Does God Care?

Mark 4:35-41

 

        Have you ever been in a difficult situation and wondered if God cared?  Of course you have.  You may not have verbalized the words, but I bet you thought it.  I know a bunch of you are going to call me on this but I believe if you haven’t questioned the lack of attention God has been giving you, it might be because you really don’t take the notion of God seriously enough.  I suspect even Jesus had moments of loneliness where he felt God was not especially attentive to his pain.  Truth is, the number one reason folks give for walking away from God is they say God gave up on them long before they gave up on God. 

Questions concerning God’s caring have its fingerprints all over the Bible.  This is the major concern raised in the Book of Job.  Nearly a third of the Psalms are songs of complaints.  Jeremiah and Lamentations are filled with of hymns of sorrow and remorse.  Believe it or not, the New Testament has its own passages where the disciples and others feel God had turned away from their everyday endeavors.  Paul spent a great deal of energy in his letters reminding folks that while times were tough, this was not because God had forgotten them.  In II Corinthians 6 he writes, “While we have gone through calamities, beatings, imprisonment, sleepless nights and hunger, always rejoice.  While we are treated as unknown, we are well known by God; as dying, we are alive in God; as poor, we have everything in God.”

All those wonderful promises sound really good on paper but sometimes we need something a bit more visual to get us through the dark moments when our faith wavers.  That is why I love the story we find in the 4^th chapter of Mark.  Let me set the scene.  Jesus would spend long days speaking with people. Certainly some of those folks questioned his authority.  Others had inquiries about faith, about God, and about the hardships that they faced every day.  As was his habit, Jesus seldom gave direct answers. He told parables to illustrate his points. He patiently told them about seeds sown on rocks, paths and fertile soil.  He compared faith to a mustard seed.  Many folks shook their heads in confusion.  I would have done the same.  Parables often raise more questions than they answer.

At the end of the day, when Jesus was alone with his disciples, sometimes Jesus would give those close to him a first hand exhibition of the kingdom of God.  One such event happened after a particularly long day of preaching.

Jesus got in a boat and asked the disciples to take him to the other side of the lake.  Since at least half of the disciples were fishermen, this seemed like a pretty reasonable request.  What could be more soothing than a nice moonlight cruise across the water?   An exhausted Jesus lay down in the bottom of the boat to take a well deserved nap.  Soon most of the disciples followed his lead and fell asleep.  It was something they had done a hundred times before.  They dropped anchor and settled in for the evening.  Little did they know how unsettling the rest of the evening was about to become. 

When the wind is blowing just right, horrific storms are known to appear suddenly on the Sea of Galilee.   These storms are often on top of sailors before they have time to prepare or escape.  Evidently this was one of those nights.  I imagine Peter was the first to awaken.  He sensed the severity of the situation and began to do all the right things.  The boat was placed in the correct position. Anything that might shift was tied down. Each disciple prepared to bail water if the waves got too high.  The sails were collapsed and they primed themselves to ride out the storm.  Each of the fishermen had lost a friend in such a storm and knew the peril of their situation.  Twelve men took their place in the boat and prayed they would see the morning.  While all these precautions were under way, Jesus slept like a baby in the stern of the boat, unaware of the danger about to crash down upon his head.

Ever been in a situation where events out of your control suddenly turn your life upset down.  You are desperate to find a solution or at the very least, a little bit of relief.  You turn to a spouse or a trusted friend for comfort and they dismiss the calamity by mockingly stating, “Oh that is not such a big deal”. 

WELL IT WAS A BIG DEAL TO US!!!! 

To make matters worse, once we make the mistake of sharing our fears, we are rudely treated as if we are always making mountains out of molehills.  That is when bad things really begin to happen. Our fear turns to anger and we blow up at the person in whom we have placed our trust.  When things finally quiet down, we are left simmering with rage, silently wondering why our most treasured companions aren’t the least bit bothered by our catastrophic experience.

This must have been exactly how the disciples felt. Experience told them knew they were going to die. Everyone was screaming and praying, all at the same time. Then someone noticed Jesus sleeping. You can feel the anger in their words as they waken him with the accusation, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?”

 Now there is a question that can get a rise out of anyone. We church folk want to be perceived as a people who care. We care about people on our joys and concerns list. We care about people who are hungry or without shelter. We care about the environment. We care about world peace. We care about being known as a church that cares. The toughest phone call I ever receive is when I am unable to financially assist someone and they reply, “You can’t be a Christian because you don’t care.”  That always hits home and I suspect the person making the accusation knows it.

How could the disciples see Jesus as someone who didn’t care? He woke up. He calmed the wind. He rescued them from death. He gave the disciples the miracle they demanded, BUT did his actions increase their faith? A quick response would be “Well of course it did.” Take a close look at the Book of Mark.  The disciples are continued to be motivated by their own needs. Every time a problem surfaced, they quickly questioned if God cared. Is that faith or desperation? You know the answer. If faith fails to develop some long term trust, something is missing. In other words if all you desire is a God that will transform or negate any problem that comes your way, I beg that you reconsider your relationship with God.

I am certain you have all known the parent that sends a child off into the world and insures they remain a child by never letting them deal with even the simplest of problems. I have known parents who will call a university and ask a professor for a parent-teacher conference to discuss the class their son is taking. I have known parents who continue to cover the car insurance for a daughter even after she receives a second DUI. We know we shouldn’t enable our children in ways that make them dependent but parents do it all the time. I would like to think our heavenly parent is smarter than that.

Peter screamed at Jesus, “Don’t you care?”  Jesus opened his eyes and gently said, “Peace! Be Still!”  The waters heard and obeyed but I am not so sure Jesus was addressing the sea.  I think he was talking to the hearts of those frightened disciples.  Why would I think that? Because in my moments of doubt, when my faith is swamped by fear, when I wonder if God really cares, these are the words Jesus more often than not speaks to us. 

Peace!  Be Still!  Peace! Be Still!  Peace! Be Still!

THINK ABOUT THIS!

How often are we in a storm in the middle of a lake within inches of drowning?      I hope never.

How often are we in a storm in the middle of life, wondering if we will see tomorrow?  Probably more than we like to admit.

So, does a caring God rescue us every time we get in trouble, or does a caring God calm our anxiety, allowing us to figure out how to get out of the mess we helped created? I know what I desire, and that is to be rescued. I also know which response is healthier. But that takes a lot longer and places much of the responsibility on me.    (Stop)

Wednesday evening I headed home after a hectic few days. I had been out much too late the nights before and really wanted to get in my kayak and park it in the middle of Lake Monacan. I wished I had not turned on the radio. You know the news I heard.  Not knowing what to do, I did the only thing I felt capable of doing at the moment. I prayed.

It went something like this:

God of Clementa Pinckney and Dylan Roof, I am so tired.

I am tired of death and I am tired of excuses for death.

I am tired of children killing children.

I am tired of slogans of hate.

I am tired of us acting as if racism doesn’t exist.

I am tired of cultural supremacy seen as anything but evil.

 I am tired of people in power suggesting they care.

I am tired of a President claiming his hands are tied.

I am tired of a Congress bought off by a special interest.

I am tired of people defending their right to own a gun.

I am tired of anti-gun activist doing little more than talking.

But most of all, God I am tired of you sleeping in the boat.

WAKE UP!  Don’t You care!

Either WAKE UP or WAKE US UP,

Because I am tired of today being just like yesterday.

O God of Clementa Pinckney and Dylan Roof,

Calm my heavy and burdened soul.

 

And God whispered,

“Peace, be still….Peace, be still….Peace, be still.