June 24, 2018        Calming the Storms of Life                   

Last Sunday, was father’s day, and on that day I called my mom and we shared memories of dad. Some of those memories included camping trips, and one of the stories we shared was about camping in a storm.

In the heat of August, Dad liked to go to Canada where it was cool. So one August day we found ourselves in a provincial park somewhere in Ontario. Now it had been raining all day as we had been driving, and according to the weather radio, it wasn’t going to stop.  And so, Dad decided that there was nothing else to do, but set up in the rain.

I remember Dad backing the trailer into a clear space, and then going over the plan for setting up. Then he took a deep breath and said – time to get to it! We all got out of our van and did our parts to set up as quickly as possible, and Dad kept calling out orders to keep us going. We set up the tent in 30 minutes, probably the fastest we had ever done that, and we were soaked to the bone. After we got into dry clothes, Mom pulled out some travel snacks and sandwiches, and we played cards for most of the night. I remember that throughout the night, the wind howled, the thunder roared, and the lightning flashed, and my Dad snoring all the way through it.

         I remember this story every time I read about Jesus snoring on the boat. Jesus had a message and a plan. A message about God’s love for us, and a plan for how to share that love with the world. In order to accomplish this plan he called his disciples together, and he took them on a journey. The journey wasn’t always easy, and there were lots of bumps and hiccups in the road. Sometimes, his disciples did always understand what was going on, sometimes what Jesus did and said challenged their assumptions. And sometimes, they wondered, if Jesus even cared about them.  But after a full day of ministry and preaching, Jesus could lay his head down on a rock, or on the seat of a sea tossed boat, and sleep with complete peace – knowing that he had done his job, and done it well.

         This past week, I have been reading a book by noted Psychiatrist Dr. Scott Peck. You might remember that in the late 60’s he wrote a book entitled “The Road Less Traveled” That book examined what life could be like for us, if we lived by the power of love. When we live by the power of love, we live not for ourselves but for others. When we live by the power of love, we are able to endure hardship in order to realize a greater good. When we live by the power of love, we face the challenges of life and address them head on, trusting that whatever happens, things will work out.

         As I mentioned, I was reading another of Dr. Peck’s books called the “people of the lie” In that book, he writes about people who choose to live not by love but in fear. These people are consumed with themselves, they complain and run away from any kind of discomfort, and they are always seeking to avoid any kind of confrontation or challenge in life. People who live in fear are like people in the midst of a storm, they are afraid, confused, anxious, and find it difficult to function. Even worse, People who live in fear tend to spread fear and confusion to others, they lie to others and worse they lie to themselves, which creates all kinds of suffering in their lives and those around them.

         But there is a solution to this problem of living in fear, and that is a life found living in love. And that is where we find our Savior Jesus Christ this morning. When we come to have faith in God’s love for us in Jesus Christ we see a selflessness that sets us free from selfish desires, we see the ability to endure hardships and make sacrifices that lead to a better life, and we see someone who face trials head on, and even death itself, so that he might come through them and live. Through faith in Jesus Christ, the storms of our lives are calmed, and at the end of the day, we can find peace in our lives, sleep soundly, and perhaps even snore a bit. And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ. Amen.