24 June 2012/Proper
7B - Job 38:1-11/Psalm 107:1-3,23-32/2 Corinthians 6:1-13/Mark 4:35-41
The Reverend
Kirk Alan Kubicek, St. Peter's at Ellicott Mills
Always We Begin Again
"O Lord, make us have perpetual
love and reverence for your holy Name, for
you never fail to help and govern
those whom you have set upon the sure
foundation
of your loving-kindness…"
Where were
you when I laid the foundation of the earth?(Job 38)
29 He
stilled the storm to a whisper *
and quieted
the waves of the sea.
30 Then were
they glad because of the calm, *
and he
brought them to the harbor they were bound for.
31 Let them
give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the
wonders he does for his children.
32 Let them
exalt him in the congregation of the people *
and
praise him in the council of the elders.(Psalm 107)
At an
acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of
salvation I
have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day
of
salvation! (2 Corinthians)
“Why are you
afraid? Have you still no faith?” And
they were
filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that
even
the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4)
As we come to what appears to be the final
moments in our journey together with Christ, I woke up the other morning with
the realization that The Bible appears to speak only of beginnings, not
endings. The Bible itself begins with words that continue to resound throughout
all of creation, all that is, seen and unseen (and thanks to Hubble we can see
quite a lot!), “In the beginning….”
Indeed, in trying to give the reader some
sense of just who Jesus of Nazareth is, the writer of the fourth gospel repeats
these eternal words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God….” And our gospel for Year B in the Revised Common
Lectionary, Mark, also starts off with a reminder and the assertion that this
Gospel is, “The beginning of the Good
News of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” And we may recall, all the way back
on Easter morning, the Gospel of Mark ends with the women fleeing the Empty
Tomb, leaving us to engage with, as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the
story.”
Indeed, the very last words of Holy Scripture
issue our plea to stay connected with the rest of the story: Come, Lord Jesus!(Revelation 22:20b) Like
the disciples in the boat, crossing the sea, we have run into rough waters. The
wind is fierce, the boat seems in danger of capsizing, and where is Jesus?
Asleep on a cushion in the rear of the boat. Come, Lord Jesus, we cry. Teacher
do you not care that we are perishing, is the cry of disciples in all ages! As
only Jesus can, he wakes up, rebukes the wind and the waves, restores a sense
of calm to turgid waters and then asks the question that is meant for all of
us, for all believers and non-believers alike, in any time, in any place, “Why are you afraid?”
It
is like God who finally, after 38 long chapters of Job defending God against
his detractors, out of the whirlwind of fear and uncertainty declares, “Where were you? Where were you when I laid
the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined
its measurements—surely you know!” Job is a cautionary tale for preachers
and anyone who thinks, who believes, they know all that can be known about the
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. It is placed near the center of our
Bible to chasten our hubris and thinking we know all that much about God. And
it is a reminder that our purpose is to know God, not to know all there is
about God. The difference may be subtle, but it is an important distinction to
know.
How
we know God is in Jesus. Jesus and God, Jesus like God, Jesus who is God –
there it is, the wonder and the scandal of Christianity – sends us back to the
beginning. Because that is all there is – new beginnings. As St. Benedict puts
it so succinctly, always we begin again. Always and all ways we begin again. It
could be argued that there is only one story in the whole Bible – the story of
new beginnings! Or, as one psychologist/theologian put it many years ago, Creation Continues (Fritz Kunkel). In
his book of the same name, Kunkel looks at the structure of the Gospel of
Matthew, but focuses his central attention on the Dark Sea Journey – this
little episode of stormy seas on the Sea of Galilee.
It
is a story that is persistent in asking the questions, “Why are you afraid? Why
have you so little faith? Already I have told you, you just need an amount of
faith as small as a mustard seed. A faith grounded “in the beginning,” when my
Spirit, my Holy breath, my Holy wind tamed the chaos of the primordial seas of
creation – which creation continues to expand, just as your Hubble telescope
observations have confirmed. There is much to see, and yet much more to come
into being. Are you going to be a smart aleck like Job and pretend you know
everything there is to know about me? About creation? About how to survive the
current storm? About how to calm the waters and begin yet again? Or, will you
be more like my servant Paul who recognized, he knows not how, that all things
are being made new in Christ, in my Word, in the logos, the eternal Word that
declares, ‘Let there be…’? You ask yourselves, 'Who then is this that even the
wind and the sea obey him?' I am who I am and have always been: God creator,
redeemer and sustainer - Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, with emphasis on the 'and'!”
Always
we begin again: the promise of eternal return. We come from love, we return to
love, and love is all around. All of life is a homecoming, a coming home to
God. Do you believe this? Do we believe this?
