Gospel
THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO JOHN
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
JOHN 6:1-21
Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor
I had been looking forward to this Sunday for a while…our first reading, the story of David and Bathsheba, is one of my favourites and I was excited to preach on it. But this week, a lot of things happened…I went to the hospice to visit a beloved member of our congregation, now dying of cancer…I watched as Jasper, a place that means so much to so many people, burned…I read in the news about deadly viruses in India, uncertainty around the world’s future because of the magnitude of climate change, fearful story upon fearful story.
These heavy and difficult things began pushing my life into darkness and I am sure each of you have experienced this in the past or are experiencing it with me right now. This led me to make a decision…on Friday, I said goodbye to my David and Bathsheba sermon, and sat down to write a new sermon on our reading from the Gospel of John.
There is a lot going on in John’s Gospel, it is not possible to preach on the whole thing. So let’s look at the final few verses, which read: When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
The author of John’s Gospel purposely sets this scene in darkness…darkness symbolises the unknown, uncertainty, unbelief. It is something we can all relate to…being surrounded by the darkness of death, of loss, of fear. It is in the darkness that we experience the unknowns and uncertainty caused by the dreaded what ifs…what if I were to get sick or my husband, wife, child, sister, brother, were to get sick…what would I do if I had to watch them die? What if a fire hit Grande Prairie, what if we lost all we had, what would I do if that happened to me? What if the virus gets out of India, what if it spreads like Covid did, what if that happens again, but worse? The darkness causes what ifs to spring up and they pound around in our minds. We experience their turbulence, the rough, strong winds they cause blow us back and forth. Moving forward in a straight, neat, happy line is not possible. We might get overwhelmed and find ourselves alongside the scared disciples on that boat.
But then, out of nowhere, the disciples see Jesus coming towards them, and they are terrified. Although many judge them for not jumping with joy that Jesus was coming, we need to remember it is dark and they are in the middle of a storm. All that they can see is a strange figure walking to them on the water…who wouldn’t be terrified? We might imagine that Jesus was wearing bright glowing white robes, so there is no way they could miss him…but the Gospel doesn’t say that he was dressed in any special way. The darkness, storms and chaos prevent the disciples from recognising Jesus, and the same can happen to us. When we are thrown into darkness, often we can’t recognise any signs of divinity around us…can’t see anything good walking towards us.
And amid the stormy darkness, Jesus speaks to the disciples, “It is I, do not be afraid.” Jesus confirms his identity and tells them not to fear. And at this point they want to take him into their boat, but, immediately they arrive at the shore.
As Jesus speaks to the disciples, he also speaks to us, saying, It is I do not be afraid. His words are our reminder, our anchor when the storms around us rage…God comes to us, we have nothing to fear. And we so badly need this reminder, because the reality is that all those what ifs I mentioned earlier…we can’t prevent any of them from happening, we can’t protect ourselves from illness, from death, from disasters. The disciples are physically with Jesus and they still go through pain…being a person of faith doesn’t make us immune to bad stuff.
What it does give us is something to hold onto, the strength that comes from knowing that we never walk alone. And as we keep going, holding onto what we know, we can be a strength for others, for those who have no faith, who have nothing to hold them steady…when we keep moving through dark and stormy times, when we trust God’s presence to be with and guide us to safety, we show others that they must keep going too, because even if they feel alone, they aren’t.
Saying this, though, is easier than living it. It can be so hard to feel God’s presence. It might not be until we are safely on shore, sometimes weeks, months, even years after enduring something awful, that we can look back and see where God was beside us. But this is where our faith gives us another amazing gift…a family, the Body of Christ, who can pray for us to find strength, help us remember God, be with us through the turbulence. Because we absolutely must keep moving forward, we cannot give up, we cannot let the darkness consume us, because if it does…we might never be able to get out of it.
There is lot going on in many of our lives right, a lot of darkness, that might fill our minds with what ifs…so if you are in this place now or you find yourself here in the future, hold onto this truth…as we move through the stormy seas, God walks towards us… don’t be afraid, don’t let the darkness prevent you from seeing God… because God is here, God is with you, and it will be ok.
Amen.
Comments