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Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the text for this morning comes from the gospel reading and the miracle of calming the storm. May we be seated. Happy Father’s Day again. Thank God for godly fathers and for godly men, for their influence upon us and upon our children, and for their influence upon their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. A great gift indeed.
However, one of the struggles that all godly men have is our pride in knowing stuff. From sports to politics, from directions and how to get there. “I’m just getting my bearings, sweetie. I’ll figure this out,” to how to do this or how to do that. “Let me tell you how to do that.” Always willing to share, are we fathers and men. But hold on there, lest you ladies think, “Ha, ha, ha.” In your areas of expertise, in those areas that you perceive to have expertise in, you also are very, very proud of your insight in those areas. You remind us as husbands and as fathers of the nuances of your children’s emotions that we sometimes don’t realize because you are an expert in there, and there is a pride factor there. Sometimes you also don’t get it right either.
What we don’t get right is this: ambiguities. Now, an ambiguity is an uncertainness or uncertainty. An inexactness of a situation or a thing. How does that work? Well, if an ambiguity were to happen, let’s talk about an ambiguity that just happened—the shooting in South Carolina. That was an ambiguity. How so? Because, as you have seen on television and in the news, all of the talking heads try to explain why and how this thing happened. “It’s because of this” or “it’s because of that,” and the ambiguity of it all is what thwarts you and me.
Consider this. Isn’t it interesting that we’re shook up by that kind of an ambiguity when that kind of an ambiguity happens also in third-world countries? Yes. And isn’t it interesting when it occurs in a third-world country, we write it off and say, “Well, it’s because it’s a third-world country.” It doesn’t happen in a first-world country like ours. And when it does, oh my, that’s an ambiguity.
Now, our loving Father is the one who allows such ambiguities in your life. And you know the specific ambiguities of which I speak, those things that you and I cannot explain in a simple fashion. You and I are tempted to just state an absolute truth and apply it to that situation, and it doesn’t apply. That is what God loves to do to you and me. And do you know the areas He loves to do it to us in? God loves to put ambiguities in your and my life in areas where we perceive that we have expertise.
Consider the men who were in the boat with Jesus. We know for sure at least four of them were fishermen. They not only have spent their entire lives fishing on that Sea of Galilee, but they had all of the combined wisdom of their fathers and their fathers before them in dealing with all of the nuances and the idiosyncrasies of the Sea of Galilee through every season of the year. So if there was ever a perceived notion that they had expertise on that water… they would be one who would have expertise in that situation. And yet, who are they crying unto in the midst of the storm? Jesus.
God loves to put ambiguities in your and my life in areas where we think we have expertise so that we are flummoxed, so that we sit back and go, “I don’t have the answer. I must have to rely upon my Father in heaven,” whom you do know is loving and gracious, whom you do know is full of forgiveness and grace.
In the Old Testament reading, Job—and you know the story of Job—he had everything, ten children, lots of cattle, sheep, camels, and everything was taken from him. All of his children killed. All of his livestock plundered, his home destroyed, even his own health. Job had three sort of kind of friends who came and explained to Job why these things happened in his life. “Job, it must be because you have some unconfessed sin in your life. That’s why these things are happening to you.” There is the attempt to explain an ambiguity.
Job, throughout most of the book, does not argue beyond the boundaries of what God has revealed in Scripture. And then, even Job concedes to his flesh and goes beyond what’s in Scripture. Hence why God rebuffs him in this morning’s Old Testament reading: “Where were you when the foundations of the earth were laid? Where were you when I put a halt to the waters and would not let their proud waves go thus farther?” And the answer that Job could only come up with is, “You’re right, you’re the Lord of the wind and the sea,” not too far unlike the disciples as they themselves saw this sea that caused them, acknowledged good sailors, to be afraid. They too had to sit back with awe and go, “Wow.”
Now, there is a misapplication of this gospel reading. The misapplication of this gospel reading and its miracle is this: the focus becomes on the two phrases that Jesus speaks—”Why are you so afraid?” and “Have you still no faith?” The misapplication of this text is to say, “If only you had more faith, then your life wouldn’t be thus and so. If only you believed with more strength and certitude, then your life would not be thus and so.” That’s a misapplication of the text. Because all of that does is it focuses on what you do or what Jesus does.
Remember confirmation class? It focuses on what you do. If it focuses on what you do or fail to do, it is not gospel. It is law. If it focuses on what Christ has done for you, then it’s gospel. If the focus is on the disciples and what they should or shouldn’t have done, then the text is all about whether we can harness God’s power or not, rather than be in awe of God’s power and submit to His power and authority in our lives.
Because the correct application of this gospel reading and miracle is this: the very last statement proclaimed by the apostles when they said, “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?” That’s the focus of this text. Who is this? Not why it happened. Not what should we do differently. Who is this? That’s the answer to ambiguity.
