SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 2023 - GO DEEP
Carolyn Smith
Go Deep
Here’s another classic Jesus story in this big year and about our way together.
In the early church - like, in the time after Jesus Died and the Jesus Revolution
formed into an organized religious practice, people like us were called Followers
of the WAY. The way of Jesus: in the way he was faithfully Jewish, the way he
was with Gentiles and enemies and neighbours... I like that easy label
“Followers of the Way.” And in those early decades and centuries - it wasn’t
actually OK to be a follower of the Way of Jesus- so they had to care enough
and they had to be secret about it. Does anyone remember how they would go
about identifying themselves to one another carefully???? They’d use their toe
to casually draw in the sand a symbol ... what symbol? A Fish...
Jesus and his people - they were fishing people - from the shores of Lake
Galilee - there is even a Galilean boat still in existence that was buried in the
mud from those times... They knew this work, and the metaphors and imagery
were just how they interpreted life. So: Stormy waters, a ship in the waves, they
KNEW what that felt like - and most of us totally get that. We use words like
Swamped, or in Over our heads, or neck deep to describe our lives when we’re
overwhelmed or too busy or stressed out. And They knew well how to manage
stormy seas - how to read the skies & clouds, how to manage one type of wave
or another, how to steer in a storm and whether to set out in the first place.
When you have that kind of expertise, familairity... much of it wouldn’t even take
explanation.... You knew how to get calm and clear and choose how to be when
the waters were rough. Screeching with panic or hollering at one another or
cowering -Not helpful! I expect your crew & friends would steer you away from
a sailor’s life and have you safely on the shore tending nets or selling the Catch
of the day.. We each have our gifts and we’re all better for working together in
the right part of the team, in a confident way.
You’ve heard the old line: A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are
built for. Simon Peter and the disciples and Jesus too were fishermen. They
knew their boat, it was built sturdy for the waves that would come up on the lake
of Galilee. And they & their ship were built for more than calm waters. Go
ahead, rock the boat! Sometimes too much stability, too much safety would
have meant no fish, no harvest, no economy. Too much stability & safety is in
the way of something more important.
You’ve heard about some of the stormy waters in my family’s life, with Jay’s
sharing of his mental health journey. And I was young - we both were, finding
our way forward, so the wavy impact on our little family meant that I steered
towards calm waters a lot. I nurtured stability, I moored us firmly to solid ground
whenever I could. Calm days, calm kiddos, no challenges.... And looking back,
I think I overdid it. I moored our ship that was clearly built out of his mighty
strength of resilience and staying afloat, and my strengths of connection and
creativity.. we didn’t recognized the strengths we had, and I kept our ship in the
safe harbour. I had faith in the stability and the calm, but we hadn’t learned faith
in navigating the waves, faith in our togetherness and faith in the lessons we had
been learning all along. It can take time. We didn’t have our sea-legs yet for the
storms of life.
Simon Peter did have sea-legs, and I’m guessing less concern for stability than I
had. In this legend then, a storm has arisen, one that tests even the weathered
sailor -the kind that tests life and death, good and evil, the way of light vs the
path of darkness. The previous story just before had taught the Beatitudes -
Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers... a warm and
reassuring list.
Well, how trustworthy is that Way of blessing, how does it really hold up in the
storms of life???? Sounds nice on a sunny hillside with people sharing their
lunch. But If Jesus was taking on the encroaching Empire, how STRONG was
this way of his? And this legend of a mighty storm tests even the most faithful,
the most weathered sailor Peter.
Jesus can handle this storm... Peter decides he is going to handle it too, come
hell or high water.
A question: in stormy seas, do you get out of the boat? Unlikely. Do you trust
your ability to swim? -you’d better. I swim a lot in a pool, but also in the lake
and it’s very different swimming. The lake on a really wavy day is unpredictable
and tiring. It splashes in your face at the wrong time, the rhythm of the waves is
disconcerting... so what do you need? To keep your wits about you - to keep
calm, to lean on your expertise and stay clear. And if you’re wise enough, you
know when you’re out of your depth, in over your head. You know to grab a
lifejacket first, or stay in the boat or on the dock! So what good is a legend of a
better Way of life without being tested? A test of life or death, good and evil
because in that we find the depth of our courage, and test the waters, and we
rise to the challenge? OH ye of little faith, says Jesus... A ship in harbour is safe,
but that is not what ships are built for.
So I think back on my time creating stability for my little family as a gift as much
as I had to offer. But there came a time when I realized how much tension there
was in holding fast, and in lifting my head, I saw the sunshine and the breeze
and the rippled waters and realized we were ready to wade out beyond the safe
harbour. Except I had no idea or confidence how to do it.
O ye of little faith.
In living in community, in stormy families, in health or financial challenges, and in
a brave church that faces injustice and changing times, we see stormy waters all
around. At some point, or maybe every day, we’re making decisions of wading
in or holding fast. Of Sink or swim. What is worthy of our fearful daring and
diving in? What skills will we lean on, or strengthen or throw out in favour of
new ones? We can learn to swim, even to surf. What do we put our faith in?
We’re not a circle of blind-faith folks... of shallow theology. We teach, we know,
we trust that our WAY of Jesus is good wisdom, science-friendly, robust and
universal. And because of that, our faith can go really deep.
Take a deep breath, be present to the Spirit here for a moment....draw on our
practice of prayer, of rhythm & song, of repeated phrases - God be with you and
also with you... the lord is my shepherd... on earth as in heaven, these practices
aren’t just blind faith, they are mercifully & physiologically built in... rhythm,
tangible calming, focusing... these tap into how we are created by God if you
will, by neuroscience, by evolution to shift our body - mind- & Spirit and return
to calm. We moor ourselves not to external things that can always change;
instead we can moor ourselves inside to knowing we are made for this, we are
NOT alone, we are followers of the WAY. And we’re divinely hard-wired -
created for stormy seas. But by all means, take your lifejacket! Jesus walking
on water is the legendary hero's tale of good vs evil, the life & death challenge,
and while we’re not Jesus walking calmly on the water, we’re not necessarily the
ones cowering in the boat either. Peter wasn’t going to be the hero that Jesus
was, but he was willing to trust, he was brave enough to know he on the right
path. He was faithful and counting on his courage, his heart, his strengths and
his skills to go deep and trust.
I’m sure some of your stormy seas are on your mind- recalling the past or likely
some waves going on right now. Even here at church, we have some waves.
The alarm bells are built-in to keep you alert - and thank goodness! We see the
waves, we hear the crashing and feel the splash. You could stay in the boat.
Maybe sometimes hunkering down is just the right thing. Boats need tending
and repairs and reworking - we need repairs and reworking! We need a well-
rounded crew: of friends, teachers, doctors, advisors.. and we all long for rest
and calm seas at times. Then, sometimes - we need to to summon our faith,
our calm clear focus, to be able to rise up when the time is right and the need -
to thrive, or defend others, to speak up in the face of injustice... we rise with
faith.
Take a breath, you of a little faith... you can grow towards deep faith in a spirit
of goodness and purpose and possibility ... we grow in faith and grow
stronger... maybe with the lifejacket, and here, followers of this WAY, we’re all of
us in this same boat together - ... A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what
ships are built for.
You are not alone. Thanks be to God.