The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost - Rev. Sonia Sullivan-Clifton

 Of all the stories in the Bible, this is one I can completely get. I know exactly how those disciples were feeling! Back in the day, my dad had done some work for someone who could not pay him with money, but instead gave him a sunfish sailboat that their family no longer used. To say my older sister and I were in heaven would be an understatement! As I grew up, I became a decent sailor on my small craft and loved every minute of sailing, especially purposely flipping the boat – there was some weird satisfaction in righting it, getting aboard, and sailing off again! After a year or two a number of families on the river got these boats – enough that we had races. I remember always wanting to beat the Quante boys, and succeeding on occasion. There is one race stands out in my mind, though. It was a beautiful day, the water had just enough chop to make it fun, and the wind was perfect. We kids were excited to race and I think the adults were having just as much fun helping us get ready. One of those adults was nearby when I raised my sail and they jumped to tie it to the cleat. In my head were my dad’s words “Never ever let anyone tie your sail. You always do it yourself.” But, it was an adult and in that day and time, you did not argue with or correct adults. I remember rationalizing that it was okay because this man had sailed a lot himself so he knew what he was doing. The races started and we were having a blast! I didn’t think about that sail again….until - out of nowhere came a storm. I mean, nowhere. The sun was still shining, but the rain was driving hard, the water grew large with white caps, and the wind went from pleasant to downright scary within 30 seconds. All of a sudden, I had no control over my boat. “Lower the sail, lower the sail, lower the sail” was screaming in my head. But, I couldn’t. I tried to loosen the knot around the cleat, but I couldn’t figure out how it was tied. The strand I usually pushed on to lessen the tension didn’t budge. The stress on the sail from the wind only tightened the knot and in a matter of seconds, my boat (with me on it) was soaring backwards. Now screaming in my head and maybe out of my mouth even was “O God, don’t let me die, I don’t want to drown, save me, God save me, save me.” I hit something, capsized, and when I got my bearings finally looked up to see that the piling I hit had gone completely through my sail. Just as quickly as the storm came, it passed. And, there I was -- a sopping wet mess, crying, and scared, not sure what to do next, but knowing exactly why my dad said tie your own sail… If only Jesus had been on my boat! If only…. June 20, 2021 The Rev’d Sonia Sullivan Clifton Proper 7B – 4 th Sunday after Pentecost St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Savannah How many times have storms erupted out of nowhere in our lives? Someone gets sick. Someone dies. You get fired from a job. A loved one suddenly turns on you. Conflict arises. Suddenly, unpredictably, you are in the middle of a storm you cannot handle. It doesn't seem fair. Jesus, do you care? God, where are you? The ambiguity of the human situation is that at the worst times, it may seem that God is asleep. But, my friends, I promise you, God is never asleep! Just as Jesus rebukes the winds and calms the seas and then turns to the tear-stained faced disciples who are still trembling in fear and says to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Jesus embraces us in fear and in our breaking points, and asks the same really critically important questions: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Naming our fears, while hard, is incredibly empowering because it enables us to step into them. Are we afraid of not being loved? Are we afraid of not being able to pay bills? Are we afraid of being alone? Are we afraid of being dependent on another? Are we afraid of dying? Once we can name our fear, then we can begin to dissect it. Then, we can think through it rationally and most importantly offer it to God. The breaking point can become the turning point. If we answer Jesus’ questions honestly, we may come to see things not just from the human point of view, but from a different and higher perspective. One that has God in the center, very awake, loving us all the while. No matter how unloved or alone we feel, we are ultimately not alone. No matter how independent we long to be, that is not at all what Jesus intended for us. No matter our stature in life, the very fact that we have life means that we experience death--- ---that time when the veil between earth and heaven is drawn back so that we may cross into eternity where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting. So, when the storms come – and they will – be assured that the One who created you is there with you, ready to help you make your breaking point be your turning point, surrounding you in the most unexpected ways with all-encompassing love. Let’s close with a prayer of Saint Augustine: Blessed are all your saints, O God and King, who have traveled over the tempestuous sea of this life and have made the harbor of peace and felicity. Watch over us who are still on this dangerous voyage. Frail is our vessel, and the ocean wide; but as in your mercy you have set our course, so pilot the vessel of our life towards the everlasting shore of peace, and bring us at last to the quiet haven of our heart's desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.