a steady stillness

In order for a 2,000 year-old story to speak to us today, we have to look for consistencies, points of connection.  The first and 21^st century have a few things in common: Chaotic times characterized by political and religious turmoil, a widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, war, negative stigmatization of certain diseases, illnesses, or social behaviors, suffering caused by poverty---all things we see addressed by Jesus in the gospels.  All things that continue to plague the world.   Knowing that there are similarities begs the question, has anything changed?  Sure, there has been a lot of progress.  But that progress has not always reduced suffering, sometimes causing greater suffering in the world.  In 2 millenia, what difference has Christian faith made?  What has Jesus accomplished?  We have to admit that sometimes it seems like God is asleep at the wheel, that God does not care about the circumstances of life that threaten to overwhelm us, to drown us, to destroy us.  Sometimes God’s invisible presence is not enough, God’s silence is inadequate, God’s ambivalence toward evil and suffering is downright disturbing.  There are days when we feel like life is out of control and no one is steering.  When people of faith are engulfed in fear, we turn from God in search of safer waters. We isolate. We shop.  We eat.  We self-medicate.  We seek entertainment to distract.  Rarely, do we pause and reflect on the state of anxiety or fear in which we find ourselves.  We are avoiders.  

At the end of the book of Job, the man whose life was characterized by meaningless suffering endures a verbal assault from God the creator, who has heard Job’s cries, his laments, his quest for meaning.  This book is about a man who cannot avoid His sufferings, but seeks to address the cause of them with His God and a few friends.  In the end, God tells Job that there is an important distinction to be drawn between Job’s mortality and God’s immortal presence.  Job is a creature, subject to all of the qualities of creaturehood—good and bad.  God is not subject to the powers of mortality, the fear and anxiety that accompany vulnerability and the fragility of life.  And yet, God is not unmoved by our suffering.  The bible consistently tells us that God is a deliverer, a healer, a redeemer, and help in time of trouble.   The bible claims that God is personally invested in peace.  And yet we remain vulnerable and afraid. 

The Gospels claim that Jesus changes everything.   He does not fear the storm.  He is human, yet does not live within the limits of human vulnerability.  Therefore, he will die.  Because death will not be mocked. Death will conquer, stealing the breath of life from every living thing. Unless the one who dies is the son of God.  For death has no power over him.  He was raised from the dead and lives at the right hand of God the Father.  The story about the stilling of the storm is not about wind storms or high seas or boat safety.  It is about human vulnerability and the question of whether God cares. It is confirmation that Jesus is ruler of creation and protector of those who face danger. 

But how and when does God's protection come?  Do you see a world that is protected by a loving God or a world that is going to hell?  Do you see a world that is frightening or a world that is under the command of a loving, merciful, and powerful LORD?  We pray for peace and we are called to embody God's peace in the world.  Maybe Christian people are called to model a steady stillness that comes from the experience of Jesus' presence---something experienced by faith. I believe the assembly of believers is meant to be a time of peacemaking, of stillness, of being present to God and one another.  May you receive God's peace today.  May you have faith to see that God is in the midst of the storm bringing shelter and protection to all of creation.  Amen.