Faith in Chaos

I want to start this mornings sermon with an exercise that I have found incredibly helpful in my life, particularly in relation to being open to and listening to God in my life.

In a moment, but not yet, I am going to lead you through this exercise using a call and response format. I will say one line, then you will quietly repeat it. There will be pauses between each line. This will work best if you sit with both feet on the ground or floor of your vehicle, your hands resting on the tops of your legs palms facing up, and your eyes closed. I’m going to give everyone a moment to get situation.

If your eyes aren’t closed and you’re comfortable doing so, please close them now. Okay, I want everyone to take some deep breaths with me. Breath in for three: 1, 2, 3. Breath out for three: 1, 2, 3. We’re going to do that one more time and this time try to relax your body and mind as much as you can. Let the tension leave your shoulders, back, head, wherever you carry it. Lessen your grip on your worries. Okay? Here we go. Breath in for three: 1, 2, 3. Breath out for three: 1, 2, 3.

Staying in your relaxed position and keeping your eyes closed, repeat after me.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know

Be still and know

Be still

Be still

Be

Be

Be

Be

Be still

Be still

Be still and know

Be still and know

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am God.

We live in a world that is full of division, stress, overbooked calendars, and impossible expectations…and that was BEFORE Covid. And while many of our activities have decreased, theoretically freeing up our calendars some, so much more has been added to our plates. Many of you know that I am from Houston, Texas which is on the Gulf Coast and prone to Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. So when I think of the chaos that can be our lives I often think about circumstances in terms of storm levels, with tropical depressions being the least powerful to tropical storms which can be devastating in terms of the amount of rain and flooding they can bring, then moving from Category 1 hurricanes up to Category 5 hurricanes, which are the most powerful and devastating in terms of overall damage. Keeping this in mind here is how I would label the last year. Pre-Covid was like a typical hurricane season, lots of threats, a few minor landfalls, some minor damage, and insurance was there to pick up the pieces. I feel like we were hit with Category 4 hurricane that was predicted to be a minor tropical storm when Covid hit hard here in the U.S. A month in and it settled to a significant, yet better Category 2 storm and eventually to a tropical storm. Then the the number of cases went up, restrictions were tightened and we were back up to a Category 2 hurricane. Throughout this erratic and unprecedented “storm season” many of us have struggled to deal with feeling isolated from our communities and typical support systems. And now we face decisions on going back to school, childcare, continued restrictions, racial tension, loss of jobs and income, continued Covid cases being reported, a suffering economy, and the thing we all look forward to the most every four years…the presidential election, which regardless of who you’re voting, and I don’t care, is just a downer with all of the divisiveness that goes with it. Right now I’d say we’re back to at least a Category 2 hurricane. I would trade all of the Ben & Jerry’s Half-Baked Ice Cream if Hurricane Covid would go away and never come back.

I bring all of this up, not because I think you’re unaware, but rather because in the midst of this kind of strain we can overlook why we feel so stressed, not just individually but also as a community and society. And with so much going on it’s easy, in fact it’s instinctual for us to fall back on self-reliance to get through each day. A friend and colleague of mine was reflecting on our Gospel message for this morning and posed this question, “Why this miracle?” People weren’t being fed when they were hungry, no one was healed, in fact, Jesus wasn’t evening providing wine for a wedding feast. So I’ll ask again, “Why this miracle?”

We have been given a gift, the gift of newness of life in Christ Jesus. We no longer need to make ourselves righteous, worthy, or deserving to God, let alone the world and the people in it. We no longer need to justify ourselves, to prove ourselves just or right, because God has already declared that each of us, as sinful people are made just by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And with being made just, being justified, we have been given God’s peace, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and thus salvation.

Even though we learn about this gift, given to us by the grace of God; and even though we proclaim it publicly with one another in worship, we forget. In the midst of life, that can seem like one long, interminable hurricane season. Growing up on the Gulf Coast hurricane seasons are just part of life, just another season that comes every year. Is it stressful and sometimes traumatic? Yes. But you learn to live with it. I remember one summer my family and I went to visit my aunt and cousin in Colorado. While we were there a hurricane hit, spawning tornadoes, causing flooding and wind damage. But for the first time in my life I hurricane hit my hometown and my home and I didn’t worry about it one tiny bit, in fact, I didn’t know the full extant of it until I got home and talked with friends. Now I’m sure my parents and grandparents, who were with us, knew about the storm and had taken precautions to protect our homes before we left, but my brother and I were out of the loop. For the first time in my life I got to ignore this reality of my life. And this is what I think is the “Why” behind this miracle.

If anyone had reason to live their faith fully on a daily basis, I would think it would be Jesus’ disciples. They lived with Jesus day in and day out. They witnessed his miracles, they learned at his feet. These were people who witnessed the change Jesus brought to the world first hand. They witnessed the changes in their own lives. And yet in the midst of stormy sea they first mistook Jesus for a ghost, a ghost! They had just witnessed Jesus feed five thousand men, plus women and children from five loaves of bread and two fishes, and still their first reaction to a person walking on water was that it had to be a ghost. Once Jesus made himself known to the disciples Peter then gave Jesus what amounts to an ultimatum saying, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” To which Jesus simply says, “Come.” In faith Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on water. Can you even imagine how cool that must have been? And then Peter’s instinct kicks in, he notices the “storm”, or in this case strong wind, around him, gets scared, and starts to sink. Jesus by catches him but asks, “You of little faith, why did you doubt me?”

How many times do we let the storms of our lives distract us from the faith, the belief that we have in God? Only to have those distractions rob us of the peace given to us by God. How often do we let the storms of our lives drown out the voice and movement of the Holy Spirit? Drown out the comfort that God is trying to give us?

I don’t know about all of you, but in the midst of the chaotic storms of life it’s not possible for me to refocus on my belief and faith in God. I simply don’t have the power or will to do it. Thankfully, I don’t have to. And neither do you!

But we must believe in and have faith in God…even in the chaotic hurricanes of life. And again God has our backs. Part of our new life in Christ is listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, that little voice or feeling urging you to take time for that family devotion, or not going to bed without giving God thanks for the day you’ve been given. There are so many ways to keep God at the center of our lives. Ways that God has given us to, has empowered us with do that our focus can be turned back to God.

Now. I want you to think back to the beginning of my sermon. Remember that exercise we did? Okay, the phrase, “Be still and know that I am God” comes from Psalm 46:10. And I want to read it to you, along with vs. 11.

“‘Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth.’

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

In the midst of life’s storms I pray that you turn to God, or rather that you choose to remain facing God and not fall back on self-reliance. I urge each of you to cling to the newness of life in Christ that God has given us; to stop, take a breath, and be still, knowing that God is God and that God is with each of us.

Amen