Revelation 4

Luke 8. 22 – 25

 

Fr Alex

 

We have a tiny little Gospel reading this morning, but a very dramatic one.  And we’ve certainly been immersed in the story more than usual this week, haven’t we!

As I was reading this passage a couple of days ago, Storm Eunice was battering the trampoline around the garden like a plaything.  Water was pouring down the street, off the moor.  We got just a taste of how the disciples might’ve felt, out there on the lake, the boat filling with water.

But as I was reading this passage again I was struck by something.  The disciples are afraid, and Jesus calms the storm for them.  But they are still afraid – only now, they’re afraid of what Jesus can do.

Luke tells us that “They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’”

Being afraid of a bad storm is one thing; but how frightening is this guy, who can control the wind and the waves?

It put me in mind of that moment in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when the children meet Mr Beaver and he tells them that Aslan, the ruler of Narnia, is a great lion.  Susan is surprised and says, “I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” 

She asks if Aslan is safe; to which Mr Beaver replies, “Safe?  Who said anything about safe?  ‘Course he isn’t safe.  But he’s good.  He’s the King I tell you.”

I’m sure C S Lewis had this Gospel story in mind, or one like it, when he formed this image of Aslan.  The disciples are drawn to Jesus’ great power, of course; they rush to him because they know he can fix their problem.  But there’s something frightening about that power.  It isn’t safe.

Now we might think Jesus is being a little harsh on the disciples.  They’re petrified of this great storm, and after he calms it, he simply says: “Where is your faith?”

But don’t forget that just two weeks ago we heard the story of the miraculous catch of fish, when Jesus first called these people to follow him.  They’re amazed by his power, and he says to them: “Do not be afraid.”

So what’s gone wrong?  Why are they still afraid?

I think the problem is that the disciples still have a limited understanding of Jesus’ power, and what it means.

In a moment of danger, they panic and run to Jesus to fix it – almost like he’s a kind of glorified nursemaid, who will hold their hand in every difficult situation, and make it all better.

But the power Jesus has doesn’t just get them out of a temporary fix; it’s power that can bring them into the eternal safety; into the true peace that only comes from God.

And Luke hammers this message home, if you keep reading on through this chapter of his Gospel.

In this story, we see Jesus’ power over creation.  In the very next verses, we see his power over evil, as he heals the man possessed by demons.

Then straight after that, Jesus heals the haemorrhaging woman, showing his power over sickness.  And immediately he brings the young daughter of Jairus back to life, showing even his power over death.

All of this happens in this one chapter of Luke’s Gospel.  And in each story, people don’t know how to react: the swineherds who see the demons come out of the possessed man are terrified and ask Jesus to leave.

The woman who is healed comes before Jesus trembling, and falls down before him.  When Jesus tells the mourners not to weep over Jairus’ daughter, they laugh at him.  All of them have only a limited understanding of who Jesus is.

The point is that faith in Jesus is not a solution to some temporary problem, when all other possible solutions have failed.  He’s not some lucky charm that we rub when we’re in danger; but ultimately leaves us back where we were before – baffled, out of control, and still in fear of the next danger. 

True faith in Jesus puts our problems in the context of a God that has control over every aspect of life – all of creation, any evil, sickness, death itself.  The God of our reading from Revelation, who created all things, and by whose will we exist.  And if we really believe that, we can begin to let go of our fear.

Now it’s all very well me standing here and saying that.  But it’s a difficult thing to grasp.  Prayer comes easily in fear, doesn’t it?

When I was young I was swept out to sea in a rip tide and nearly drowned, and I still have an irrational fear of being in deep water (though I have to say it feels pretty rational to me!)  My prayers come thick and fast when I’m on a boat in the calm, let alone in the midst of a storm!  Perhaps there’s been a time when you’ve felt in real danger, and like the disciples you’ve panicked and turned to God to fix it.

And that’s a perfectly natural and reasonable human response.  But the problem is that it can reduce God to something I only draw on when I feel the need.  When I’ve done everything I can do, and now the situation is out of my control – only then do I call on God to come and fix it

Now that’s not to say that we shouldn’t pray in a crisis!  That’s one of the best things we can do.  But if we only ever surrender control to God when something’s wrong, it makes God a commodity like anything else that we think gives us security – money, relationships, status, or whatever it might be.

But the faith that Jesus calls us to is a faith of first resort, not last resort.  And as we grow into that faith through the journey of life, we can begin to let go of our fear.  True faith – true prayer – begins with thanksgiving, and turns to intercession from a place of safety and security.

True freedom, true peace, comes from knowing that everything is in God’s hands; and that God’s hands are the safest place we can be.  Amen.