The legend lives on from the Chippewa down,
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the "Gales of November" came early.
Does any one know where the love of God goes
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
they may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
in the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
the islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
with the Gales of November remembered.
Some of the words of Gordon Lightfoot’s famous song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. (1) In November 1975 the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a gale on Lake Superior, with all 29 crew on board. There were no clues to why the ship sank, and no distress calls recorded. It was the worst loss in Great Lakes shipping history.
Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, at a depth of just 200 feet. It is easily stirred up by west winds to produce violent waves and even the largest boats are put at risk.
“Ships caught on the Great Lakes during such fierce storms can be tossed like toys in the fury of wind and wave. As early as 1835, a November storm "swept the lakes clear of sail." In 1847, a major storm claimed 77 ships on the Great Lakes. Ten years later, 65 vessels went down as a storm crossed the Lakes. A gale on Lake Superior in 1905 wrecked 111 ships and sent 14 steel carriers ashore. In 1958 and 1975, powerful storms also caused shipwrecks and damage over the Great Lakes.” (2)
Jesus' disciples were not ocean-faring sailors, not even sailors on the Great Lakes, but they were experienced fishermen. They had been through storms before. But the story in Mark says “ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” Luke describes the wind and raging waves during this storm. Matthew calls it a furious storm without warning. Perhaps this was something they had never seen before.
I did a little reading on storms on the Sea of Galilee, which is really a lake. The storms are a result of different temperatures between the seacoast and the mountains. The Sea of Galilee lies 680 feet below sea level. It is bounded by hills, especially on the east side where they reach 2000 feet high. These heights are a source of cool, dry air. In contrast, directly around the sea, the climate is semi-tropical with warm, moist air. The large difference in height between surrounding land and the sea causes large temperature and pressure changes. This results in strong winds dropping to the sea, funnelling through the hills. The Sea of Galilee is small, and these winds may descend directly to the center of the lake with violent results. When the contrasting air masses meet, a storm can arise quickly and without warning. Small boats caught out on the sea are in immediate danger. The Sea of Galilee is relatively shallow, just 200 feet at its greatest depth. A shallow lake is “whipped up” by wind more rapidly than deep water, where energy is more readily absorbed. (3)
So there they are, out on the Sea of Galilee, in a boat, at night. Now, this isn’t strange at all. There are other incidents where we are told they are fishing at night. In Japan, and probably elsewhere, the squid boats go out at night and long after dark there are little lights bobbing up and down on the water. Mark’s narrative also tells us there are other boats with them. Jesus has asked them to go right across the lake to the other side. As they sail, he is snoozing gently in the hold when the storm comes up. He seems to be completely oblivious to the raging wind and waves, and the fear around him. When they finally waken him, he is cranky with them. He asks if they have no faith.
Well, what would be your reaction? Wouldn’t you be flashing around bailing like crazy, trying to get the sails in, if they were up? If a wave is taller than a boat is long, the boat is going to go down. Maybe they were not of such "little faith" as all that. Maybe they were frantically using all their skills and couldn't believe that Jesus didn't wake up, and maybe they thought if he was sleeping through it, he was going to let the storm overtake them and swamp the boat. Maybe they thought he should get off his holy backside, and row. Maybe they were no more afraid than they ever were at such moments - maybe it was an “all hands on deck” kind of situation, and they expected Jesus to pitch in, not nap while they were doing everything. As for the other boats, presumably they were also dealing with the storm -- so if they had sunk, there would not be much help for a rescue there.
Gordon Lightfoot’s song says “Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” I wonder. In the storm they experienced, the minutes became hours. Jesus had asked them to go all the way to the other side, something they normally didn’t do. There they were in the middle of something bigger than their experience, and Jesus appeared to be asleep.
Is this a story of trusting Jesus in the usual storms of our personal lives, or is Mark here talking about storms that are particular to those who follow Jesus on a journey to an unknown place -- struggling against injustice, confronting evil, crossing boundaries and borders to seek healing, reaching out to the rejected of society, embarking on new ways of being in a confusing world where nothing is the way it was?
Rev. Jane Baker says “My congregation is in the midst of changes within itself, within the community, and our annual conference. Our responses to these changes we face as a result of the Spirit's leading is how we respond to the chaos and storms change always brings about. Not only that, it is a story about how we trust the Spirit's leading.”
I think this passage has long been used for personal reasons, not that there is anything wrong with this, but the interpretation doesn't get to the idea of the church itself and what may occur as we follow Jesus. I do see it about the church and its faith and trust, with Jesus in the boat with us.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes.....?” In the real seafaring world, even when the ship goes down with all hands, God’s love is there - weeping into the storm. In the parable storms, which are meant to teach us about living in an emergent church - which are meant to teach us about sailing through unknown experiences - the love of God is there. With trust that God is there with us, and that with that presence we too have the power to still the waves and the winds, and get to the other side.