Because God, in His loving wisdom, does allow calamity to enter into our little secure corner of the world, doesn’t He? He allows evil… absolutely. Had God not rescued those people who were murdered in the church, does that prove God is not gracious, that He allowed evil to occur? We better not think, “Oh, those people must have done something wrong and God was getting justice upon them.”
No. What would it have been different if Jesus had not been in that boat with them? If Jesus had not been in that boat with them, would they have been saved? I have no idea, neither do you. It matters not whether Jesus was in that boat or not. God’s power is not limited by His physical presence that we can see. And in fact, you know, you know in your own life the times when you didn’t see Jesus around, and yet He rescued you. You know that, it can tell me. But you can also tell me the many times when it didn’t make sense and He allowed things in your life to transpire that didn’t seem to make sense.
The area in our lives that God loves to bring ambiguity is in the area of our lives of our own perceived expertise. He never denies these men saving faith. That’s very important to notice. He never denies that they don’t have saving faith. All that He does is rebuff them to trust in Him who is not just fixing things when they perceive it to be fixed, but in spite of when we think it needs to be fixed, He doesn’t. That’s faith. That’s faith.
Notice how He goes about dealing with this. He does not turn to them in the midst of the wind and the waves and say, “Have you still no faith? Why are you afraid?” Then He chooses to still the calm sea and make it quiet. First, He deals with the problem. And it’s not them; it’s the sea and the wind. “Peace, be still.” Then, in the midst of the peace, does the still, small voice speak to them?
These seasoned sailors, like you and me, in those areas of our life when we have this perceived expertise—and God loves to humble us in those areas—so that we do not depend upon our perceived expertise but upon His grace, which doesn’t make sense, because grace is unbelievable, and grace is far beyond our rational minds. He shows them, and He shows you and me, that He and He alone has the authority and the command over all of your life in this world, most especially the areas where you find ambiguity and there isn’t an exact explanation.
In the Old Testament reading, Job was reminded of the things that God had done and reminds Job, “Job, you’re nothing but a creature made out of dirt. Dust you are, and to dust you shall return. You were not at the present of the beginning of this world, and neither are you or me.” And if we think we know and explain all of the difficulties in this life with some trite comment, we’re fooling ourselves. The only explanation is God’s grace, which makes no sense.
Secondly, look at the epistle reading when Paul talks to the Corinthians. He’s trying to get them to get the same concept in their minds. It’s not as it appears; it is as God declares. It’s not as it appears; it is as God declares. He says, “We are treated as impostors, and yet we are true. We’re treated as unknown, and yet we are well known. We’re treated as dying, and behold, we live. We live. We’re treated as punished, and yet we’re not killed. We’re treated as sorrowful, yet we’re always rejoicing. We’re treated as poor, yet we make many people rich. We’re treated as having nothing, and yet we possess everything.”
That’s ambiguity at its finest. It’s not as it appears. There is no quick answer or explanation. And especially when God humbles you and humbles me in those areas of perceived expertise, it is made clear. And we proclaim the truth that the apostles proclaimed at the end of this text when they said, “Who then is this that even the winds and the waves obey Him?”
It’s the one who created faith in you, and it’s the one who will complete faith in you at your death. He will never let go of you. That’s who. Jesus, both flesh and blood and God and divine at the self-same time, this Jesus is the one that calms and controls all worldly events that we feel out of control with. He’s the one that allows incongruities to occur that begat ambiguities within us.
He, and He said through Saint Paul, “Whether we live, we live to the Lord. Whether we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.” He wants us to know He will sustain you in the midst of your ambiguity to the very end with His sure and certain word.
Now we sang a wonderful hymn, and I want you to re-look at that hymn briefly. Turn with me to hymn 726. Hymn 726. I will listen as you confess to me verses 2 and verse 4. Please listen to me as I confess to you verse 1 and verse 3.
“Evening and morning, sunset and dawning, wealth, peace and gladness, comfort and sadness, these are Thy works, all the glory be Thine. Times without number, awake or in slumber, Thine eye observes us, from danger preserves us. Amen. Causing Thy mercy upon us to shine. Ills that still grieve me soon are to leave me. Though billows tower and winds gain power, after the storm the fair sun shows His face. Joy’s air increasing and peace never ceasing. These shall I treasure and share in full measure when in His mansions God grants me a place.”
Before your very eyes is the greatest ambiguity in the world, and that, a holy and righteous man would dare die for such creatures as we. And there is no logic behind it, and there is no easy explanation. There is only belief and trust and rest in that goodness of which that hymn spoke.
In the midst of ambiguities, there is still hope because of Him who bore all of life’s ambiguities for you. In the name of Jesus, amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.
