Remember some of the pictures of the hurricanes the U.S. has experienced.  Perhaps you may even be able to remember the names of some of the most destructive.  Think about heavy rains, big winds, tornadoes, huge snowstorms, downed power lines, trees scarred with lightning, trees partially or fully broken to the ground with broken limbs.  From a recent severe storm in our area, we know of one house where both the front and back porch were severely damaged and, as of today, they still have blue plastic tarps over them. Also, one corner of the second story was knocked off exposing framework and insulation.  We still have a tremendous amount of limbs, firewood, and brush lying beside some of the streets in Pennsville and Salem, NJ.

      I sometimes find myself riveted in fascination and a little fear when I witness some of the pictures on TV or share with Yvonne what I have witnessed as I drive around delivering senior citizens to their chosen destinations.  What must it be like to be in the midst of the most severe of storms?  In this story from Mark, the disciples are caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee.  And as we weather the storms of life, whether storms of nature or storms of tribulations, we can know how those disciples felt.
     
      When have we cried out, with the disciples: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (38b)?  When have we, like the disciples, thought that a windstorm of despair or insurmountable difficulty might blow us into the jaws of annihilation?
     
      I believe that the saving factor for the disciples was that Jesus was there in the boat with them.  They knew that.  Amid all our despair, fear, distress, anxiety, or loss, are we aware that Jesus is in the boat with us?  If we know that, what do we expect him to do?
     
      In fact, Jesus is always in the boat with us, just as he was with those disciples on Lake Galilee on that night long ago.  Because this is true, I believe that three things follow.
     
      First, if we tell Jesus to help us by picking up a pail and bailing out the water, he may not do as we ask.
     
      Second, Jesus has the power to still the storm and bring us safely to the place where God is waiting for us.
     
      Third, the place Jesus takes us may not be the place we intended as our destination, but it will be the place where God will give us our mission and our victory.
     
      So, first, when we get Jesus’ attention, he may not do what we ask or expect him to do.  When the disciples cried out to Jesus, he did not get up and start bailing water out of the boat.  Nor did he give the Apostle Paul the healing of the “thorn in the flesh” that Paul sought in prayer for many years.  Just so, Jesus may or may not agree that what you and I want are what God wants for our lives.  Jesus is in the boat with each one of us, but he will not save us on our own terms, Jesus will save us on God’s terms, God’s destiny for our lives.  That can be scary, at least at first.  But, I believe, it will always turn out to be a blessing, a gracious gift of God’s love.
     
      Second, Jesus will bring each one of us safely through any storm.  The winds and the waves will obey when he says to them, “Shalom,” meaning, “be at peace – be at rest, be calm, be still.”  Jesus is Lord, ruler of all creation.
     
      Third, as our psalm for this Sabbath says, Jesus will bring us to the “desired haven” (harbor) that is our destination.  It may not be the harbor or haven of our choice, but it will be our baptismal destiny.  Paul’s destiny was to suffer greatly for the Lord Jesus, who he had originally persecuted.  In the end, you remember, he was martyred rather than renounce Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
     
      Life followed a similar course for those who were in the boat with Jesus on the lake that night.  Peter spread the good news as far as Rome, where he was crucified upside down, at his request, far from his native soil.  John was exiled to Patmos where he wrote down a vision that still strengthens the faith of suffering Christians.  Andrew, says tradition, spread the gospel as far as Scotland, and Thomas, as far as India.  This is only a glimpse of the unexpected destinies and destinations of the first disciples.
     
      We have been praying that we might be able to retire near some of our grandchildren in order that we might be a Christian influence whereby they may return to active participation in the church.  It appears to be happening and so fast and easy that we thank God that Jesus is in the boat with us.
     
      When the storms threatened the disciples, Jesus was in the boat with them. When Paul suffered hunger, rejection, and storms at sea, and prison and beatings in the cities he visited, Jesus was with him.  And I know for sure that when the storms of life whirl around us and threaten destruction and despair, Jesus is in the boat with us. 

      We can take our cue from those lyrics of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, whose prayer echoed the prophet's revelation:   "Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire, O still, small voice of calm," which is part of the last verse of the hymn we know as “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.”
     
      This Quaker showed us how to be calm in a storm-stressed world, giving us a lead when his answered prayer led him to take part in the Abolitionist Movement.  For how do we find the strength to take on the sins of the world, except as Jesus has taken on our sin and rescued us from perishing?

      The Friends, as these pacifists are called, are the ones who have so gracefully wedded silent services and public witness.  One young Friend showed how his fear had been overcome when he was brought as a conscientious objector before a civil magistrate in the days before such an exception to military service had been provided.  The judge asked what had possessed him to take such a stand when the penalty was a lengthy time in prison.  This the youth answered, "Because of kingdom come."  The official objected, "But the Kingdom has not come."  To which this Quaker replied,  "The Kingdom may not have come for you, but it has for me."
     
      The Kingdom also came to an older woman, who belonged to that same Society of Friends, when a youth came to her and declared that he had never heard the voice of God and so he could not believe.  To this the older one replied.  "You must not have been quiet enough to have listened."
     
      May we be quiet enough for that to happen to us.
     
      The Incarnate Word of God will rise to speak the word of power that will bring us safely to our destinations. May we go forth in peace from this nave, this little ship – our little church – of refreshment, renewal, and rededication, to love and serve the Lord of power and might!  The Holy Spirit will remain with us to blow us safely to the port where God is leading us and waiting for us.  Bon voyage! 
     

      PRAYER: All-knowing God, it is surely your love that we encounter when we ask the question, like the disciples, “Who then is this?”  It is your love we encounter in the answer that it is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ – your blessed One.  For Jesus, who stills the winds and the waves by the power of his voice, is the same one who was crucified for us and rose from the dead, making us his for all time, taking upon himself the sins that we commit.  When we are frozen in awe like those frightened disciples on the wind-tossed lake, be the calm in our lives, be the one who silences the raging of our own spirits.  Calm our hearts and minds, too alive with our many distractions and desires.  Be present in our lives, God, with the power that brings peace, for we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord.  Amen.