Jesus Calms the Storm

Then Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”   ~ Matthew 8:23-27

In a house of four grown adults, three children, two puppy dogs and a partridge in a pair tree, you can imagine the noise that I hear waking me up in the morning. “Mom, can I have some chocolate milk?” “Mom, I’m hungry.” “Mom, mom, mom…”, “Dad, can I have your your iPad?” “Stop chewing on that.” “The dog had an accident.” “Stop hitting me!” “Trey won’t let me use the iPad.” I try to zone out the noise so I can sleep. However, this morning I awoke to a sound that I hadn’t noticed in years, the sound of a storm.

Growing up in the Midwest, thunderstorms where very common to me. No matter how bad they were I could always manage to sleep through them; but it’s been awhile and it was a sound that I couldn’t place as I was coming in and out of sleep. Once I realized that it was raining and raining really hard, I quickly jumped out of bed ran to the window to survey the damage to our yard.

Typically I wouldn’t pay much attention to the rain, and would rejoice to have it, but right now I am in the middle of replacing the rock in our yard with grass so our kids have a place to play (the things parents and grandparents do for their kids). We are at the stage where all the rock is gone, sprinklers are in and dirt needs to be leveled so the grass can be delivered tomorrow. I had a whole day of work planned for Becca and my parents to do before the grass came, but the storm had different plans.

By the time I got in my car and headed to work it had stopped raining. So despite being a little disappointed that the yard would have to wait another day, I went about my drive to work as normal. Again my plans failed. It didn’t take me very long to see the damage that the storm had caused to neighborhood and community. There were roads closed, cars stranded, fences knocked down and road crews strapping the debris from the road. No one had planned on dealing with this storm today, but yet the storm came any way… as they do in our lives from time to time, bringing to mind a few observations.

1) Storms will come. No matter who we are or where we come from there will be storms in our lives. Some will inconvenience us a little, while others will shake the very foundation on which we stand. No matter how much we try to prepare storms can be scary. Many of the disciples spent their entire lives on or around fishing boats. Storms and boats would have been something they were used to and normally wouldn’t fear. However, there was something different about this storm, this storm made them fear for their lives.

2) Storms will go. The storm that rolled in this morning was gone by the time I was ready to leave for work. Another storm rolled in twice as strong as the first and in less than an hour it too was gone. No matter how bad storms are, they will pass. No matter how bad a storm might seem (the disciples thought they were going to drown!) it will pass and better, brighter days wait on the other side. No rain, no rainbows!

3) Storms affect people differently. The storm this morning knocked out my satellite for a few minutes. It prevented me from getting some work done around the house, and made my 10-minute drive to work 25 minutes. It really didn’t affect me too much, but for others it flooded houses, totaled cars, and endangered lives. Sometimes we see the same clouds, hear the same thunder but because we are all unique, no storm is ever the same.

The storm that the disciples faced in that boat was like no storm they had ever faced, but, as we know, it was not the last. They waited and waited and waited, until the point they thought they were going to drown before they bothered to wake Jesus. Why? He was in the same boat and in the same storm they were in. If they thought he could do something about it, why are they so surprised when he calms the wind and waves? Perhaps it is because the disciples, like us, don’t want to bother Jesus. We think “Jesus has better things to do”, “he has other people who need more than I do”, or “I shouldn’t be so selfish to ask Jesus for myself”. We convince ourselves that other people need Jesus more than we do and it is only when we start to drown in the midst of a storm, that we finally ask Jesus to help us. We often find ourselves using Jesus as a life preserver. We know that he is there, but it is only if things get really bad that we will ask for his help. This is ok, but not what Jesus really wants.

Jesus wants to be our boat, not our life preserver. He wants to be the vessel that we use to sail through life. His love was intended to permeate our beings, to be with us always, not only when drowning. I urge you today to feel his presence, to invite him to all parts of your life, to look for him in the sunshine, not just the storms. But most of all, we need to remember that if the storm we’re looking at seems too dark, too dangerous, too all-consuming, like it will never end…you…are…not…alone. You are not going through it alone, he is carrying you. Take a moment in the midst of the storm to feel his arms around you and know that God is bigger and God’s love is greater than any storm.

