SERMON FOR SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2025 

2nd Sunday before Lent

 

Preached at Granborough Church

By Rev Petra Elsmore

 

GOSPEL READING - Luke 8:22-25

 

Jesus calms the storm

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’

 

SERMON

Our Lucy always says that the best sermons, contain chocolate, so I am going to pass down these two boxes of chocolates and invite you to pick some and enjoy.

As the chocolates are passed around, let’s talk about surprises. Do you like them? Or do you try to avoid them?

How many of you searched for your favourite chocolate?

Who just picked any without much thinking?

Do you like surprises or do you prefer to be in control and make your own choices wherever possible?

 

Now where does this idea comes from? Do you remember the film, Forrest Gump? One of the famous phrases from this film? “ My mum used to say, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

This came to my mind as I was reflecting on today’s Gospel reading and on the unpredictability of life.

We may like surprises providing they are pleasant, but if life takes us unaware we like to be prepared.

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We have the well known story of Jesus calming the storm, as the disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee. We have to remember that they are experienced fishermen, so they would be very much aware whether the conditions are safe for getting into a boat or not. The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake, and I have read somewhere that it is about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide and it’s also in a valley area, so when the wind hits,  the storms arrive quite suddenly. It is very easy indeed to get caught out in a storm even for experienced fishermen. Life can be rather unpredictable.

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The reading is quite short. The disciples and Jesus are in the boat together, while the storm rages all around. Jesus sleeps peacefully in the boat, but the disciples are getting worried and start to panic. They believe they are going to die. So they wake up Jesus and he calms the storm. He tells them, “Where is your faith?’ And of course, they are amazed.

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Life can get quite unpredictable at times, however we may try to stay in control, it may not always be possible. Life has plenty of storms and they can shake us to the core. Where is our faith at such times? When my grandma died, I was18 and it was as I worked though my grief, that I have found God, unexpectedly, I wasn’t looking for God, but he became my anchor in the time of my grief. 7 years ago when our Alex died, in the midst of the unimaginable pain, God again, remained our anchor, the source of our peace in the midst of the storm. Yet even then I knew that it is not easy to find peace. When the storm rages around you, you feel every bit of it acutely.

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Each time when I watch the news on the tv and see the suffering of innocent people, or when I encounter through my pastoral work those who struggle to cope with the pain of losing their loved ones, I am reminded of the fact that one does not easily find peace in the midst of a storm. It’s the same for all of us. Fear, pain, panic, despair are natural responses to  such situations in which we encounter danger, pain, and suffering. The most painful moments of life cannot be simply skipped over or avoided. Where is our faith at such times? I think we discover it afresh at such moments, when we call out to Jesus and tell him we are drowning.

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What is purpose of the Gospel story today? To rebuke the disciples that in time of danger, anguish and fear they did not have enough faith? Or to discover, that Jesus is in the boat with us and would calm the storm? I perhaps choose to realise that the disciples are just as human as I am. Life is unpredictable and from time to time, quite unexpectedly brings about some serious storms. And it is in the human nature to be afraid and scared and to feel deeply the pain in the midst of suffering. 

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Jesus was in the boat with them. And they called out to him, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.

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You could imagine, that as fishermen, they tried to do what they could for the boat to cope with the storm, it would n’t have been the first storm they sailed through by any means, they must have worked hard to face the danger, and it seems it was when they realised they were powerless, they called to Jesus to warn him of the danger, and perhaps out of desperation. Jesus said, “Where is your faith?” Often when we are faced with pain, ours or the pain and suffering of others, the question we ask, the question people ask is, “where is God in the midst of it all? We try to work out why? We try to find reasons and explanations? And sometimes there are answers, but often there aren’t any. Often we want to understand God’s purpose. People often told us, when our Alex died, that God must have had his purpose. I never believed that. Somehow, it seems to me that seeing God's will behind the storms we face in our lives is missing the point.

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Jesus slept at the boat, and the disciples discovered that it was him, who could calm the storm.

Perhaps, as we work through our fears, our pain and the storms we face, we find that Jesus is the one, who ultimately, in such situations, is our anchor too, he is the source of our peace.

 

Going back to Forrest Gump, a life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you'll get…

I guess, there is some truth in that. But we know, that we are not alone facing the storms. Amen.