Sunday
08/13/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Battered by the waves”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b
New Testament
Scripture: Romans 10:5-15
Gospel Lesson:
Matthew 14:22-33
My brothers and sisters, again it is so good to be back
with you all this morning. My time away was anything but fun, and anything but
enjoyable, but it is good to be back with you this morning. There were points
during my time off that I felt like I would never get back here, and now that
it has come, I am so thankful to be here.
Suffering from depression and anxiety are serious and real
disorders, and they can knock you down. They also can temporarily take away
your joy and your ability to live your life normally. Yet millions of people in
this country and many millions more around the world suffer daily from these
and other condition.
Due to this, I think that it is imperative that we as the
church let all people know that the doors and the ministries of this church are
open to them. It is imperative that we let all people know that they are loved
and welcomed here, and that Jesus Christ died for them.
For those of you that have heard of the book “Purpose
Driven Life” by Pastor Rick Warren, you might hold Pastor Warren in very high
regard. What you might not know though, is that not too many years ago, one of
Pastor Warren’s sons committed suicide. Rick Warren is by association a
Southern Baptist, and someone who is known for being very conservative. Yet,
Pastor Warren told his church, the Saddleback Church in California, shortly after
his son died, that it is time to break the stigma of mental health. The
Saddleback Church has since started a suicide prevention program, and is taking
mental health very very seriously.
Pastor Warren also said if we had a broken bone, we would
get a cast and get it healed. If we had an organ in our body that wasn’t
working, we would get surgery or medical care to get it healed. If we had
diabetes, we would take insulin to keep us healthy. He then said, but for many of
us, if our brains are not working right, well we might just ignore that.
Friends, we live in a country where every 12-minutes
someone commits suicide, and in many cases there are mental health connections
to this suicide. Presently as many as 19-million Americans, near the population
of New York State, and around 400-million people world-wide being treat for
depression. Those numbers don’t even include anxiety disorders.
This means that the number of people getting treat for depression
world-wide exceeds the entire population of both the United States and Canada
put together.
While someone in the United States commits suicide every
twelve minutes, the world-wide statistic is far worse than this.
So what do we do as people, as Christians, and as a church do
about this reality? My sisters and brothers, we have to break the stigma of
mental health. As Methodist are we people of “Do no harm, do good, and stay in
love with God.” This doesn’t mean that we are supposed to be harmed by people
with mental health struggles, but that we are supposed to be open to them, and to
love them. In the gospels Jesus healed all kinds of ailments, including mental
health.
Maybe someone here this morning, or one of your family
members or friends has a mental health struggle. Perhaps God can use you to
help that person. The reality though my friends, my sisters and brothers, is
that you are not alone.
I meet so many people that tell me that they have faith,
that they believe in Jesus, yet they see no need to go to, or to be part of the
church. When the church operates like an extended family, and when we really
love each other, being part of the church becomes something we want and need.
As some of you know, every Sunday I pray before saying the
Lord’s Prayer for those who suffer. Granted, not everyone is suffering, but
some are. We have people in our local nursing homes who feel sad, who feel that
their life no longer has any purpose or meaning. We also have people that might
be suffering from mental health struggles, or many other things. How we respond
and love each other as the church, is a testament to who we are as Christians,
and to who we are in Jesus Christ.
This morning in our gospel of Matthew reading, we have the
story about Jesus and the Apostle Peter walking on the water. Instead of
focusing more on the walking on the water though, I want to talk more about the
storm that occurred before Jesus and then the Apostle Peter walked on the water.
Now this gospel reading picks up just after Jesus had
performed the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. As things were wrapping up
with this, the gospel of Matthew says about Jesus, “Immediately he made the
disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he
dismissed the crowds” (Mt. 14:22, NRSV).
The gospel then says, “And after he had dismissed the
crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was
there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from
land, for the wind was against them” (Mt. 14:23-24, NRSV).
As you might have noticed, the title of my sermon for this
morning is, “Battered by the waves,” which is taken directly from Matthew 14:24,
NRSV).
How many of you have heard a sermon before in your life about
Jesus walking on water? I know I have, and usually the focus of this scripture is
on Jesus walking on the water, and the Apostle Peter’s lack of faith. You see
in this gospel story, Peter initially walks on the water, but then gets scared
and sinks in the water. Jesus then reaches out his hand and saves Peter. After
doing this Jesus says to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt.
14:31, NRSV).
The idea or the theme here, is that when we are in a storm
in rough waters, even if we can’t see it, God, Jesus is with us.
In fact, after Jesus and Peter get back into the boat with
the other disciples, the gospel ends with this, “When they got into the boat,
the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are
the Son of God” (Mt. 14:32, NRSV).
As I said, most often when I have heard this gospel
narrative preached, I have heard about Jesus walking on the water, and Peter
trying to walk on the water to Jesus.
What I haven’t heard preached on though, and what to be
honest connects with my recent experience, is what happened before Jesus walked
on the water.
You see in this gospel of Matthew narrative, Jesus has just
performed the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, and as things were finishing
up, Jesus told the disciples to head out. In fact, Jesus told them to get in
there boat, and to sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus then,
according to the gospel dismissed the crowd, and went up the mountain to pray.
Generally when I have heard this gospel narrative preached
on, we then usually fast forward through the entire evening and night, before
Jesus, early in the morning walked on the water.
So what have I heard usually fast forwarded through? This,
the gospel again says, “When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time
the boat, battered by the waves from far from land, for the wind was against
them” (Mt. 14:23b-24, NRSV).