The great American preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick, was a Baptist minister who went on to the inter-denominational Riverside Cathedral in New York. Here is a quote of his, "Fear and Faith"
Fear imprisons, faith liberates;
Fear paralyzes, faith empowers;
Fear disheartens, faith encourages;
Fear sickens, faith heals;
Fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable;
And, most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of all,
While faith rejoices in its God." (4)
1. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, Gordon Lightfoot, 1975.
2. http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc_1998/98nov01.htm
3. Dr. Donald B. DeYoung of Creation Research Society. Copyright © 1992, 2003, Donald B. DeYoung, in “Weather & the Bible”, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992).
4. http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/faith_and_fear_quotes.html
5. Input and ideas from many friends on the Midrash list - Rev. Brian Donst, Rev. Christina Berry, Rev. Jane Baker.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Planting Seeds Mark 4:1-9 June 14, 2009
Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Facebook - the new Internet location for sharing photos, talking, whatever - with friends and family - and whoever else you want. Before you laugh, some serious people have a page on Facebook. Diana Butler Bass has a page on Facebook. Justin Trudeau has a page. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), Cancer Foundations, Habitat, Peace Preschool in Israel all have pages. Some of your local MPs have a page, some people right here have - and yes I do too - so do most of my ministry colleagues, many friends, people I’ve met in many places - cruises, conferences both religious and academic.
Farm Town is an interactive game on Facebook. It’s kind of a virtual farm where you plough the ground, plant seeds, and wait for them to grow. When they are ready to be harvested, you can either do that yourself, or get someone else to do it for you. If you get someone else, both people make more coins and benefit..
One of the things you can do is connect with other people who become your neighbours. You can then visit their farm to weed and tend, and as you help other neighbours, you get more points and advance in the game.
Yes, I play Farm Town. But as I’ve been playing, I’ve noticed a few things. The “farm” is whatever we make of it - and as you visit other farms, you get a great sense of the imagination - as well as the personality - of the owner. It is a co-operative game; yes, you can advance in the game without relying on anyone else; but when you cooperate with others, both people advance faster. There are protocols for playing, and rudeness is largely not tolerated. Every person has a story. It is a creative imagination game - and even the simple act of ploughing, planting, and then waiting for those little seeds to come up - is quite relaxing and soothing.
We have a saying in the church that all the world is God’s farm. And I think that is what sticks with me. There is a little key on the game that you can zoom out, so you can see the whole of the farm - and all around you are your neighbours. In a sense, you can look at the whole of creation as a big picture, with people from everywhere - a kind of global village on the internet. And what is fascinating is that even as you sleep - just as in a real farm - those little crops keep coming up and maturing - and for those of us who don’t write computer languages, it’s a mystery how it all happens.
Well, I don’t just go in and go out. I like to “talk” to the people there. Let me tell you about a young woman living in Abu Dhabi where her husband works; a young man in Yorkshire who has a pet snake; a nurse in Norway on the night shift, on her break: a wonderful woman from Hawaii, with whom I had a long conversation one night, about the lives of indigenous peoples and the damage done to creation.
I chose to use the parable of planting seeds today, to move us to our discussion of our ministries and life in Glen Ayr. Parables were teaching tools, a way of making a point in story form. Jesus taught almost always in parables - so here he tells them about a farmer who goes out plant, and scatters the seed. Then he goes on to tell them about different kinds of soil, how the seed grows depending on where it lands, and if it’s productive or not. Some of the seed fell on poor soil some fell on rocky ground, and some fell into good soil.
A congregation is a little like a farm - the word is scattered to us like seed - and depending on where it falls, it takes root and begins the metamorphosis. Ploughing, planting and growing are critical to the life of the farm. You don’t come here, and suddenly get it all. Faith is not something which happens once, and never has to be cultivated again. Jesus addresses that directly - some of the seed gets wasted, but some does take hold and grow.
Rev. Christina Berry says “Here’s the thing. The church can’t save itself up for its retirement. The resources we have weren’t given to us so we could quit growing and working. The realm of God is about a new creation, sweeping away old ideas, and putting in their place another way of being.”
Following Jesus means expecting new and amazing things to develop from tiny inauspicious beginnings - like an apple seed. Believing in this means that God plants little seeds, and while we are not looking the whole thing changes. In another way of saying the seed fell on different kinds of soil, the writer reports that as Jesus taught “He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.” This is Jesus, grinning from ear to ear and jabbing us in the ribs with his elbow, and telling us to hang on for dear life, because life is about to take us places....”