Psalm 95:12-15

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Today marks the beginning of day three of our mission trip to Yarnell to help with the fire recovery. Our theme this year is Serve, Sweat, Grow. After two days we have had no problem serving and sweating, and today I asked the students a little bit about how they are growing. 

They have talked about meeting people who had lost everything in the fires. They mentioned stories about how they had heard that before the fires there wasn’t much sense of community or community pride in Yarnell - but now there is. They talked about some people who weren’t so nice to work for, but how they did it anyway because that is what they were asked to do. 

The thing that struck me the most was that many of them talked about our visit to the Shrine of St. Joseph on Tuesday. Before the fires, the Shrine of St. Joseph was the one thing that Yarnell was known for. Much of the area in the shrine had been destroyed, however the 14 stages of the cross that are depicted there remained; showing signs of fire damage, yet still remaining. 

We headed up the shrine going through all 14 stages. We started with the Last Supper, then quickly moved to Jesus praying in the garden, his arrest, trial, carrying his cross etc. The story of the cross was nothing new to anyone in our group. We all have heard the story and we all know how it ends. As we were going up one of our leaders noticed a sign on the station where the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes. It said, “Jesus did not have a lot, but what he did have was taken away from him. So no matter what you are dealing with, whether you have lost your job or your home, Jesus knows how you feel, as he, too, lost everything.” 

Our leader made the comment that the plaque wasn’t new, it had been there for years. She could imagine the impact of those words, written years earlier, on the people of Yarnell who would come there seeking to find answers to why they lost everything. Instead they would find Jesus. She then went on to say how it really puts life into perspective.

As we exited the 14 stations we come to a tomb with Jesus laying in it. One of our students went in to the tomb to look at a statue of Jesus laying in the tomb. He said when he was in there it hit him how big that moment was in the history of man. God coming to earth and dying for our sins really hit him and he couldn’t really explain what he felt, but he felt something. 

The reason we serve and sweat on missions trips isn’t just to do work, but to GROW in our understanding of who God is. For many of our students, the Bible has always been a book about Jesus, but they are starting to see it for what it is - a love story. The cross isn’t about punishment or judgment but about love  and God’s love for us. 

Being my first mission trip with the youth of Pinnacle, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I am finding is a group of teens who love to serve, and want nothing more than to grow in their experience and knowledge of God. I can only hope that the words of the Psalmist run true for our students; that they will flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. That they will remain planted in the house of the Lord and continue to flourish in the courts of our God - and when they get older they will draw on these experiences, these moments they have with God, and not walk away, but still produce fruit.

In reality, this isn’t just a hope for our youth, but for all those who have experienced God. No matter where we are in life, we must continue to grow in Christ so that we might produce fruit, so that others might also experience the love God has for us. Amen.

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38

Growing up in Indiana, the house I grew up in is located on a small private lake. I spent many days on and around that lake playing, swimming and fishing. No matter how much time I spend around lakes, I cannot resist the urge to throw a rock into the calm water. If you have ever thrown a rock into a calm lake you will notice that at the point in which the rock enters the water circles form. I used to love to watch and see how big the circles would get. It always amazes me how big the ripples get despite the size of the rock. 

I mention this because as we are closing in on the annual Pinnacle Rummage Sale, I can’t help to think of the rummage sale as a rock thrown into the community of Scottsdale. This one event has dozen’s of people from PPC giving hundreds of hours of work to make it possible. But those aren’t the only rings that are made. There will be the rings of the lives affected on the Teen Mission Trip, which the rummage sale supports. There are the rings of all those who we get to meet through their donations. Rings of those who will be at the sale to purchase items and even bigger rings of the different people in the ministries that will get all of the items not sold.      

