The Courage of a Warrior & The Heart of a Child
In the near east you can still go to the bazaars and find silversmiths who will take some of the silver coins they will get from the tourists and put them in pots over primitive furnaces and melt them down. If you watch the process you will see the silversmith will go over to the pot from time to time and remove some of the dross, the impurity that collects in the bowl. And finally when he goes he will see that it is done and start working it and making jewelry out of it. If you ask the silversmith why he does this, he says, well I go over to remove the dross from time to time and I know it is ready when I can see myself like I was looking into a fine mirror.
The bible says that we are like silver or gold and God is a refiner. Part of what he does in our lives is remove the impurities so that we can reflect his image, so that he can see himself in us over time. Now this process is a lifetime one, it goes on until we get to heaven and then it will be complete; but that is what God is up to. We come to a story today and as I said last week, part of what Jesus does is test us. This particular story is about Jesus testing his disciples. He deliberately has them go by themselves across the lake knowing that they are going to get in trouble and he arrives to help in time.
From this story we have many life lessons for us as well. So let’s look at the scripture and I will read it to you. From John 6, beginning in verse 16: (John 6:16-21)
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Would you pray with me?
Father, thank you for the worship that we have had, thank you for the prayer, thank you for the remembrance and the baptism; and now Lord, as we have heard your word read, we pray that we would learn what it means to have faith in our lives, that we would learn what it means to face life with courage and faith. Lord, be with us now as we hear what you have to say to us. Be with the one who is preaching, forgive him of his sins for they are many, and may we all, may we all, see Jesus today. In his name we pray. Amen.
As I have been doing over the last few weeks when I have been preaching through the gospel of John, I have one or two side observations. I have one for you today, something to help you perhaps as you read the bible yourselves; and, that is, when reading the gospels, be sure to read the parallel passages and the context. I have quoted the same story from Mark and you will see what I mean. Mark adds a detail that John does not. It says: “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him, while he dismissed the crowd.” We don’t hear that from John. John has another purpose; and, in fact, if you read the gospels, it is good to keep in mind that the gospels were written at different times for different purposes. Scholars believe that Mark was written first and then when Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels they had Mark in front of them and other material. So you will see that some of the passages are a little bit the same, maybe a little bit different with some different details that we get and John wrote his later. He looked at the other three and said: Hmmm, there are some things missing here. Similar stories occasionally, sometimes not, but in this case we get a different detail; and then, look at the context of the stories. What do we see there? We get a hint as why this story appears at all. Now it happened, but a lot of things happened. Why was it included? Well we find if we read a couple of chapters in Mark, for example, before this, we find that this is not the first trial by water that the disciples had. We find that they had another one where Jesus was in the boat. Jesus was in the boat. And remember the story how they were so afraid and he stands up and says, “Peace! Be still!” and the waves were calmed. But now, this time, he is not with them. Something else is going on. He is trying to teach them.
You know, I suspect a lot of times when the disciples went through something during the day they would always have an “after review” as we say in the Army. “What happened?” And one of the questions they would have probably asked was: “Where were you?” Well, it was a setup. Jesus was trying to teach them something. Well he is trying to teach us something too. What does he want us to know? What kind of growth does he want in our faith, in our lives? I think in this particular story one of the things that Jesus is trying to teach us is that no matter what you are going through, no matter what, Jesus is always there with you. In Mark we learn that “he saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.” Now, again, one of the questions I think the disciples must have asked later was: How did you know we were there? How did you know we were in the middle of the lake? And the answer was: I saw you. Now, Jesus being Jesus could have just seen them. He was God, after all. But it is quite possible that he saw them physically. Here is what I mean. You have to remember the geography a little bit. The Lake of Galilee is not a big place and it is five hundred feet below sea level. In fact, this sermon was supposed to be preached last week. I gladly didn’t do it because we heard the word from the Kenyans who were here and I thought, well, we will just save it for next week. But one of the stories I was going to tell is that if you go to Kenya and you travel through the country, you will have the opportunity to go through the Great Rift Valley. What it is is a big hole in the ground, a big rift in the earth. I have seen it from the ground and the air, it is incredible. But you have to know that this rift in the earth goes all the way up through the ocean and up through the Red Sea and begins at the Lake of Galilee. It is the same rift – some higher points, some lower points, same rift. It is below sea level and if you are on the lake there are mountains to your right, mountains to your left, and there is Mount Herman sitting right in front of you. It is snow capped all year long. They ski on it in the summer. So here you are in a big hole in the ground and the air just pours down on this lake sometimes. Whether it is raining or not, you can have a huge windstorm and be in big trouble in a hurry; and that is what was happening to the disciples.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to go fishing in Canada. This is one of those lakes that is only you on the lake with some friends and you have a couple of fishing boats and that sort of thing. I was driving the boat this day and the wind was up. Now it was my fault, we almost ran out of gas. The other days the wind wasn’t blowing so bad so the boat wasn’t using the fuel. But this day, I didn’t even notice. We were heading back in against the wind and I picked up the gas can. There is nothing in here, just a little bitty slosh and I am going: Oh, oh! There must have been enough gas in the hose because we made it back. But, if we had not, that wind would have blown us way across the lake and it would have been a long way home.
