Date
Sunday, May 30, 2010
“Where to Stand in the Storm: A message for confirmands”
Sermon Preached by
The Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Text: Psalm 46
The wind was blowing so fiercely that I couldn't even stand up outside. So, I simply sat in me bedroom and watched the wind batter the trees and the plants around our property. Even though we had storm windows, it didn't make much difference, the building shook. I looked out the window and saw something that you simply wouldn't believe unless you saw it for yourself. You see, at the time, I was about 13 and living in Bermuda. Bermuda was hit by a hurricane and our house, on the south shore of Bermuda, was surrounded by banana plants. There was a banana plantation right in front of our house. You had to drive through it to actually get to where we lived. But as the hurricane came up, all the bananas blew up into the air… bananas were flying everywhere - splattering against the house, the windows, the roof, the car.
Finally it seemed that the hurricane ended and I wanted to go out and see what kind of banana flambé was waiting for us. So, I went out. Everything was eerily quiet, you couldn't hear a sound. From this terrible torrent, with rain and wind, to sudden peace and the smell of hot bananas. I thought it was wonderful. Suddenly, my father called to me, “Get inside quickly, you fool. What are you doing?”
I said, “Dad, the hurricane's over. Everything is fine. ”
He said, “No, it's not, it's the eye of the hurricane that's over us right now. The rest is still to come.”
I quickly ran inside. Sure enough, within a very short period of time the winds started to gust to 120 kilometres per hour, but this time in the opposite direction. The bananas that had been blown to the west were now being blown to the east. It was a terrible mess. Finally, the hurricane ended. Nothing was damaged in our house, everyone was all right. Until the next morning when my father started up the car, it ran beautifully… for about 2 or 3 minutes then all of a sudden there was this awful smell of burning bananas. We realized that bananas had been blown through the radiator, into the engine and as the engine heated up, it baked the bananas to the engine. That car stank of bananas for the next three years, until finally my father had the courage to trade it. He traded it to a restaurateur, by the way. Very fitting, I thought.
It was a scary time though. To be in the middle of a storm, but then came the peace and you couldn't believe it was happening, then the storm came again. The psalmist in today's passage talks about the same thing. He talks about storms. He says, for example, “The earth shakes, the seas roar, the winds blow.” The storms he is talking about are natural storms, storms that occur when natural things happen, and Lord knows, do we not, and have we not seen with our own eyes, some awful storms throughout the world in the last couple of years.
We've observed how the earth shakes, for example, and we've seen that happen in Haiti, where the people are still in great need of help and, in Chile, and China, and Pakistan. We've seen how the seas have roared, there is still the aftermath of Katrina, there is still oil devastation coming up into the very places where the waters rose to devastating results. When natural and environmental things happen, when things go wrong, the psalmist knew very well the earth can shake, the sea can roar, natural things can happen and it's scary. When we look at the state of our ecosystem we know that there are great challenges ahead for humanity and how we deal with the storms of the world.
There is another type of storm that the psalmist talked about. It was the storm of human conflict, the storm of wars, the storms of terrible things happening. He talks about the conflict between people. You and I see, everyday, the problems of conflict between people in the world. We see it everyday. We see it with soldiers in Afghanistan being killed. We see it in conflicts in parts of the Horn of Africa, and in west Africa. We see conflicts in the streets of Jamaica right now. We see war and conflict happening. The psalmist likens that to a storm.
There are challenges and in the future you are going to face and see many storms, many challenges, many things that are going to require our attention and care and courage. But the psalmist contrasts that, and this is what's really important, with his own view of God. He says in the midst of all these storms, God is our refuge, God is our source of peace. When there are difficult times, when there are challenges, God is there like the eye of the storm, to bring peace and to give hope. When things are devastated, when things are challenging us in our lives, when we're unsure what we should do or say or who our friends should be, or how we should act, are uncertain and it's like a storm that's out of control. God is our refuge. God is at the centre, God cares.
When there are conflicts, when there are wars, he says that God is the one who breaks the bow and crushes the spear. God is the one who brings peace when there is conflict. But for that to happen people need to have faith in the God who is the centre. It is no good saying that God is there and everything is going to be all right, it also needs people to believe that and act upon it.
The great leader of the United Nations many years ago was a man named Dag Hammarskjöld, an amazing man. He said the following about conflicts, and this is something that I want you to remember, not only today, but always. “You can only hope to find a lasting solution to world conflict if you have learned to see the other person closely. But at the same time to experience their difficulties closely and personally.” In other words, only if you really have empathy, only if you can see the challenges people have can you actually help bring about an end to conflict. I think one of the great challenges that you have as Christians, as young people who believe in God and believe in faith and have the peace of God in your hearts and desire it for the world is to try to understand the conflicts people face and to bring God's word into the midst of this conflict.
I have no idea what you are going to end up doing as a career, where your lives will go. You probably have no idea at this point. But this I do know: If you have God at the centre of the storms of life, you have something really strong and something great to contribute to the world.
The psalmist ends with something else. He suggests that there are some practical things we need to do. Not only to believe that God is our refuge, God is our strength, not only to believe he wants to see wars end, and bring peace in the midst of suffering, and order in the midst of chaos, but there are two things he wants to happen. One of them is: He wants us to acknowledge him. He wants us in the midst of the storms, to recognize him.
In a few moments time, you are going to be coming up here and kneeling. You will have made a promise before doing that. That promise is a commitment to God and a commitment to Jesus Christ. You are going to say publicly that you believe. I don't think you have to then, from this moment on, go out into the streets and tell everyone that you've made this commitment. I like the motto of a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews. He is a Christian, brought up in a Mennonite home, strong personal faith and convictions. He was asked once why he doesn't always go around telling everybody. He said, “I don't think that I need to, do I? I just let my life speak for itself. But, if anyone was to ask me who I believe in, I'm more than prepared to tell them.”
In other words, you can acknowledge God without being a pain about it, but when asked, tell. Boldly acknowledge the God of Jacob is my refuge. The Lord is my helper.
The psalmist also says, “Be still. Be quiet.” He says to the armies who don't believe in God. “Armies, keep quiet. Acknowledge God and be still.” By “Be still” he also means to have a moment of prayer. There comes a time when it is important just to worship. It might not seem to you that it's an important thing for you to do every single day or every single week, but let me tell you this: When you face the storms and the conflicts of life, if you have had a life that is worshipful, if you've had a life built upon faith and prayer, believe you me, you will be much, much stronger for it.
I heard a fascinating interview with Jennifer Hudson, the singer who starred in Dream Girlz and who was booted off American Idol very early on. She actually became one of the most successful performers in the history of American Idol. You don't have to win it to be good. She was asked about the challenges in her life. The challenges of being a heavy woman, the challenges of having to deal with physical problems as a result, challenges of being kicked off a show, challenges of facing racism, challenges of being in the performing arts, many challenges. And, she said, “The one thing I always go back to whenever I have a challenge is my Gospel roots and my church, to remembering where I came from.” You can see thing interview on YouTube, just go to “Jennifer Hudson and faith” it's a wonderful interview. She doesn't make a big deal about it, she simply says, “My faith has been my rock, my faith has been my comfort.”
If Reverend Tamas, this church, this ministry has done anything for you, I pray that it lets you have a place to stand in the storm; that it has given you a place of peace; that it has given you a foundation on which to stand and, that it has given you the joy of knowing that the God of Jacob is our refuge. Amen.