Pentecost 3, Year B
June 21, 2009

Don't Hang On

Sermon given by
The Rev. Alex Dyer, Associate for Parish Life
Trinity on the Green, New Haven, CT

A man was walking along a path one day and fell off a cliff. The man was able to grab onto a limp protruding from the cliff. As he hanged over the 300 feet drop into a ravine, he heard a voice from the top of the cliff. He could not make out a figure through the glare of the sun. The man hanging onto the branch for dear life yelled, "Help me!" A calm voice from the top of the cliff replied, "I am here to help you. This is God. All you have to do is let go." The man took a deep breath and yelled, "Is there anyone else up there?"

To some degree or another, we all like to have control over our environment and our lives. For most of us, the more control we appear to have, the better. We have a hard time trusting what we do not know or do not feel we can have some control over. We seem to crave predictable outcomes. Even with God my prayers sometimes go, "Dear God, I pray that you use me in whatever way you see fit. I pray especially that you use me in and advisory capacity."

If we are honest with ourselves, we have experienced those times where we felt God has not gotten it quite right, and we wished our lives would have turned out differently. I have learned that most things are out of our control. The harder we try to control a situation, often the worse it turns out.

I think of the countless hours of my own life that I have spent worrying about things I had no real control over. Stress management experts say that only two percent of our "worrying time" is spent on things that might actually be helped by worrying. The figures below illustrate how the other 98 percent of this time is spent:

Something tells me this equation has not changed much over time. Even in Jesus' time we read of the disciples worrying and questioning Jesus throughout the Gospels. We hear of Paul reassuring churches in his letters. God's people are not free from worry, doubt, and fear.

I often wonder what is harder: believing in God or believing God. There is a profound difference, and one does not always lead to the other. For instance, I somehow think it is easier to believe in God. That is, that there is a God. What I believe is the most difficult is actually believing God. Actually believing that God is active in our lives, believing that God loves us and cares for us, believing that God is in control.

We can rationalize in our head that there is a God, and the nature of God. We can even believe in all that God has done for God's people in the past. We can even believe that God is active in our lives today. The hardest thing to believe is that God will be with us in the future. The future is what we have the least control over and is what requires us to trust most.

We all have choices in live, and God give us a choice every day: to trust and not fear or to try and control every aspect of our lives. Letting go is the most difficult thing for most people.

The disciples in today's Gospel lesson were afraid. They feared the ultimate loss of control: death. The sea is a dangerous place, and the disciples knew this. They had heard of people dying at sea. The Perfect Storm is nothing new to people of ancient times. These fisher folk had lost friends that they know to the tempestuous sea. So, as their boat was getting tossed in the chaotic sea, and they had lost control, they seek out Jesus, who wouldn't you know is asleep.

I am sure there are times in our lives where we felt God has been asleep on us. The Gospel of Mark was written in a time where Christians began to be increasingly persecuted. The first readers of this Gospel would have related to the feeling that God has fallen asleep on them and needs to wake up.

Sure enough God does respond with the words, "Peace, be still." The storm subsides. If only life were that simple. We know Jesus does not always calm the storms in our own lives as quickly as we would like him to, and there are times when we feel like he is asleep or cannot hear us. We search for answers in a sea of chaos and confusion. We want Jesus to respond when and how we would like him to and still we seek the waters to be calm.

Jesus asks the disciples, "Why were you afraid? Have you still no faith?" Now, I cannot blame the disciples too much for their lack of faith. After all, we are only four chapters in the Gospel of Mark; I mean I could see maybe ten chapters. Even after four chapters, we know the disciples have seen Jesus cure many people and have heard him teaching. This is nothing new though. Many people in Jesus' times were reported to have healed people and have profound teachings. But calming the chaos of the sea, this is something that is truly divine.

I would like to say that the disciples' faith never waivered from this point, but know this is not true. Despite the many other things that Jesus did during his ministry and even the resurrection, there was still doubt. There was still fear about their future and would God really provide for them. Even the disciples had a hard time believing in God, believing that God will not abandon his people.

The lives of the disciples were not easy. Many were persecuted and martyred. In the end the disciples were able to confront any storm, even death. They found the faith to fulfill their mission and spread God's word. Thousands of years later, we gather in hope that God will continue to be true to his word. God does not promise there will be no storms in our lives, what He does promise is that He will be on the boat with us and that He is in control even when we feel He is not.

We at Trinity are on a vessel together, and the weather is about to get rough. A windstorm is coming. Today will be the last Sunday of our undercroft. Our organ is now sealed up for months. Two of our stained glass windows have been removed for cleaning. Yes, the things around us have begun to change and the waters are about to get rough on the corner of Temple and Chapel Streets. The Good News is that God is in the boat with us.

For many of us despite the storms that were going on in our own individual personal lives, this was a place where we could hear the voice of God saying, "Peace. Be still."

Now as the storms of chaos begin within our own four walls, we will have to listen harder, and the voice might be saying, "Why are you afraid?"

Let go of the branch. Jesus is with us. Trust God.