We pass Midsummer’s Night this week with June 20 being the summer solstice. The celebration began in Christian times when it was believed that forces could slip between this world and the next at a time when there was more light than at any time of the year. Fires were lit to ward off the evil spirits. We may think of Midsummer’s Night in terms of Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The play has a number of subplots, one being the brawl of the ferries, Oberon and Titania based on a lack of recognition for the other in the relationship which creates a disturbance in nature.
The Gospel this week is from the Gospel of Mark 4:35-41 depicts Jesus and the disciples in a boat on a storm in the Sea of Galilee. Now this is a disturbance of nature!
What lessons can we gain from this story in this Midsummer’s Night?
1. Be ready to undertake a new mission or new direction in our lives.
In our Gospel text Jesus sets the direction for the journey,"Let us go across to the other side." They were going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The mission was there to do the same thing they had done for the Gentiles they had done for the Jews – teach about the Kingdom of God, heal and worship and gather disciples. This was a bold step as they were moving across religious boundaries. We can’t ignore new possibilities, either but be aware there are storms in undertaking any new direction. Mark’s community found the same thing.
2. Understand our resources when we do move in a new direction.
The anxiety of the disciples appeared when the storms arose, partly because they were not considering all their resources, particularly the best one, Jesus. Their opinion of Jesus goes from someone "just as he was" to amazement as " even the wind and the sea obey him." Jesus’ demonstration of power over nature to calm the storm is another indication that Jesus’ ministry participates in God’s power
3. “Peace! Be still!”
After undertaking a new direction and gathering resources, have faith that you have done your best and find a sense a satisfaction. That’s the inner disposition we need. It may not be natural but we need to develop it.
The great storm is a test of what the disciples have learned from Jesus’ teaching. Mark recounts that Jesus grew increasingly impatient with the presumption of his disciples that he would simply perform a divine act and in every instance relieve them of their fear. They seemed to completely ignore that they also had responsibilities. They had an obligation to endure and to find inner calm through faith.
So how do we make this "stillness" work ? One way is not to make these decisions or face obstacles in a vacuum but seek out others whom you believe can help or just merely listen. Mr. Rogers’ mom always told him "to look for the helpers." Why? Jesus lives inside all of us – we all have a piece. In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul asks the Corinthian believers a question: “Or do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?” In the end you may find that "Your faith has saved you” as Jesus says to a sinful woman in Luke’s Gospel.
Lutheran minister David Lose writes this week "Rather, faith is about a relationship, a relationship with the God revealed by the ministry and words and actions of Jesus…And trust, in the end, is the only thing that overcomes fear. "
The 2018 sermon from this Sunday looked at God’s power in relation to the readings. “God’s power is unfathomable, mysterious, and endless. But the most electrifying thing about God’s power is that God does not hoard power. God shares all that power! With us!”
“But we are the only disciples Jesus has got right now. And so you better believe that God is going to share God’s power with us, because God has not given up on God’s kingdom coming on earth! And God has not given up on you! Or me!
“We say that we believe that God will help us carry out the things we are called to do as Christians—as Bishop Shannon reminded us at the Church Vitality Day yesterday, our baptismal vows spell out our callings,
“And, if we are listening, we will hear Jesus call us to go with him to the other side—as Pastor Steve puts it in his poem entitled The Other Side—Jesus will call us to go with him to “The other side of the tracks. The other side of the border. The other side of life. Beyond the familiar, the safe, the manageable. The other side of the argument. Another viewpoint. The other side of the conflict. The other side of yourself. The other side of the veil. The unseen.”
“Don’t be afraid. Take the power God is trying to give you. And then go boldly to the other side, wherever that is, to bring new life and the beginnings of the kingdom of God.
“Don’t be afraid. Jesus will go with you. After all, going to the other side was his idea all along.”