I wonder if you have ever been in a boat or ship when a fierce storm arose. If so, what was your experience like? In Germany in 1933, shortly before Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, the theologian and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, preached a sermon based on the story of Jesus’ calming the seas. You may recall that Jesus, who had been asleep, was awakened by the disciples in the midst of a storm. Bonhoeffer retold the story as if there were an extra person in the boat. At the point of being overwhelmed, one exclaims, “Stranger in this boat, who are you? And the other answers, “I am Fear.” Now the cry goes up from the whole crew; “Fear is in the boat!” All arms are frozen and drop their oars; all hope is lost. Fear is in the boat.” Bonhoeffer titled his sermon, “Overcoming Fear.”
Storms of all kinds, those on the sea and those in our personal and cultural lives are certainly challenges, but everything changes for the worse when fear is in the boat. In a very famous painting portraying this story, Rembrandt places fourteen characters in the boat. Twelve are obviously disciples. One is Jesus. Who is the fourteenth? This character looks directly at the viewers of the painting, with an expression that seems to say, “What have I gotten myself into?” This is, of course, the artist, who places himself in the painting. In our stormy setting, all of us have an opportunity to decide how we are going to place ourselves in the story. We all get to choose what we, as the people of Jesus, will do when fear is in the boat.
Let’s talk about this on Sunday at St. Mark’s, where we will mark the last Sunday of the Christian calendar, as we celebrate “Reign of Christ” Sunday. The sermon is titled, “In the Storm, In the Night”, and flows from Psalm 42, to be read by Tom Shafer, and Mark 4: 35-41, which will be read by the Degener family. We’ll have a moment for children, sing and pray together. We look forward to seeing you in worship on Sunday.
If this is your first time at St. Marks, or whether you have long been a part of our church community, we look forward to connecting with you this Sunday. Join us at 10:30 in the sanctuary, or if you are connecting online, visit www.smumc.church, and click the live stream banner.