“A LAST RESORT RETORT”

MARK 4:35-41

35  On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."

36  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.

37  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

38  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"

39  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.

40  He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"

41  And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  As far as the disciples were concerned Jesus didn’t care.  He didn’t care that their lives were about to come to an end.  The wind and the waves were swamping their boat and what was Jesus doing? He was taking a nap in the back of the boat.

I’ve been there and I bet you’ve been there too. You look around you at some of the things that are going on in the world and you wonder, “Does the Teacher really care?” You look at some of the things that are going in your own life and you wonder, “Does the Teacher really care?”

That’s what the disciples were wondering as the water was sloshing around in their boat.  They were in a very precarious predicament. Don’t feel sorry for them though.  Don’t feel sorry for them because they don’t deserve a single second of sympathy.

What the disciples deserve is the same reaction that a college student got one day when a wealthy alumnus came knocking on his dorm room door. The wealthy alumnus explained that the room was the same one that he lived in years ago when he was going to college there.  The student was surprised by the visit but felt obligated to invite the wealthy alumnus to come in and reminisce a little.  After taking in all the memories the wealthy alumnus smiled. “Same old room,” he said, “same old bed and desk.  Same old view from the window and same old closet.”  With that he opened the door to the closet and was stunned to find a very nervous young lady standing there. The student immediately cleared his throat and explained, “That’s my sister.”  The wealthy alumnus slowly nodded his head. “Yep,” he said, “same old closet; same old story.”

The disciples were in a very precarious predicament but they don’t deserve a single second of sympathy. If that sounds a little cold hearted just ask yourself this question. Why did they wait so long before they went to Jesus and asked him to help them? Think about it for a minute.  That storm didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere.  

Why didn’t the disciples wake Jesus up when the clouds began to gather?

Why didn’t the disciples wake Jesus up when the wind began to howl?

Why didn’t the disciples wake Jesus up when the waves began to toss the boat from side to side?

Instead of going to Jesus when the problem started to emerge they waited until it was almost too late.  They waited until the boat was already being swamped with water. Then they had the audacity to make the accusation that Jesus didn’t care.

That’s why Jesus was so perturbed.  He wasn’t perturbed because he was disturbed. He was perturbed because the disciples waited so long before they asked him for his help.  The first thing Jesus did of course was calm the wind and the waves. He did that with a simple, “Peace! Be still.”  Then he scolded them for their lack of faith.  Because they used him as a last resort he gave them that last resort retort.

Now that raises an important question. When you have a problem do you go to the Teacher right away or do you use him as a last resort?  

There are lots of reasons why people use the Teacher as a last resort. Sometimes people use the Teacher as a last resort because their pride gets in the way.  That may be what kept the disciples from going to Jesus with their problem. Don’t forget, at least four of the disciples were fishermen.  So, sailing on the Sea of Galilee was their life.  Imagine how embarrassing it must have been for them to admit to the Teacher and the other disciples that they couldn’t handle the problem. 

Sometimes you use the Teacher as a last resort because your pride gets in the way.  You don’t want to admit that you can’t handle the problem.   Instead you want to be like John Sculley.   Back in the early 1980’s John Sculley was the Pepsi company’s president and CEO.  He had everything he wanted.  He had power, prestige and public recognition.  Then one day Steve Jobs, the man who invented the Apple Computer, asked Scully him to leave all of that and become the president and CEO of his new company.  Sculley was reluctant at first.  Then Jobs asked him a soul searching question.  Jobs asked him, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want to a chance to change the world?”

Deep down inside we all want to feel like we can change the world or at least make a difference.  You want to feel important.  You want to feel like you can move mountains.  So, it’s hard when you find yourself in the sandals that the disciples found themselves in that day.  It’s hard to go to the back of that boat and admit that you can’t do it.  It’s hard to go to the back of that boat and ask for help.

Sometimes you use the Teacher as a last resort because your pride gets in the way.  Sometimes you use the Teacher as a last resort because you don’t want to loose control.  You see when you ask for help you loose control.  Instead of handling the problem your way you have to handle it the way the Teacher wants you to handle it.

That desire to be in control and handle things your way can is one of the reasons so many people like William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus.”  The final verse of that poem is especially fitting as we ponder the storm the disciples encountered that evening on the Sea of Galilee.  Henley wrote, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”

That same attitude is what lies at the heart of a conversation that a man had one day with God.  It happened one day while the man was saying the Lord’s Prayer.

The man started as he always did…“Our Father who art in heaven...”

Suddenly the man heard a voice from the heavens…“Yes.”

“Don't interrupt me,” the man said. “I'm praying.”

“But you called Me.”

“Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in heaven…”

“There, you did it again.”

“Did What?"”

"Called on Me. You said, Our Father who art in heaven. Well, here I am.”

“But I didn't mean anything by it. I was just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done.”

“All right. Go on.”

“Hallowed be thy name.....”

“Hold it. What do you mean by that?"

“By what?”

“By 'hallowed be thy name'?”

“It means, it means... I don't know what it means. How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?”

“It means Honored, Holy, Wonderful.”

“Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. Okay…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Sure, why not?”

“What are you doing about it?”

“Doing? Well, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there.”

“Have I got control of you?”

The conversation goes on but that last question is really important. Have I got control of you?  Sometimes you use the Teacher as a last resort because deep down you know that as soon as you as for help you’re not going to be in control anymore. You’re going to have to your life the way the Teacher wants you to live it.

There are lots of reasons why people use the Teacher as a last resort.  That’s sad when it happens because no matter what the problem may be there’s a “Peace! Be Still!” waiting for you in the back of that boat.  No matter what the problem may be there is wisdom and courage waiting for you in the back of that boat.  No matter what the problem may be there is hope and healing waiting for you in the back of the boat.   

Years ago, TIME magazine ran a story a mysterious Christmas present that arrived at the post office in Troy, Michigan.  The 2-foot-long, 40-pound package was addressed to a Michael Achorn.  So, the post office phoned Achorn's wife, Margaret, who cheerfully went to accept it. As she drove the package back to her office in Detroit though, she began to worry. She didn’t recognize the name of the person who sent them the package.  His name was Edward Achorn and even though he had the same last night she couldn’t place him.  Fearing the worse, Margaret telephoned the postal authorities. The bomb squad soon arrived with eight squad cars and an armored truck. They took the suspected bomb in the armored truck to a remote island in the middle of the Detroit River. There they wrapped detonating cord around the package and, as they say in the bomb business,
"opened it remotely." When the debris settled, all that was left was the factory warranty
for a $450 AM-FM stereo receiver and tape deck. Now the only mystery is who is Edward Achorn and why did he send Michael and Margaret such a nice Christmas present?

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. So, the question you have to decide is when do you bring those problems to the Teacher?  Do you bring them to him right away or do you wait the damage has been done?  Do you see the Teacher as your first option or your last resort? Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

June 25, 2006