God's Providence

Sermon preached at 11am Eucharist at St Alphege Church on Sunday 21st June 2009.
Second Sunday after Trinity, Proper 7, Year B.

Readings: Job 38:1-11 2 Corinthians 6: 1-13 Mark 4: 35-41


Our gospel reading today presents Jesus to us as the one whom the wind and sea obey. When the disciples were fearful of storm that was threatening their boat, they woke Jesus up. He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still”. And the wind ceased and there was a dead calm. The disciples were filled with awe and were forced to ponder, “Who then is this that the wind and sea obey him?”
Well in our first reading from Job, we heard God remind Job that it was he, God, who laid out the foundations of the earth, who determined its measurements, who shut in the sea and set bounds for it and said, “Thus far shall you come and no further.” So control of the elements, and especially control of the sea, is seen as a characteristic of God. Jesus’ ability to control the wind and the sea suggests powerfully that Jesus is divine, that he comes from God.
And it seems to be particularly significant that Jesus can give orders to the sea. The bible commentaries tell us that the Sea of Galilee is particularly prone to sudden changes of weather and dramatic and unexpected storms that have great power to destroy. Because of this, the commentaries say, that the sea was commonly seen as a symbol of all that was unruly and uncontrollable, and especially of evil spirits that seek to defy God. And yet even the sea obeys Jesus.
And there is an interesting parallel here with the very first miracle that Jesus performs in Mark’s gospel (Mark 1: 21-28). Jesus is teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum when a man appears who has an unclean spirit. The unclean spirit cries out to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are, the Holy One of God.” Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And all who saw it were amazed, and asked one another, “Who is this who teaches with such authority, who can command even the unclean spirits and they obey him?”
These two stories in Mark’s gospel present Jesus to us as divine, as coming from God. And Jesus has extraordinary authority to command the natural elements, the wind and the sea, and also the unclean spirits, the forces of evil in our world. And this is very particularly powerful. In theology we think of the Devil and the Fallen Angles as having been created good by God, but as having exercised their own free will to rebel against God. It is precisely their rebellion against God, their disobedience to God, which makes them evil. And yet here, it seems, they have to obey Jesus. Perhaps, facing a direct command from Jesus, they have little choice. As the psalmist says of the wicked, “They are like the chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not be able to stand in the judgement.” (Psalm 1: 4-5)
These stories invite us to reflect on God’s and his relationship with his creation. As Christians we believe that God takes an intimate interest in all aspects of his creation. God did not set creation up and then just leave it to unwind, like some old alarm clock that is running out of steam. Rather, God works continually on his creation, sustaining all that exists and drawing forth new things. God is always steering creation towards a fuller perfection. We describe as God’s “providence” the extraordinary and ever developing plan of love whereby God draws all things forward towards fulfilment and perfection. Now we are all called to participate in God’s creative work. We are all called to co-operate with his providence and to make our own contribution to God’s creation. Most obviously this happens when parents have children. I quite rightly say that I was created by God, but I also know that my parents played an important part in my creation. God’s providence works through the very smallest things and through the very greatest things. For the very smallest things, Jesus tells us that even the hairs of our head are all numbered (Matt 10:30). For the very greatest things we can think of the power of kings and rulers. At his trial, Jesus tells Pilot that all the power that Pilot has as Roman ruler comes to him only because it is given from above, by God’s providence.
And there is another mysterious and extraordinary aspect of God’s providence. We all have free will. We all have the possibility of choosing to work against God, against his providence and to do evil. But God’s providence is always greater than evil; it can always draw good out of what is bad. Even the greatest disaster possible, when the creator of the world is crucified by those he created, God’s providence was able to reveal the resurrection and the defeat of sin and death and freedom and new life in Christ. God makes all things work together for good for those who love him (Rom 8: 28). As Julian of Norwich put it, “I must earnestly believe in what the Lord showed in this time; that all manner of things shall be well.
So how do we co-operate with God’s providence? How do we play our part in God’s creative work. Well the first things is to walk in the way of love, because God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them (1 John 4: 16). If we are abiding in God, then we are sharing in his creative work. And if God is abiding in us then God is sharing in our creative work. Then, as a next thing, I think it is important to be attentive to God in each present moment of our lives; to seek to live each present moment well as a gift for God. Of course, in most present moments of our lives we are doing very normal things; walking, talking, working, resting, playing but we can still seek to do these things well, and as a gift for God and as love for the people around us. The more moments in our lives that are lived for God, the more consistent we become and easier it is for God to bring about his purposes through us.
In the boat, in our gospel story, Jesus scolds his disciples for their lack of faith. So let’s have faith. Let’s learn to trust ever more deeply in the providence of God. Even when things seem to go badly let’s trust that God loves us, and is working for our good. Let’s seek always to grow in love, and to be attentive to what God wants from us in each present moment. In this way we can share in God’s work, we can become expressions of God’s providence, of his great love that creates, sustains and redeems. We can become more like Jesus and be great gifts of God’s love for other people.