One of the things I love about my little farm, like my garden, is that it’s never finished. It’s a work in progress all the time. The realm of God, I believe, is like that. It is a work in progress. We don’t know where we are going to be taken, but we know that standing still isn’t an option. The One who plants us, who calls us to grow, who harvests and calls others to share in the harvest, has some big plans. Thanks be to God.
1. Rev. Christina Berry, First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, Illinois - from the sermon “Hold the Mustard”..
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Facebook - the new Internet location for sharing photos, talking, whatever - with friends and family - and whoever else you want. Before you laugh, some serious people have a page on Facebook. Diana Butler Bass has a page on Facebook. Justin Trudeau has a page. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), Cancer Foundations, Habitat, Peace Preschool in Israel all have pages. Some of your local MPs have a page, some people right here have - and yes I do too - so do most of my ministry colleagues, many friends, people I’ve met in many places - cruises, conferences both religious and academic.
Farm Town is an interactive game on Facebook. It’s kind of a virtual farm where you plough the ground, plant seeds, and wait for them to grow. When they are ready to be harvested, you can either do that yourself, or get someone else to do it for you. If you get someone else, both people make more coins and benefit..
One of the things you can do is connect with other people who become your neighbours. You can then visit their farm to weed and tend, and as you help other neighbours, you get more points and advance in the game.
Yes, I play Farm Town. But as I’ve been playing, I’ve noticed a few things. The “farm” is whatever we make of it - and as you visit other farms, you get a great sense of the imagination - as well as the personality - of the owner. It is a co-operative game; yes, you can advance in the game without relying on anyone else; but when you cooperate with others, both people advance faster. There are protocols for playing, and rudeness is largely not tolerated. Every person has a story. It is a creative imagination game - and even the simple act of ploughing, planting, and then waiting for those little seeds to come up - is quite relaxing and soothing.
We have a saying in the church that all the world is God’s farm. And I think that is what sticks with me. There is a little key on the game that you can zoom out, so you can see the whole of the farm - and all around you are your neighbours. In a sense, you can look at the whole of creation as a big picture, with people from everywhere - a kind of global village on the internet. And what is fascinating is that even as you sleep - just as in a real farm - those little crops keep coming up and maturing - and for those of us who don’t write computer languages, it’s a mystery how it all happens.
Well, I don’t just go in and go out. I like to “talk” to the people there. Let me tell you about a young woman living in Abu Dhabi where her husband works; a young man in Yorkshire who has a pet snake; a nurse in Norway on the night shift, on her break: a wonderful woman from Hawaii, with whom I had a long conversation one night, about the lives of indigenous peoples and the damage done to creation.
I chose to use the parable of planting seeds today, to move us to our discussion of our ministries and life in Glen Ayr. Parables were teaching tools, a way of making a point in story form. Jesus taught almost always in parables - so here he tells them about a farmer who goes out plant, and scatters the seed. Then he goes on to tell them about different kinds of soil, how the seed grows depending on where it lands, and if it’s productive or not. Some of the seed fell on poor soil some fell on rocky ground, and some fell into good soil.
A congregation is a little like a farm - the word is scattered to us like seed - and depending on where it falls, it takes root and begins the metamorphosis. Ploughing, planting and growing are critical to the life of the farm. You don’t come here, and suddenly get it all. Faith is not something which happens once, and never has to be cultivated again. Jesus addresses that directly - some of the seed gets wasted, but some does take hold and grow.
Rev. Christina Berry says “Here’s the thing. The church can’t save itself up for its retirement. The resources we have weren’t given to us so we could quit growing and working. The realm of God is about a new creation, sweeping away old ideas, and putting in their place another way of being.”
Following Jesus means expecting new and amazing things to develop from tiny inauspicious beginnings - like an apple seed. Believing in this means that God plants little seeds, and while we are not looking the whole thing changes. In another way of saying the seed fell on different kinds of soil, the writer reports that as Jesus taught “He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.” This is Jesus, grinning from ear to ear and jabbing us in the ribs with his elbow, and telling us to hang on for dear life, because life is about to take us places....”
One of the things I love about my little farm, like my garden, is that it’s never finished. It’s a work in progress all the time. The realm of God, I believe, is like that. It is a work in progress. We don’t know where we are going to be taken, but we know that standing still isn’t an option. The One who plants us, who calls us to grow, who harvests and calls others to share in the harvest, has some big plans. Thanks be to God.
1. Rev. Christina Berry, First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, Illinois - from the sermon “Hold the Mustard”..
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