Jan Edmiston
True Story
July 7, 2024
Matthew 8:23-27
Matthew 8:23-27
And when Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’
Sermon
Good Morning Church. I want to thank your pastors and staff for the invitation to be here this morning. They have all welcomed me so warmly. I am very honored to be preaching from this pulpit.
True story: I have stood in this pulpit for three weddings and a funeral but never for a Sunday morning. This is my home church from childhood and I have many wonderful memories of this community of faith when Vance Barron was pastor for many years, when Bill Blythe and his family sat behind us over there. When Anna Straight and Mindy Douglas and – of course Bob Dunham stood in this pulpit.
True story: my father Henry Edmiston and Nan Burby taught the three year old Sunday School class for many years and – if the children were good listeners, my Dad would do a cartwheel at the end of the class time to the delight of the little ones who would run to catch all the things that fell out of his pocket.
True Story: Shannon Pace and I were 12 years old when we were in Confirmation Class together taught by UNC professors Alan Keith-Lucas and Bernard Boyd – Dr. Keith-Lucas was an esteemed Professor of Social Work and Dr. Boyd was an Esteemed Professor of Biblical Literature. And one day during Sunday dinner, my mother asked what we had done in Confirmation Class and I told her that Dr. Boyd had told us about something called The Dead Sea Scrolls and he even brought a hermetically sealed parchment to show us what they looked like. My mother almost dropped her fork. You saw the Dead Sea Scrolls? Well, it was just a small bit of it.
Now – those stories are true but it’s possible that I might be misremembering. I find that I’ve reached the age when I can’t remember if a story is true, or I just believe it’s true.
At a wedding in Chapel Hill in this very sanctuary a few months ago – I asked my college roommate (whose daughter was the bride) if it was true that when we lived in London after college, one of the Buckingham Palace guards invited us to the Queen’s Stables after he got off work and we got up on the horses and wore their tall furry hats. Did that really happen?
Yes, she said. I have pictures.
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Pontius Pilate famously asked, “What it truth?” during the trial of Jesus and it was a very good question.
It used to be true that the earth was flat. And then it was true that the earth was round. And now scientists tell us that the earth is actually egg-shaped and threatens to be scrabbled or fried by what some call Global Warming. And then there are others who say that Global Warming is not true.
What is true often depends on our memories or our politics. On this extended Fourth of July weekend, there is much disagreement on what is true and what is not true. But this morning I want to declare to you that the Bible is True – with a capital T.
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True Story: Exactly a year ago, I was traveling with a group of pastors – including my husband Fred Lyon – to the Holy Land and we toured all the usual holy places: Jericho and Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Capernaum, Nazareth and Caesarea Phillipi. And as the bus drove down dusty highways, we came upon a government tourism sign that said Good Samaritan next right.
You know how highway signs are green except for the ones that point to historical sites like Governor’s Mansion or Mount Vernon? Those signs are brown.
Well, this sign was brown as if it was pointing to a true historical site – namely the inn where the Good Samaritan took the man who’d been robbed and beaten and found on the sign of the road. You remember that story, I hope.
Does this story about the brown tourism sign pointing to the Inn what the Good Samaritan took the wounded man sound strange or funny to you? Anyone?
The story of the Good Samaritan is actually a parable of Jesus, of course, and often Jesus spoke in parables . . .
Jesus was a Jewish rabbi and if you know any rabbis you will know that they teach by telling stories that are True with a Capital T. Parables are allegories that Jesus created to teach his lessons. According to scripture – Jesus said, “The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.”
I used to teach children in my former church that “Parables are the shocking stories (double face slap to my face) that Jesus told to teach us about God.” In Jesus’ time, to say that a Samaritan was so good that he nursed a stranger and paid for his needs was as shocking as saying today that a member of Hamas nursed a wounded Israeli and covered his hotel bill.
Everything in scripture is True – with a capital T – in that it points to the love and judgment of God. But not everything is meant to be literally true.
So when our luxury bus drove by this brown historical sign pointing us toward “The Good Samaritan” – or actually the purported inn where the Samaritan took the wounded man, all of us – seminary-educated pastors – laughed.
There’s no actual inn. Because the story is a parable, a story Jesus made up to help us understand the love of God.
Scholars are not even sure if the actual historical sites in the Holy Land are “true” in that we truly do not know if the Church of the Nativity is the actual site of Jesus’ birth.
And there are two locations marking where Jesus was buried and it could have been either or neither of those places where we pilgrims visit and remember the true story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The point is not about where it happened. This point is that it happened.
Or Jesus told a parable about it. It’s all True with a capital T.
