Stones

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

June 24, 2018

7 Proper B

When I was a child, our grandfather would take us down to the pond near his house and teach us how to skip stones across the water.  First, we had to choose a stone that was the right size, fairly flat, and as smooth as possible.  Then he showed us how to use the correct angle and the perfect spin to send the stone skipping across the water.  At first, we could only get the stones to skip once or twice before sinking.  But with some practice, we could get three or four skips across the water.  Our goal was always to get the stone to the other side of the pond, but that never happened. 

We hear about another stone this morning.  This stone was a small stone cast by a small boy at a great foe.  Clearly, David had to have the ability to choose the right stone, the ability to aim accurately, and the strength to land the stone in the right place.  Perhaps David had honed his slingshot skills while protecting his sheep from the lions and bears.  David tells Saul that he has killed lions and bears, and declares his trust that the God who saved him from the lion and the bear would also save him from the great Philistine.  David’s confidence in his own skills and in the God who had kept him safe in the past gave him the courage to take on Goliath.

Courage is perhaps understandably lacking in the disciples this morning.  The disciples and Jesus are crossing the lake when a great windstorm produces such huge waves that the disciples are afraid the boat will be swamped, and they will all drown.  Jesus is asleep in the boat, apparently unconcerned about the impending disaster. The disciples wake Jesus up and say "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Jesus wakes up and says to the wind and waves "Peace, be still." And the wind and waves calm. Then Jesus says to the disciples "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And the disciples say to each other "Who is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?"

I find it interesting that Jesus says "Why are you afraid?" rather than  "There is nothing to be afraid of." The difference is huge. The storm is truly fierce.  Drowning is a real possibility.  There is clearly something to fear. The question is why the disciples fear.

The disciples are professional fishermen when Jesus calls them. They have spent a lot of time on the water. At this point, they are probably much better at catching fish than they are at being disciples. So, in theory at least, they have the skills to read the wind and waves and know how to handle this situation, or, better yet avoid the danger in the first place. But in their fear, they forget.  Unlike David, who uses his skills and his trust in God to give him the courage to face a fearsome situation, the disciples forget their skills and do not realize that they are with Jesus, who has power over the wind and waves.  The disciples are paralyzed by their fear and can do nothing in the face of great adversity.

David summoned his skill, his courage, and his trust in God to confront Goliath.  His skill happened to be with a stone and a slingshot.  This week, we have seen other kinds of stones thrown.  We have heard verbal stones thrown with judgement and rancor against people whose views are different from our own, and seen stones cast in a terrible ways against people whose backgrounds or life situations we cannot begin to imagine.  Courage is required to tackle the difficult challenges that face our country with some measure of grace.  The issue of immigration, as with the issue of gun control and other divisive issues, are very complicated issues with no clear or simple solution.  We can easily feel as small as David before Goliath-like issues, or as unable to deal with those issue as the disciples were to deal with the storm.  

However, in the reading from 2 Corinthians, Paul gives us the stones we are to use in the face of such great challenges. Paul wrote of his own challenges of “afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger” which he met with the stones of “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God.”  These are the stones God has given to use as we work to solve the challenges we face, whether personal challenges, global challenges, or anything in between.  These are the stones we are called to practice skipping across the water over and over again, until our skills are perfected.  These are the stones we have been given to use as we practice keeping our baptismal promise to seek and serve Christ in all people, to work for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being.  David used his well practiced skills, and his trust in the God who had always kept him safe to give him the courage to do what seemed impossible.  God calls us to our well practiced skills, and our trust in God, so that we have the courage to be the people God calls us to be as we face the daunting challenges of our day.

                                                                             Amen.