June 22, 2003 - Proper 7, Year B

Sermon preached by Father Armand Kreft, Associate Rector for Family Ministry
Church of St. Paul in the Desert, Episcopal
Palm Springs, California

Those of us who are of Scandinavian descent probably have heard this tale before. A long, long time ago in a kingdom far away, a Viking King named Canute invaded an island to the south (Great Britain). After his conquest, so great did he feel about himself, he thought there was nothing he could not do. He had his throne placed on the shore and ordered the tides to turn. He shouted and screamed (a Viking trait), but the tides did not obey him. They kept on their appointed times.

Jesus, awakened from a sleep, stood and rebuked the tides and the wind, "Be still, be calm" and the winds ceased and the waves were made smooth. For Jesus was at the beginning, Jesus was in the total Creation, and is in the ongoing Creation ... "in you we move and have our being."

But Jesus not only calmed the wind and the seas, he calmed the disciples as well. So many of us get caught up in the storms of our lives, we become aware only of the disorder, the chaos of our lives. And we scream at ourselves and others. We become out of control, overcome by fear, just as the disciples felt when the wind and sea were storming. We become caught up in a whirlwind of our own making. As we are panicking, and yelling "Don't you care if we perish" we feel that Jesus is asleep in the stern. It is only when we realize the tides will not obey us, then do we rouse the Teacher. It is then that we reach into the deepest core of our being to rouse the Divine Presence that dwells incarnate.

It is usually in our greatest need that we turned to the one who saved us first. Why do we wait until we've reached this point, when we are out of control, before seeking Christ. Jesus calms the storm and the disciples. We are also rebuked by Jesus..."be still, be calm."

There are larger storms beyond our personal lives. Issues larger than we can imagine...and we feel helpless, caught up in a huge storm of indifference, apathy and complacency. World events hold us stunned by their magnitude.

In England, The Reverend Canon Jeffrey John was called as Suffragan Bishop of Reading by the Bishop of Oxford. The process was in accordance with the canons of the Church. The Archbishop of Canerbury signed off that all was in order and the Queen appointed Jeffrey (her right to grant). However, Jeffrey is an openly gay man who has been in a 20 year relationship. The traditionalists and fundamentalists are in an uproar. Parliament doesn't know what to do!

Recently The Reverend Canon Gene Robinson was elected as Bishop coadjutor in the dioceseof New Hampshire on the second ballot. (That means he has the right of succession when the present bishop retires next year). Gene Robinson has a proven record of exemplary leadership and for the past 18 years served as Canon to the Ordinary (that is the bishop's executive officer). He is also divorced and the father of two children and is an openly gay man . The traditionalists are having a field day, creating a storm of controversy. You see in the Episcopal Church, an elected bishop must be ratified by the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops if the election takes place within 120 days of a General Convention. Contrary to rumors being spread about, Gene did not leave his wife for another man. Their marriage dissolved amicably several years prior to Gene meeting his partner. The traditionalists are working themselves into a frenzy saying it is the end of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church as we have known it. Well, we're not the ones threatening to leave....they are, the traditionalists are the schismatics. By the way a schism, in proper definition, is a tear in the fabric, it is not a total separation, but a tear.

Recently the Diocese of New Wesminster in Canada approved the use of a liturgy to bless same-sex couples. It is not mandatory that all parishes do this, but is given as an option to parishes that seek to include non-traditional couples in blessings. Well let's see, the diocese of Nigeria, famed for it's corruption and acceptance of polygmay, has broken off communion with the Diocese of New Westminster saying that they (Nigeria) hold the Truth of the Anglican Faith. Eight parishes in the diocese of New Wesminster are asking to be released from the church because of this option of blessing two people who are in a life-long committed relationship, vowing to stand by one another through all the storms of life and come to the church, Christ body on earth, to bless them. And they are denounced by "practising Anglicans" as being an abomination.

"Don't rock the boat" the status quo pronounces upon us. When in fact it is business as usual that is allowing the storm to rock the boat. It is in these instances, when enough is enough that the corporate cry of "do you not care if we perish" is heard.

The traditionalists are planning to split the church in the name of protecting orthodox belief and core doctrines. Just who do they believe they are protecting. Certainly God does not need our protection. God who made heaven and earth and us. God who controls the mighty universe. This God does not need our protection. And we are guilty of the sin of presumption if we believe God does need our protection. However, institutions by their nature are designed to preserve themselves. It is their role in the institution that the traditionalists seek to preserve, a role that they refuse to allow to evolve as the Good News is proclaimed. Frozen in a time that no longer exists.

We look and say, we are caught up in a storm. We are out of control. The world is not a better place because of us.

And the tides continues on their course.

It is time we roused the Teacher to look again at our commitment to living out the gospel. A gospel of good news that we have been forgiven and redeemed, that we are loved in God's sight, that at the beginning, when the foundations were laid, when "the morning stars sang together, and all the children of God shouted for joy" and all of us, all of us were called "very good." We cannot become complacent about our faith. We cannot allow ourselves or others to get so caught up in the storm that we forget our source, our very being, as coming from God. For even when the seas are calm, Jesus continues to rebuke and calm the disciples. We are being called into account again. Jesus is calling us to turn around to rebuke ourselves, as Jesus did, and say "enough."

But corporately, as the disciples did in the boat, we call together upon Jesus to come into our midst. Corporately we are commanded by Jesus to call attention to those wrongs that rob one another of the freedom and blessing bestowed at our baptism. We who live a privileged life are not allowed to sit back and let others cry out. We are engaged in a global reformation, of bringing the good news to all peoples. We will probably not see the end in our lifetime. We can make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are charged with recognizing the holy in the ordinary of this world. Of offering up our prayers and supplications...and doing what we can...to make the world a better place. We cannot do everything. Our lives have been touched by various storms.

Next month the General Convention of our Church will face a storm. It is our mission to call on Jesus to still the storm, because he, not us, is in control of the institution that bears his name. And I pray that we will see "the morning stars sing together, and all the children of God shouted for joy." And when we ask the Savior: "Do you not care if we perish?" The answer is "Yes, I do care. For you see I died for you first so that you will not have to." And the wind was stilled and the waves were made smooth.

Only we can call upon Jesus to calm the personal storms and seas of our lives, only we have that power to open ourselves to the calming, saving power of Jesus Christ, only we can invite Jesus into our lives by a conscientious effort to live out the good news in our every day lives. I invite you now to go into the depths of your heart, where the Savior waits with arms outstretched to calm the storms of your life. Listen, listen to his voice as he says, "be still, be calm" and the winds will cease and the waves will be made smooth.