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This morning we look at the story of Jesus calming the storm and we know where it actually happened: somewhere on the actual Sea of Galilee. This is not a parable. It’s an actual incident that the authors of Matthew, Mark, AND Luke all share.
True Story: Last summer when my pilgrimage group was standing on a mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee, a sudden wind stirred up and it was so strong that it felt like it was going to blow us over the cliff. It was terrifying whether you are afraid of heights or not. There was nothing to hold onto. We were happy to return down off the mountain and to the lake side.
And so I can imagine – and I hope you can – a sudden storm stirring while sitting in a boat on the Sea of Galilee some 2000 years ago and being reasonably terrified whether you are afraid of water or not. There would be nothing but a little boat to hold onto and as the waves were crashing over the boat, holding on would not necessarily be helpful.
The disciples were there with Jesus and while the storm raged, Jesus was taking a nap. I never took him for a heavy sleeper, but apparently he had a pillow (according to Mark’s version of the story ) and he was blissfully getting some shut eye after a busy day preaching and healing. We are told he was exhausted.
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And the disciples apparently still had trust issues. They had already witnessed this rabbi – Jesus -healing lepers and paralytics with their own eyes. They were there when Jesus had preached the Sermon on the Mount. They were there when Jesus had told them about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, reminding them that worrying was pointless.
But this moment was different. They were personally in danger of drowning.
And so they yelled over the crashing waves that they were perishing, waking up sleepy Jesus who was not happy about disturbing his rest.
And – this is the amazing part – Jesus stood up in the boat and yelled into the storm. Only Mark’s gospel reveals what he said, “Peace! Be still!” And the storm stopped.
Do you believe this story? Do you believe this is true?
It’s not a parable told to point out “what the reign of God is like.” (“God’s reign is like a mustard seed.” “God’s love is like a woman who lost a coin.”)
It’s a miracle story. Do we believe in miracles? Scientific oddities. Unlikely outcomes?
There are a lot of well-educated people among us here and some of us are probably thinking that this is a true story in that it points to the Truth of God’s power, but it’s not a scientifically true story. It’s an exaggerated story – much like the stories I have been known to share at family events.
Maybe some of us believe that this is absolutely a true story from the pillow reference to exact words Jesus yelled into the storm.
This pastor believes yes for what it’s worth, but that’s beside the point.
One of the unmistakable Truths – with a capital T – is that the God who created us and loves us and conquered evil and death for us can calm any storm.
True Story: There was a famous young pastor of a megachurch in Michigan who was once on the cover of Time Magazine with the words: “The Next Billy Graham” printed below his photograph. A reporter was sent to Michigan to interview the young pastor and – in a sermon I heard later, the young pastor referred to this reporter in – yes – a true story.
The reporter wanted to attend a worship service in the megachurch and he even wanted to hang out with the young pastor before worship started to get a sense of the young pastor’s preparation routine. They prayed together even though the reporter was not generally a praying man.
And after the prayer, the reporter asked the young pastor, so you really believe that God is real? That the Bible stories are real? You think they are true?
And the young pastor pulled back the curtain that separated him from the chancel area, and he pointed out a few people to the reporter:
• “You see that young woman on the second row,” he said. “She lost her husband and four-year old last summer in an accident and somehow – miraculously – she can get out of bed in the morning.”
• “And see that family with all the kids over there? They lost everything in a fire and one of their children is still recovering in a burn unit and there they are not merely able to function; look at them. They are truly a joyful family.”
• “And look on that row over there. That man with the tattoos? Three years ago he got out of prison on drug charges and now he’s in training to become a commissioned pastor in one of our satellite churches. He was in deep debt and this church – strangers – helped him.
God still calms all of our storms no matter what they might be.
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If you are here feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities and worries,
If you are in anguish over a shattering disappointment or a terrible grief,
If you are dealing with hopelessness about the future of our democracy,
If your body or your brain is betraying you in a way that feels like a storm
. . . remember this true story:
The God who loves us with an immeasurable love, the God who came to us with human skin to live among us and show us what it means to live faithfully, the God who promises to return and set everything the way it was created to be:
That God, OUR God can calm the wildest, most ferocious storm we might ever find ourselves in . . . with these words: Peace. Be still.
And it’s not enough that we embrace the belief that God calms our storms. We are called to be present with other people who are swept up in the storms of life. We are not called to shout “Peace! Be still!” in their direction. We are called – instead – to get into the boat with them. We are called to be like Jesus, to be with them whatever their storms might be.
My friends, this is the Truth. With a Capital T.