They were going against the wind and if you have ever rowed for a long time there is nothing more tiring than that. They were tired and exhausted. They were tired and exhausted. And it may have been a clear night. The moon was full because it was the time of the Passover. The Passover happened at the time of the full moon. He may have seen them, who knows? But regardless he went out to them. You know theologians talk about a word that we all ought to know and it is the word imminence. I am not talking about eminence, with an e that talks about somebody being exalted. It is imminence with an i that means that God is everywhere. Some of you are old enough to remember the first Russian cosmonaut who got up into space and said, “God’s not here, ha, ha, ha!” Well, so what? Just because you don’t see him doesn’t mean he is not there. If you had gone to Pluto, he would have been there. If you had gone to Alpha Centauri, he would have been there. If you would have gone to one of the billions of galaxies, he would be there. And the bible says this. If you read Psalm 139 it is expressed so beautifully. The psalmist says:
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Jesus is always there. What are you going through today? We are all going through something, usually. Do you have a sickness in your body? And if you were to say to God, “Do you see me Lord?” God would say, “Yes, I see you. I am there.” Have you lost your job or are having trouble at work? “God, do you see me?” “Yes, my son I see you. Yes, my daughter I see you.” Are relationships at home not so good? “Lord, do you see me, do you see this?” “Yes, I see you.” Have you lost someone? He sees you. He does. The practical matter is that God knows every detail of your life, every detail, all the time. Part of growing up as a Christian, part of being refined, is the knowledge that Jesus knows all about us and he is always with us, no matter how unlikely or chaotic the situations. We need to train ourselves to look for him especially in the storms of our lives. We need to expect him to show up because he is already there.
The second thing I think he wants to teach his disciples and us is that he will always help. He will always help. He said to them: “It is I; don’t be afraid.”
Most of you know by now that I returned from Afghanistan and one of the things that I have found out is that the Army is doing a better job at helping soldiers reintegrate. We have been at war so long that many studies have been done and have shown that soldiers go through a similar process with almost everyone, some of it is heavier, some not so heavy, but it is a similar process. One of the things that we want to do when we integrate soldiers is we bring them in and we talk to them and part of my job is to do that, is to help them. We want them to know that they are not strange when they have these feelings. It is not weird to have these feelings. Most everybody has them. It becomes bad if it goes on and on and on.
I have told some of you this story that when I first got back a few months ago, as I was sitting in my family room I heard this loud BOOM! It was the garbage truck door slamming. I was almost out of my seat. Now what was going on with me? I know some friends of mine, who call it an Iraqi moment, they dove under the table. That wasn’t it for me. We were trained when we heard a boom we should go put the body armor on and get your stuff. I was out of my chair looking for my stuff. Then I realized my stuff is down in the basement packed up and I am in Minnesota. And that is what we are trying to help soldiers do, to say “It is alright, and someone is there to help, to be there for you.”
How much more so to say that Jesus is there for us. And the community of faith is there for us. You know, when we baptize a child that is part of what we are doing. Presbyterians believe in baptism of children to say that you are part of the family and God has said you are mine. It is a covenant thing. It is an agreement. It is a swearing relationship. “You are mine. I swear by my name, you are mine.” How much more? And that is what Jesus is trying to say to his disciples: I am there for you and I have the power to help.
Another thing is that Jesus will always bring us to the place where he has called us to be. There is something incredibly powerful, incredibly powerful, in remembering that you are in God’s hands no matter what happens; that you are in God’s hands no matter what happens.
