A Sermon preached on June 21st, Pentecost
IV, at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
1 Samuel 17:32-49,
2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Mark 4:35-41
David killing the giant
Goliath, Paul boasting of his great sufferings, Jesus calming a great storm,
world refugee day, the United Thank Offering Spring Ingathering ….. Oh and today
is also Father’s Day in many of our home countries. So make yourselves comfortable,
it could take me a while to work my way through all these themes and stories.
But don’t worry, I
won’t. We’ll leave David and Goliath to Sunday School and you can celebrate
your fathers at home after the service. And what links the other passages and
events, and what I want to talk about a little, is courage.
Let’s start with
the Gospel. Courage is what is lacking in the story of how Jesus calms a storm
on the Sea of Galilee. I haven’t visited Galilee yet – though I am now looking forward
to doing so as part of a group of parishioners and pilgrims on a visit to the
Holy Land next year. But from what I’ve read, and what I know as a sailor from other
lakes surrounded by mountains, it is susceptible to sudden, severe storms. When
a storm like this approaches Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria where I have sailed, there
are all sorts of warning lights and sirens to tell the boats to get back to
harbor.
But on the Sea of Galilee
there was no such early warning system and so the boat containing Jesus and his
disciples was being beaten by waves and in danger of being swamped and sinking.
The disciples are afraid. They’ve spent a lot of time with Jesus, they’ve seen
him preach and teach and heal, but clearly they are not yet fully aware of the
extent of his divine power, or they would have known and been able to trust
that the Son of God has authority even over the forces of nature and that like
or as God he “rules the raging of the sea and stills the surging of its waves”
to quote from Psalm 89:9. Mind you, even after Jesus has saved them they still
don’t really understand, do they? "Who
then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 3:41) they ask.
Well how about the Son of God, guys? They still lack in faith in God’s power in
Jesus, and therefore they lack in courage, because Christian courage comes not
from our own strength or abilities but from our knowledge of and trust in God’s
love and in God’s power in Jesus.
Paul on the other hand
has this knowledge and trust – and is very willing to let the Corinthians, and
us, know this. He describes at great length the hardships he has endured for
Christ and for the gospel. First we hear of three general afflictions, then of three
examples of ill-treatment – he had been beaten, imprisoned, and at the center of
riots – and finally of how Paul working non-stop in the Lord’s service has often
gone without food and sleep. I’m impressed – I can think of an occasional sleepless
night and a somewhat riotous General Meeting over a year ago, but otherwise my
ministry does not compare with St. Paul’s. How does he cope? Well, he tells the
Corinthians, God is my sword and my shield. The gifts and graces of the Holy
Spirit such as patience and kindness, and integrity, the genuine love of the
Son, the truth of the Gospel, and the power of the God are what sustain and strengthen
him. His Christian courage comes from his knowledge of and trust in God’s love
and in God’s power in Jesus.
People flee their home
countries for many different reasons, out of fear – of war, persecution,
suffering and death – and out of hope – for a new and better life and the ability
to support those they leave behind. But courage plays a role in all cases, because
flight is always very dangerous and risky. When I was reflecting on the
Scripture passages for today in connection with the theme of refugees I couldn’t
help thinking of those who have and still drown in the Mediterranean when their
boats, far too small, overloaded, and totally unfit for a sea crossing, are
beaten by waves, swamped and sink. There was no one with them to rebuke the
wind and calm the sea, though I hope and pray that those who did not survive still
found calm and peace in God.
It’s not only the refugees
who need courage, but also those who are called to help them. It takes courage to
act against prevailing opinion, to send out ships to rescue refugees, when some
politicians see a life saved as nothing more than a temptation to others to
risk the journey. And it takes courage to welcome the stranger, to continue to make
room for refugees even when some countries, including my own home country the
UK, refuse to take their fair share of those in need out of fear. Fear of the negative
reactions of some of the population and even more fear of the success of their
political rivals. As our bishop, Pierre, has written we – the Church – need to “counter
the fearful response to migrants and refugees that has blossomed, as the flow
of migrants has continued and even intensified. The
lie born of fear is that this ‘flood of people’ will somehow drown us, both
economically and culturally, as if human beings are as devastating as flood
waters.”[1]
And we as church here
need to counteract this fear in very practical ways, by offering kindness,
patience, a presence of calm and comfort to those whose journey of flight has
ended, but whose journey in a strange and at best confusing new world has just
begun. This is what refugees want and need. In today’s service – for the
prayers and blessing - I’m using some materials prepared by our brothers and
sisters of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rome and by the Joel Nafuma Refugee
Center that they support. According to one refugee at that center:
“I
met some wonderful people. Their kindness lessened my suffering. They tried to
feel what I am feeling…not having any family. …I no longer feel alone. People
listen to me. They helped me solve my problems with documents. . Everyone
welcomes newcomers as human beings, not according to religion, race, or
ethnicity.”[2]
We don’t have our
own refugee center, but we do work ecumenically with other churches in
welcoming the stranger, engaging them in conversation, and in just listening to
their stories at the Come Together Café.
You can find out more about this and other ways in which we can welcome the stranger
after the service.
Giving, whether to
the UTO, or to the church, or to our Capital Campaign, often takes courage too.
Perhaps we worry that we will not have enough left for ourselves, or that the project
goals cannot be fulfilled, or that not enough will be donated. If the cause is
good – and the causes I have mentioned are all good, today especially
the UTO and the mission projects around the world that it has supported with
grants, like the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center – then we have nothing to fear. I
want to encourage you – that is literally put courage into you - to give
generously and gratefully and through your knowledge of and your trust in God’s
love and in God’s power in Jesus.
During my visit to
the US last week, in a neighborhood of Alexandria called Del Ray, I saw a big
poster that people could write on. At the top it said “I wish I had the courage
to…” and underneath you could add your particular wish. One was just “to get
ice cream.” But there were also sentiments like “to be a shining light every
day” or “to take more risks.” The wonderful thing about our faith is its power
to transform people and situations. Just look at Paul’s list of transformations
in his letter to the Corinthians: death becomes life, sorrow becomes joy, and
poverty becomes riches. We seem to have nothing, and yet to possess everything.
In Paul’s words we need to “open wide our hearts” (2 Cor. 6:13) and, “working
together with Christ,” (6:1) we will have the courage we need – for example to be
generous in giving, and to be compassionate in meeting and welcoming the
stranger.
Amen
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