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6/23/2024 0 Comments June 23, 2024: Armed with Faith![]() Old Testament Reading:1 Samuel 17: 32-49 The Gospel: Mark 4: 35-41 Was David cocky or confident? Was he in it for the reward? He did ask at least three groups of people what the killer of this Philistine, Goliath, would get as a reward in the portion before our scripture reading today. The repeated answer, recorded in 1 Samuel 17:25 “The King will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” David’s brother Eliab thinks David is just shirking his shepherd duties when he shows up asking these questions; he thinks he just wants to watch the battle. When word of David’s question gets to Saul, he calls David in and almost laughs in his face, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.” “You are just…” fill in the blank here. Throughout history, people have been told they are just - something that is considered not enough. You are just an enslaved person, you are just a woman, you are just a farmer, you are just a peasant, you are just one person, you are just a …. “ The list could go on and on and we often say this to ourselves as well. I am just a teacher, I am just a healthcare worker, I am just a retiree, I am just a questioner, etc. But with faith, we can turn this message around. We can say, “I am just enough.” I am just enough to deal with this challenge, I am just enough to comfort this person, I am just enough of a friend, I am just enough to help myself. God reminds us that we are just enough, that we have just enough faith, strength, intellect, compassion, creativity to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. That is what David knew because of his faith. He knew that as young as he was, as small as he was, as inexperienced in battle as he was, he was just enough. Saul’s armor didn’t fit - it was too much. David was just enough as he was. He bent down and picked up those stones and you know what? One was just enough, because he was armed with and protected by faith. In our Mark Gospel from today it seems that the disciples fell short on faith. They did not have “just enough” to get them through that storm. Their mindset was “We have Jesus on board, no storms should come” but a storm came and they were afraid. Jesus had plenty of faith; he wasn’t worried about the storm, in fact, it might just have rocked him to sleep. But the disciples still needed to grow in their faith. They needed the kind of faith that says bad things will happen but that it is still possible to find peace amid a storm. A faith that says, “We can ride out this storm,” not a faith that says, “Storms should never happen, enemies will never come, life will never be difficult”; that is a thin faith indeed. That is why Jesus, rudely awakened by his frightened disciples, first calms the storm - “Peace, be still!” - and then works on calming and teaching his disciples, saying, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Faith. Jesus had just taught the disciples the parable of the mustard seed, that something tiny can grow to something huge that provides food, shelter and shade and he likened that to the realm of God. Those tiny seeds are the seeds of faith that can grow so big that a boy can beat a giant with a slingshot and we can get through the storms that come into our lives. Faith does not mean that we won’t be battered by storms; we will. It means that if we are armed with faith, we have the ability to be that calm amid the storm, like being in the eye of a hurricane where all is calm even though there is a ring of towering thunderstorms outside that peaceful space. Faith says, “Take a deep breath; you can deal with this, even when the storm actually does hit you.” Faith is a letting go. As the expression goes, “Let go and let God.” The first thing we have to let go of is fear, not an easy task. We are all afraid at times. We worry about our children, relatives, and friends; we worry about bills; we worry about our country and the world. We worry about change; we worry about growing older. It is normal to have some fear, but faith allows us to acknowledge the fear and start bailing out the boat. Faith allows us to give some of that fear to God who shares the burden, the yoke of fear and challenges, with us. While we are bailing out the boat, God is telling the wind and our hearts, “Peace, be still.” I think we need to practice using Jesus’ words during the stormy times of our lives. As we deal with change, loss, or fear, we need to tell ourselves: “Peace, be still.” We need to breathe it in as our Peace Song says, “Breathe in Peace” and this time we can breathe out “Be Still”. Let’s try it - breathe in saying to yourself “Peace” and breathe out “Be Still”. If we keep doing this, breathing in Peace and breathing out “Be Still” we will also be doing what the song says next “When I breathe out, I breathe out love.” When we breathe in the peace of God that calms us, that stills our storms, then we can indeed breathe out love. Remember to Breathe In, Breathe Out…Breathe In, Breathe Out. David was confident, not cocky and we can be too. I want to end with a poem by Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes, about the Mark scripture: The boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. —Mark 4.37-38 Despite the panic you do not panic. In my anxiety, you don't engage, but are asleep, not just calm, but out like a baby, as if rocked. As if even in turbulence you are rocked in your mother's arms, secure in a greater peace, trusting in a grace deeper than the sea. Beloved, lay yourself down in the little boat of my worries, in my storms, with your peace, your trust that all is in God, the boat and the storm alike, rocked by grace. You are the boat of my confidence, the cushion for my worried soul. Even in the most frightening tempest you are with me; my inward storm is calmed. Salvation is more than merely ease or safety, but to be with you, to go on with you or to drown with you. Jesus, in your boat, together, storm or calm, in you, I am at peace. Amen. Pastor Michelle Fountain
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