WHO'S IN THE BOAT?

Late that day he [Jesus] said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him saying, "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?"

Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?"

They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway? They asked. "Wind and sea at his beck and call!" (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)

Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called "Ninety-Three." It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that it could cause the ship to sink, two brave sailors volunteered to make the dangerous attempt to retie the loose cannon. They knew the danger of a shipwreck from the cannon was greater than the fury of the storm.

That is like human life. Storms of life may blow about us, but it is not these exterior storms that pose the gravest danger. It is the terrible corruption that can exist within us which can overwhelm us. The furious storm outside may be overwhelming but what is going on inside can pose the greater threat to our lives. Our only hope lies in conquering that wild enemy.

Unfortunately storms that rage within us cannot be cured by ourselves. It takes the power of God's love, as revealed in Jesus Christ. He is our only hope of stilling the tempest that can harm our souls and cripple our lives.

Storms can come suddenly. They can make you lose direction. And if we do not understand who it is that is in the boat with us then our fear of the storm has the power to paralyze. We must remember that in the midst of the storm, God will be in the boat with you.

You need not panic, though the situation may appear bleak. The Lord of the Church is in the boat with you. You need not forsake your witness. The Lord of History is in the boat with you. You need not become immobilized. The Lord of the storm is in the boat with you. That is the promise.

Will the clouds dissipate immediately? No guarantee. Will you no longer have to struggle with problems? It is never promised. Will you henceforth prosper, as many T.V. ministers assure you? Probably not. Well, you say, it doesn't sound as though the promise that is given is all that great. Perhaps not. But it got Noah through the storm. It got the Jews through the wilderness. It got Mary through her pregnancy. It got Jesus through the crucifixion, and it will be sufficient to get you through the night. Amen.

Charlotte Austin McCary's Chapel United Methodist Church