In the very next verse of scripture in Matthew 14:25, we
then have Jesus early in the morning walking on the water to the disciples who
are still in the boat.
Having gone through a depressive and anxious episode for
the last two months though, I wondered as I was preparing to come back this
Sunday, and as I was reading scripture, what was that night like for the
disciples before Jesus walked on water.
Imagine this, your Lord and savior, puts you in a boat,
sends you off, and you are now alone with eleven of your friends. Jesus doesn’t
tell his disciples the plan fully. Jesus just says get in the boat and go to
the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus doesn’t tell them, I am going to
disperse this crowd, pray on the mountain, and be along early in the morning. Jesus
just sends them in the boat.
Jesus sending them in a boat is one thing, but the other
piece of this story is that a storm comes. The scripture talks about huge
waves, a lot of wind, and how the boat was being “battered.”
Perhaps the disciples were afraid that night. I would think
they were. I mean Jesus, there Lord was not with them. They knew he was
somewhere nearby, but he wasn’t with them directly. Not only this, they then
were stuck on the Sea of Galilee in what appeared to be a terrible storm.
If anyone here has even been in a boat, or a ship, during a
storm, you know that it is a frightening thing. Huge waves, rain, wind, as the
boat rocks back and forth. Constant worry if the boat will capsize, if you will
drown, or if the boat will sink, if you will be stranded in the sea, or if your
boat will be blown far away from where you are going. Meaning that you could be
stranded out to sea and have no idea where you are, or where you are going.
I don’t know why I have never heard a
sermon on the night before Jesus walked on the water, but I can imagine my
brothers and sisters that it was terrifying. I can imagine that maybe some or
all the disciples wondered if they would survive the night. Not only this,
Jesus, there Lord was not physically with them.
Sometimes in our lives, we have or are going through
unbelievable storms. These storms could be depression, anxiety, the loss of a
loved one, the loss of a job, financial problems, a health problem, and etc.
Sometimes in our lives we might be present as a miracle occurs and thousands of
people get fed, and then in no time we are in a storm.
Have you, or are you in a storm in your life? Are any of
those close to you in a storm? Can you remember the storms that you have been
through?
A great comfort to me in this scripture, is that even
though the disciples are in a storm, they are in the storm together. As I said,
people have said to me, I believe, but I don’t think need to go to or be part
of the church to believe. Well why are we part of and why do we go to church?
One of the many reasons, is that because we are in the storm together.
We believe in God, we have faith in Jesus Christ, and in
our storms we believe that God is with us. Imagine if only one of the disciples
was in that storm though, versus all twelve. Yet, they went through it
together. The Apostle Peter being the Apostle Peter however, had to jump out of
the boat, and say “See what I can do!” Yet apart from Jesus, and apart from the
love his brothers, Peter was much weaker. Jesus pulled him up, but he still sank.
I say all of this to say this, the Christian Church in the
United States and most of Western Culture, is not like it used to be. What I
mean by this, is more people don’t just go to church anymore out of religious
duty. Most people don’t just come to church because you are supposed to.
Instead many people this day in age, and especially young people, go to and are
part of the church because they feel like they are part of an extended family.
For all of these reasons, it’s vital that we welcome all
people into the life and the ministries of our churches. If someone with
depression, anxiety, PTSD, and etc. and etc., won’t come to or be part of a
church, because they feel like the church won’t love them and accept them, then
we have a problem. The future of the church depends our willingness to share
the gospel and the truths of Jesus Christ will all people. Doing this, I
believe will not only grow us, and our faith, I believe it will also give the
church a bright and healthy future.
Regarding depression, in doing a little research I
discovered some very famous people who have, or do suffer from depression. Here
are just some of them: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, singer Jon Bon Jovi, actor and
comedian Drew Carey, singer Johnny Cash, actor Rodney Dangerfield, writer
Charles Dickens, actor Kelsey Grammer, wrestler Hulk Hogan, wrestler Dwayne “the
Rock” Johnson, singer Billy Joel, author Stephen King, singer Lady Gaga, President
Abraham Lincoln, Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo, actor Bill Murray, British
physicist Isaac Newton, television personality Conan O’Brien, actor Brad Pitt, American
Industrialist John D. Rockefeller, singer Frank Sinatra, singer James Taylor, artist
Vincent van Gogh, actor and comedian Robin Williams, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill, and former Russian Federation President, Boris Yeltsin.
Brothers and sisters, these are a very few names from a
much, much longer list. I want to thank you all again for your love, for your
cards, for your food, and for general support. While my experience has not be
fun, I am using this as opportunity to break the stigma against depression,
anxiety, and all mental health illnesses.
While we have or are going through our own storms, like the
apostles were this morning on the Sea of Galilee, let us go through them
together. Let us be the church that Jesus Christ has called us to be, and in doing
so, let us reach out and love all people, no matter who are what they are.
For Christ came to earth to love, heal, forgive, and to die
for the sins of humanity. Let us share those gifts with everyone, let offer the
hope of Christ to everyone, and let us go through the storms of this life together.
Remember also, our storms will not last forever, and remember how this story
ends. This sorry ends with Jesus coming to us, and calming the storm. While
this can occur individually, I don’t know about you, but I would rather go
through the storms of life together, stronger, and as sisters and brothers, as
the church that Jesus Christ called us to be. Know that I love and pray for you
all. Amen.
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