God
says in Christ: In the waters of Baptism I declared to my Son, “You are my
beloved with whom I am well pleased.” He walked among you, taught among you,
healed, fed, and cared for you. He invites you to a Baptism of water and the
Holy Spirit, that same Spirit that hovered over the face of creation, that same
Spirit-Breath that I breathed into your nostrils when you took your first
breath, that same Spirit-Breath that is the first and last word of every mortal
on earth from time immemorial, that same Spirit-Breath that is life for all
living things, that same Spirit-Breath that continues to create all that is,
seen and unseen, that same Spirit-Breath which you inspire every moment of
every day, declares that “You are God’s Beloved. God is well pleased with you!
Do you believe this?”
The
same Spirit-Breath took off his robe, wrapped a towel around himself, and got
down on his knees to wash our feet. It was to be a sign. It was to be a sign
that we are to love one another as he loves us. If only we will love one
another as he love us, all shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of
thing shall be well.
Paul
summarizes this in what is perhaps the most beautiful and breath-taking passage
in the Christian Scriptures in the second chapter of his letter to the
Philippians. Please open the pew Bibles to Philippians Chapter Two: 1-11 (page
182) so we may read this out loud together:
"So if
there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation
in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same
mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing
from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than
yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ
Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being
born in the likeness of men. An being found in
human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death
on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
glory of God the Father."
Do
nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others as better
than yourselves. Look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of
others. Have this mind amongst yourselves. Have the mind of Christ. For today
is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation! There is no time to wait.
He arises from his well deserved rest, he arises from his Sabbath, he arises
from his three-days Shabbat, to still your fearful soul, calm the waves of
emotions that destabilize you and the whole community, to offer you one, tiny,
little mustard seed’s worth of faith.
Always
we begin again. As I read the Bible year in and year out, there is no ending,
only beginnings. That is what the Passover-Exodus means. That is what the
deliverance from Exile means. That is what the cross and resurrection mean.
There are no endings with the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. Always we
begin again, always a new beginning. This is the Good News, yesterday, today
and tomorrow!
Walk
together, little children. You don’t ever have to worry. Through this world of
trouble, you’ve got to love one another. For you are God’s beloved. God is well
pleased with you. We come from love, we return to love, and love is all around
– if only we will take one another by the hand, we will all be together,
forever and ever, when we make it to the promised land! And the Promised Land
begins here and now! Because with our God there are no endings - only New
Beginnings!
I wanna say to my sisters and my
brothers
Keep the faith
When the storm flies and the wind blows
Go on at a steady pace
When the battle is fought, and the victory's won
We can all shout together, we have overcome
We'll talk to the Father and the Son
When we make it to the promised land
If we walk together, little children
We don't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We've got to love one another
Let us take our fellow man by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
Our bible reads
Thou shall not be afraid
Of the terror by night
Nor the arrow that flies by day
Nor for the pestilence
That waiteth in the darkness
Nor for the destruction
That waiteth in the noon-day hour
If we walk together, little children ...
Keep the faith
When the storm flies and the wind blows
Go on at a steady pace
When the battle is fought, and the victory's won
We can all shout together, we have overcome
We'll talk to the Father and the Son
When we make it to the promised land
If we walk together, little children
We don't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We've got to love one another
Let us take our fellow man by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
Our bible reads
Thou shall not be afraid
Of the terror by night
Nor the arrow that flies by day
Nor for the pestilence
That waiteth in the darkness
Nor for the destruction
That waiteth in the noon-day hour
If we walk together, little children ...
This world is not our
home
We're only passing through
Our trail is all made up
Way beyond the blue
Let us do the very best that we can
While we're travelin' through this land
We can all be together, shakin' a hand
When we make it to the promised land
If we walk together, little children
We don't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We've got to love one another
Let us take our fellow man by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
When we make it to the promised land
Make it to the promised land
(Sisters)
Make it to the promised land
(Little children)
Make it to the promised land
Make it to the promised land
(Children)
Make it to the promised land
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
Walk together, little children
We won't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We gotta love one another
Let us take our fellow man by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
-Charles B Johnson
We're only passing through
Our trail is all made up
Way beyond the blue
Let us do the very best that we can
While we're travelin' through this land
We can all be together, shakin' a hand
When we make it to the promised land
If we walk together, little children
We don't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We've got to love one another
Let us take our fellow man by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
When we make it to the promised land
Make it to the promised land
(Sisters)
Make it to the promised land
(Little children)
Make it to the promised land
Make it to the promised land
(Children)
Make it to the promised land
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
Walk together, little children
We won't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We gotta love one another
Let us take our fellow man by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
We can all be together, forever and ever
When we make it to the promised land
-Charles B Johnson