As I was thinking about all the lives that are and will be affected by the rummage sale, I can’t help but think how missional the rummage sale has become. Part of being missional is meeting people where they are and on their terms. It is about being present for people and through those relationships, through those encounters, we too get to share our lives…our lives in Christ with them. 

It is interesting how something like a rummage sale can literally open doors and conversations about PPC and what God is doing here. Not just with me, as the pastor, but conversations between neighbors and friends about what is going on at Pinnacle. As we walk along the shoreline in Lent towards Easter, and even our journey beyond Easter, there are lots of rocks along the way that are ready to be thrown out into our community; from Holy Week Activities, Vacation Bible School, Take Mama Away, the youth’s Mission Trip, the number of rocks goes on and on. However, it doesn’t matter how many rocks we have in front of us, a rock on the shore can’t make any ripple. For a rock to make ripples it needs to be thrown. With all the rocks that we have at PPC, we should stop simply making ripples and start making waves.

It seems like every time I write a blog I have just come back from a trip. This time it was a trip to Cornville (Sedona area) with 14 junior high students. For some, this might be your worst nightmare, but for me, I was sad because it was only 14, and not 30 or 40. Never the less those who went had an amazing time. The 14 students, 3 leaders and myself left PPC Friday night to go on a winter retreat, (again, winter is a bit of a stretch as it was mid to upper 70’s all weekend. So not much winter but we did have an opportunity to retreat).

When we arrived on Friday night, as with most trips I lead, there is a since of excitement; whether it being away from home, getting to stay up later, being with friends or trying to take advantage of the new guy or a little bit of it all, the excitement was overflowing. To put to politely the kids were having a good time that lasted very late.

Saturday morning, was much of the same, the energy level was high as we planned to take a hike to a place called Devil’s Bridge, I know what your are thinking a great place for a youth leader to take a bunch of Jr. High students. Despite its name, it was a really great hike. Once we got there we ate lunch, I took on a momentous task…asking 14 junior high students to be quiet for 30 minutes. It wasn’t because they were in trouble or had done something wrong, but rather to take time from typically noisy lives to simply spend time quiet with God.  

While they were quiet, taking in the beautiful Sedona Mountains, I gave them a question to pounder. The question was one that Jesus asked his disciple when he was alone praying, but could hear the noise and commotion of people discussing who he was.  “He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God” (Luke 9:18b-20). 

Who do you say I am? We had lots of different answers but several of our students responded by saying Jesus was “a good friend” and hearing that answer made me think about Peter’s answer. Peter answered by saying “The Messiah of God” which is correct, but for me it isn’t enough. In being “The Messiah” Peter leaves out the personal side of Jesus. He leaves out the side of Jesus that we get to know when we are still and when we are in our quiet times. The Jesus that knows the real us even when we are to busy putting on a show for other people or living a lifestyle that brings more glory to us than it does God. God know the real us.  

Jesus isn’t just “The Messiah” he is “My Messiah”, he is “Your Messiah”. Often times in our busy lives we see Jesus as the savior of the world, but forget that he is also our savior. He is there for us, not just others. He knows the real, the broken and sinful us, even when we pretend he doesn’t, he knows. 

Our world has become more and more noisy, with radios, TVs, cell phones, gaming devices, work, sports…. it goes on and on. We spend so much time every day making noise, so much time trying to hide the real us from the rest of the world that we often forget that Jesus is our Messiah. He died for us because he loves us and wants to spend time with us. We forget to simply be still with God and know…

As we were leaving from our winter retreat, I gave a challenge to all of our Jr. High Students. I will challenge those who read this this week the same challenge…spend 10 minutes a day this week, (A little over an hour total. The Jr. High did that in two days.) simply being still with God. Don’t try to hide from God and don’t ask God for anything, just allow yourself to be yourself. Simply spend time, in the quiet (no radios or TVs), in God’s presence and know…     

In Christ,
Frank