Epiphany 4

Fr. Lovett, evangelist Our Redeemer Lutheran Congregation Epiphany 4 February 3, 2019  Matthew 8:23-27  In the name of the Father and of the  Son and of the Holy Spirit. It’s amazing how many of us, if not all of us, most often and even without realizing it, blame our troubles on anything but ourselves. From the shallow troubles of finances to the weightier troubles of family or societal problems. It’s never our fault. And if it is our fault, it’s also someone else’s fault. And because we convince ourselves that it’s not our fault, we think that we sort of deserve to be rescued from our troubles; mistakenly thinking that “our troubles” are the troubles of this life. So we can look at the story of Jonah and the story of the disciples at sea and say, “See there, it wasn’t their fault. They didn’t cause the winds and the waves to rise up and threaten their lives. It wasn’t their fault.” We think this with those Jesus healed, too. The leprosy isn’t the fault of the leper; the blindness isn’t the fault of the blind; and so forth. So, we pretend to pray: the troubles in my life aren’t my fault so please rescue me, Jesus! And we turn the story of Jesus into one of Aesop’s Fables or worse, one of Poor Richard’s Almanac platitudes like “God helps those who help themselves.” But the truth is that it is your fault. Your sin is not internalized and “just there” but not really bothering anyone. Neither is your sin like a bad habit that can be indulged so long as it doesn’t get out of hand or so long as you’re not caught. Your sin isn’t bad thoughts or rough language. Your sin is your hatred, hatred of your neighbor. Hatred is the opposite of love. Hate destroys. Love builds. Hate mocks, love sooths. Hatred rages in jealousy, love praises with kindness. Hatred steals, love gives generously. And don’t think you don’t hate. You do. You hate yourself. You hate others who impose their will on you. You hate life, even. In short, we hate everything because everything is a reminder that we are nothing, like Abel was to Cain and David was to Saul. Truly our sin is begotten of our belief that we are the center of the universe, even if it is our own small universe in our heads. Some of us perhaps hide our hatred better than others, but it’s there with us all. The ones who hide it best are the ones who have simply learned how to avoid situations where their hatred would spill out from their hearts to their hands or mouths. So they avoid family reunions, or certain topics, or certain people. They avoid “getting involved” and mask it by saying that such things aren’t worth it. But in the end the “such things” are other people. And other people are always worth it, for as you do unto the least of them, so you do unto Christ. Now St. Paul’s prayer truly becomes our prayer: Who will save me from this body of death!? Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus! So what of the disciples on the boat with Jesus? Was the storm their fault? That’s not the point. The storm isn’t the point. Jesus is the point. The point of the story of Jesus calming the storm is not that He will calm the storms of your life. It’s not that if you believe enough, that if you have enough faith, then the storms won’t swamp you and you’ll float just fine atop the waters of life. You won’t. Not in the expectations of our hearts, anyway. You’re going to die and you’re going to bury loved ones and you’re going to be at the mercy of merciless people. You will suffer, as it is written, because others hate you just as others suffer because you hate them. This life is one big chaotic storm of hatred and violence. To think the “storms” of this life are merely difficult situations is to have blinders on and then expect to find your way in the darkness that the storm creates. The truth is that you’re just as lost and tossed about as those disciples were. Not because of situations in life but because of sin. So the point of the story is not that Jesus quells the storms of your life, the point is this: that Jesus has put Himself in the boat with you, so don’t be afraid. In the midst of this violent world of chaos and murder, which is sin and hatred, Love stands not merely as a beacon of hope but stands as a Man, the Man, who promises to save us all from hatred; from our own and from the hatred of others. He promises to bring us safely to the shores of the resurrection. He promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age. So we bob up and down in this little dinging called the Holy Church, floating on the waters of death and chaos that threaten to sink us at any moment, but we are not afraid. Jesus is with us and we with Him. We eat and drink His body and blood because He threw Himself into the raging sea, the violent storm of hatred and sin, and came forth from the tomb as Jonah came forth from the belly of the great fish. And He preaches peace to us; life and salvation. He preaches forgiveness and love even as He Himself is the forgiveness and love He preaches. And we rejoice in Him who is our Savior, our Lord and our God. In Nomine Iesu  Amen 