I have shared with you before that before I took off for Afghanistan, my chaplain assistant sat down and we talked about this experience and I, for myself at least, chose a verse for myself. It was Romans 14:8, which says “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” And that is not a negative verse. That’s great! You know, God does not promise us that we are not going to go through battles and be in danger, or have bad things happen; but he says, “I will be with you and I will bring you to the place where I have called you to be.” Wherever that may be, in this life or the next, we are in God’s hands. Nothing can change that. In the verses that we will do next, next week, it talks about how Jesus says, “…I will lose none of who he has given me.” None. He will bring you to that place. He will bring you to that place. He loses none. And we just have to remember it.
You know, it is interesting. The disciples had to get taught the same lessons again and again and again. Aren’t we the same? I don’t know about you, but I can be really strong in the Lord one day and he teaches me the same lesson the next day. I have forgotten it totally. Happens all the time. Same thing for them. That’s why when we are faced with challenges we should always ask the why and the what questions. You know God doesn’t mind you asking why things happen. In fact, when you come into the church you should not check your brain at the door. You should be asking questions. You should. Now you should be careful how you ask why questions. There are: Why did you do that? And there are: Why did you do that? You know I have said many times about children, and I really believe this, that after “momma” and “dada” the first word that they will say is “no”. But after they have lived a little while and learned to articulate sentences, the next phrase that comes out very early in their lives is “it is not fair.” I think it is congenital, it is born, it is part of the genes. We don’t teach them that, it is just there. It is part of humanness to say “it is not fair” when things are not fair that happen to us. So sometimes when we ask, “Why Lord, it is not fair,” be careful with that. It is O.K. God is not going to zap you with a lightning bolt if you ask a question. But it is o.k. to ask why.
I have a lot of why questions. I have a why list. I have often said when I get to heaven I am bringing my list with me and say, “O.K. Lord, number 1…” That is comforting to me yet I do believe when I get to heaven it is not going to matter that much. But, it is O.K. to ask the questions of why, but always also ask the questions of what. What are you trying to teach me? This is from Mark and it says:
51Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52for they had not understood about the loaves…”
There is a little willfulness to their unbelief. Now again, if you look at Mark, you will find that this isn’t the first trail by water. They had the first one where Jesus was in the boat with them, and he calms the storm. Then right after that he casts out a legion of demons, then he sends them out and they do ministry and miracles themselves. He raises a little girl from the dead and then he multiplies the loaves and fishes. And, they still don’t get it. They still don’t get it. They have to learn the same lessons again. They did not understand because, as Mark says, “their hearts were hardened.” There was a willfulness to their unbelief. And there is for us, as well. “I am not going to believe that. I don’t care how often God says this is going to happen. I am not going to believe that. I can’t believe that.”
Jesus wants us to believe. He wants us to have courage in life. He wants us to have courage. You know, when you ask the whys and the whats, you have to understand that you are not often going to get those answers until later, because life is best understood looking back, best understood looking back. Then we might even not know those whys or those whats, but we might say: well I understand that piece. I have some things that happened to me twenty years ago that I am just now understanding. Sometimes it takes that long. Some things I may not understand until I get to heaven. But you still need to ask. You still need to ask. But then, we need to look at our hearts and say: why am I so afraid? It is not simply about what and why. What is going on in my own heart? Why don’t I have the faith I need to have? Why don’t I have that courage? That is what God wants us to have. He wants us to have courage and he says how you have that courage is to face things with strength because you have the faith of a child. That is why I changed my title to “The Courage of a Warrior & The Heart of a Child.” Just like those children a little earlier. I was amazed at how many of them, probably if I walk out here today they will go, “Pick me up and throw me. Pick me up and throw me.” I have done that children’s sermon before and I was so tired at the end of the day I didn’t know what to do. “Do it again. Do it again.” They trust me. I’m glad. I’m glad. That is the kind of trust God wants from us. No matter what happens. And you can be sure if you live in this life things are not going to go well all the time. But death is not the end of the story. Trouble is not the end of the story. God is powerful. Jesus will come. Jesus is already here. We just have to believe it.
I just want to leave you with that. Our prayer for ourselves should be to have the courage of a warrior, to face life as it is, (and it is not always fun. It can be wonderful but it can also be horrible.) but most of all, to have the heart of a child that will trust God no matter what. Will you pray for that?
Would you pray with me?
Lord God, forgive our unbelief when our hearts are hardened, when we refuse you sometimes. But, thank you for your patience. Thank you that you do not give up on us. We pray that you would help us grow in our faith, that we might have courage to face whatever happens and yet still have the heart of a child that trusts you no matter what. Now go with us and keep us, we pray, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.