Homily for June 21, 2009

At the beginning of the first reading I asked you to pay attention, to tie it to the Gospel. God addresses Job and says, "Who set the limits to the sea?" Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, it is God who keeps the sea in its boundaries. It's God who keeps the forces of chaos from overwhelming us.
So, when they see Jesus calming the sea, they are bound to say, "Who is this, whom even the wind and the sea obey?"
I want to direct your attention to an image, the image of crossing the sea at night, a night sea crossing. There are multiple stories in the Gospel of crossing the sea at night. Do you know what happens every time they cross the sea at night? A storm comes up.
Now, when they're crossing the sea, they are, of course, crossing from one side to the other, but from what side are they crossing and to which side are they crossing?
[inaudible]
Right, from the Jewish side to the gentile side. It's only when they are crossing from the Jewish side to the gentile side that the storm comes up.
Now what was happening in the church when Mark wrote his Gospel? They were trying to integrate gentiles into a Jewish Christianity. They were reaching out to the gentiles, and it was causing all sorts of storms. Some people said, "You've got to circumcise them, you've got to make them Jewish."
And other people said, "Oh, the Jewish ways don't count anymore." The writer of Mark was trying to find middle ground.
So whenever they were trying to integrate the two, a storm came up, and it looked like the church was this little boat being tossed about by the waves, ready to sink. Maybe it looked like the Lord was asleep, and yet the message is that the journey will be successful, the boat will not sink, because God is with us.
I wonder if that has meaning for our life today? I'm going to throw out some examples. They're not at all intended to be exhaustive or definitive, they're just some examples, So you might have your own examples. I am aware in my life that when things get stormy, it never happens when I am sitting in the calm waters and all of a sudden a storm comes up. It always happens when I'm trying to integrate different parts of my life. It happens when I am trying to integrate my right brain with my left brain; it happens when I am trying to integrate my intellect and my emotions.
As a reference to Fathers Day, maybe for many men in the past generation, waters have been stormy as we try to integrate the emotional and the tender and the caring side of our life from more stereotypical men's images of the past. Does that seem to fit a little bit? It seems to me, in our society whenever we try to integrate different elements, the waters are going to get stormy. Ched Meyers, who's a Quaker biblical scholar, talks about these, and it says all the symbolic powers that hold the universe together rise up in rebellion when you're trying to cross from one side to the other.
In the second reading today, by the way, Paul says the love of Christ impels us to no longer see anyone according to the flesh, but to see them in the spirit. What are some ways of seeing people according to the flesh? Man, woman; black, white, Hispanic; Christian, Jew, Muslim; Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative. Can you think of some other ways of seeing according to the flesh? Adult, child; rich, poor; good and bad; mentally ill, not mentally ill; us and them, whoever "us" is and whoever "them" are; negative and positive.
The love of Christ impels us to see no one according to the flesh but to see according to the spirit. Is that easy? I mean, try it and see how many stormy seas come up and threaten to swamp your boat, and to make the whole project look like it's doomed to failure.
I've mentioned several times we're doing some planning results based training for our parish. We had a meeting  I think it was the day I had surgery. Trying, in our parish, to move from talk to action, I think that's like crossing the sea at night, and it gets pretty stormy when we try to do it. Those of you who were at that meeting, does that fit? I mean, it's a good description.
Look at the problems in our culture. Our economic problems, health care, the industries that are failing. We all want things to be better, but when we try to make that crossing, the forces that hold things together the way they are, are going to erupt in a violent storm and threaten to sink the boat. Does that seem on target with life and the way it is?
Now, let me ask for a show of hands. How many of you have ever felt that the Lord is asleep in the back of the boat? And how many have ever felt like crying out, "Lord, aren't you concerned that we're going to perish?"
A question I have is, when Jesus says, "Why are you terrified? Do you still not have faith?" how do you imagine his face? Is he scowling at us? Is he angry? Is he amused? Is he smiling with a compassionate smile?
[inaudible] You think he's smiling with a compassionate smile. That's the way I'd like to imagine him looking at me, not in a scolding or shaming way, but in a gentle and encouraging way.
[inaudible] Jose says maybe he's grumpy because he just got woke up from a nap. That's a very appropriate image for Fathers Day, isn't it?
Anyway, I think what we need to hear from the Gospel is also the assurance of faith, that God does have the power to hold all these forces of chaos in check, that God is in the boat with us and the boat isn't going to sink. We will make the crossing.