
speaks of hope for our storm-tossed world and of courage for disciples
being battered by ill-winds that threaten the future of the Church. It
portrays human fear in the face of evil and God's power over all that
threatens fullness-of-life.

The 'sea' represents chaos in every sphere of life - nature, history,
faith. It depicts terror caused by natural calamities, inhuman behaviour
and persecution. It exposes our impotence in the face of all that
threatens to 'swamp' life. The 'boat' represents the Church which is
threatened by forces that are hostile to the Gospel. It is the place
where, in the midst of turmoil, disciples lack faith and courage but also
find peace.

Only Mark tells us that this fragile little boat is not alone on the sea.
The Church shares the lot of all human endeavours that are faced with
severe challenges as they move over uncharted waters to achieve their
goals. The fact that there were 'other boats with him' (v36c) is not
simply an incidental historical detail but a profound theological insight
into the relationship between Christ, the Church and the world. The 'other
boats' that are not part of the Church also benefit from his calming
presence. Whether they know it or not, Jesus is the one through whom God
brings order, peace and hope to our chaotic, strife-torn world.

This story speaks to all of us when we or other people suffer because of
natural calamities, human evil or persecution.

* The terrifying power of nature (e.g. capsized boats off Indonesia)
destroys life and hope. Nature can be majestic and beautiful, but also
vicious and indifferent to suffering.

* Human evil too scars the lives of many people. Despite a strong belief
in the inevitability of progress, violence continues to wreak havoc on
the earth. The terrifying events in Syria today are symptomatic of the
chaos that is symbolised in this dramatic story and the naivety of
faith in human goodness to overcome evil.

* Persecution also mars our humanity. The 'little boat of the Church' is
threatened by pressures from outside and within. Today, in Western
societies, Christians are powerless to withstand militant secularism,
relativism, nihilism and self-centred spirituality that threaten to
swamp the Gospel.

Alas, unlike the terrified disciples, many Christians are oblivious to the
storm raging around them. They are deaf to the fierce opposition to truth
and goodness that is often viciously expressed in the new atheism,
represented by Richard Dawkins. We are witnessing the fanatical
determination of many politicians and advocacy groups to destroy marriage
and enact human rights legislation that will prevent orthodox Christians
from practising their beliefs or providing services in education, health
and welfare.

Threats to the truth and goodness of the Gospel do not come only from
outside the Church. It is natural that Christians should try to avoid
severe conflict and call for 'peace at any price'. We like to be open to
all beliefs, uncritical of others' life-styles and not discriminate
between right and wrong. The result of this timid outlook is that the
storms threatening the life of the fragile 'little boat of the Church' are
now welcomed by many as refreshing 'winds of change'.

A fierce storm is brewing ahead of the Thirteenth Assembly of the Uniting
Church from 15-21 July in Adelaide. The question of Marriage Equality for
same-sex couples and proposals to develop liturgies for same-sex blessings
will be foremost on the agenda. Already, Uniting Justice, the social
justice advocacy group of the National Assembly, has made a submission to
the Federal Parliament Inquiry into the Marriage Equality Act to support
changing the Marriage Act to allow marriage for same-sex couples. The
proper concern to support people with confused sexual identity has led to
misplaced enthusiasm to endorse these relationships in the law of the
land. The submission was made without the National Assembly having
discussed the matter but with the approval of senior leaders in the
Assembly office! What until now would have been thought of as an ill-wind
buffeting the church from outside is now welcomed by many Uniting Church
'insiders' as a warm breeze of acceptance.

This is one of many threats to life and faith today. But, no matter what
suffering or opposition we experience, all of us understand the disciples'
reaction to Jesus: 'Teacher, do you not care if we perish?' (v38).

* Do you not care about my cancer, disability, tragedy or death? (Nature)

* Do you not care about victims of atrocity? (Sin)

* Do you not care about persecution of Christians, here and abroad?
(Church)

Why, when tragedy, oppression and persecution threaten to swamp life and
hope, are you 'asleep on a cushion in the back of the ship? (v38).'

At some time or other, we all ask this question! Will there ever be a time
when natural and human evil are completely defeated and faith triumphs?
Will the storms of life and opposition to goodness and truth ever be
stilled?

There are no easy answers. There is so much suffering in the world. The
fragility of nature, human cussedness in general and deep hostility to the
Gospel in particular continues unabated.

What happens next in the story is a sign of hope. In the midst of turmoil,
peace is restored. At Jesus' word 'there is a great calm' (v39). Unlike
the gods who foster conflict on earth and the fates that do not give a
damn about what happens to puny mortals, Jesus acts with the authority of
the God who loves the earth, forgives sin, shares human suffering and
triumphs over evil.

The astonished disciples are forced to ask, 'Who, then, is this, that even
wind and sea obey him?' (v41). They are beginning to realise that the
Jesus who says, 'Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?' (v40), is much
more than a mere 'teacher' who until now they had imagined him to be.

Notice that it is what Jesus has done in calming the storm that has really
spooked them! He does not say, 'Why were you afraid when the wind was
howling?' but 'Why are you afraid now that calm has been restored?' They
are bewildered and nonplussed by the fact that what he has done bears the
marks of divine action. This 'teacher' acts with the authority of God!

As Jesus' ministry unfolds and he is rejected, crucified and raised to
life, his true identity is revealed. The One who calms the storm embodies
God's love for the storm-tossed world by bearing and defeating the dread
powers of affliction, evil, persecution and death that threaten fullness
of life.

Therefore he alone can dispel fear. Only God, the God who suffers evil and
triumphs over it, can stop the reign of terror! In Jesus there is the sign
of hope that, in the fullness of time, what has taken place 'in him' shall
become a reality for disciples in the 'little boat of the Church' and for
those in 'the other boats' and for the whole of nature.

The World Council of Churches symbol rightly depicts the storm-tossed
Church being kept afloat by the empty cross - thus representing the final
victory of the One who stilled the storm. Apart from the triumph of the
risen-crucified Jesus, this story in itself would not give us grounds for
hope.

As it is, it is a beacon of hope and courage. No matter what may threaten
to swamp us - in nature, society or the church - we may have confidence
that the God whose good purposes for creation have been uniquely embodied
in Jesus has not abandoned us and will not abandon us or the world.

This is Good News. The 'peace' that Jesus brings does not allow us take
our ease and loll about in the boat, but steels us to withstand future
storms. In the midst of the suffering caused by nature and other people it
gives us and others strength and the courage as a Christian community to
stand up for what is right no matter how stiff the opposition.

This dramatic story leaves us with a number of searching questions:

* Do we see Jesus as a mere 'teacher' or the One who has defeated the
forces that threaten life and faith?

* Are we, like the disciples, staggered by his God-like power in the whole
of his ministry, including his crucifixion and resurrection or do we see
in him a 'god' that teaches us to be comfortable, avoid conflict and
uncritically tolerate everything that happens around us in the community
and the Church?

* Finally, do we have confidence in his power to bring peace to the world
and the Church or do we want to bail-out of controversies or launch the
life-boats? Are we, like Jonah, those who are asleep in the boat while
the storm rages?

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church,
Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of
Confessing Congregations within the UCA.