Job 38:1-11
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
Grace and Peace to you from God our Refuge, our Savior from our worst storms, and the Spirit who guides us home, Amen
Change. Growth. Progress. Transition. Adaptation. Transformation. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side of course. Why did Moses and the Israelites walk across the Sea of Reeds? To get to the other side of course. Why did Jesus and his disciples get in a boat? To get to the other side of course. Why did Christopher Columbus sail the ocean blue in 1492? To get to the other side of course. Why did 2 pastors and area parents jump in vans full of kids and drive halfway across the country? I don’t know, really. I don’t know why anyone would do such things…
And why is it, that a church sanctuary can quickly become anything but a sanctuary? I don’t know the answer to that one either… But I do know the answer to this one: why did a young carpenter from the town of Bethlehem die on a hunk of wood nearly 2000 years ago? To get to the other side of course. To get to the other side of life, so that God could conquer death. So that God, could conquer death and save us all… So that all may live, God’s Son, Jesus the Christ died on a hunk of wood, nearly 2000 years ago.
Before all of that however, Jesus climbed in a boat with his friends, and took a nap. Jesus, the once and future King of Glory, took a nap. So, his friends sailed the boat across the lake, and why were they doing this again? To get to the other side of course. Gotta check you’re still paying attention, ya know. The disciples were steering the boat, going about life, when a giant storm brewed right on top of them, and the disciples feared for their lives. Remembering that the Teacher they brought along with them was snoring away in the stern of the boat, they woke him up and exclaimed, “Hey, don’t you care that we’re about to die here…” Jesus bolted up, spoke to the water and said, “Peace! Be still!”. The wind quit, the waters calmed, and they got to the other side.
When the world was literally crashing down on them in this dramatic storm, they called out to the only person they could: Jesus. Jesus, the Savior of all, saved the disciples in the boat that day, and calmed the storm.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.” (Psalm 107:28-30)
For those of you who don’t know who I am, I’m Jon Rundquist, and I bring greetings to you from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul. Your continued prayerful and financial support keep my wife Tiffany and our growing family afloat in the storms of seminary life. I want to take this moment to thank you all for that support, as we look forward to starting my Pastoral Internship at Zion Lutheran Church of Amor, Minnesota in the fall.
We will be moving later this summer to a nice house north of Battle Lake, but in that move, it will require changes to our lives. Tiffany will begin to slowly transition out of her position of a social worker, and once we move, to that of a full-time stay-at-home parent. My status of student will lessen to a degree, as my upcoming new role as Pastoral Intern will take precedence over my student life, though I will continue to take classes online while on my internship. Our son Sam had his final day of daycare last week, and as he spends his days with me for the remainder of the summer, he is looking forward to living in the new house and attending his new preschool. Moving is difficult, a pain even… but it comes with its rewards of a fresh start somewhere new.
There are people that I see regularly that I know I probably won’t see again. I’ve already said a few goodbyes to some International Students as they go on with their studies. People that have impacted my life, as much I as I hope I’ve impacted theirs. Moving is rough, and most of us have probably done it a few times. Moving is one of those changing, transitional, and transforming periods in our lives, where the need to, well, To get to the other side… of course is… a necessary rite of passage.
Job knows a thing or two about transition and change. In a twist of divine justice, Job loses his children, his animals and everything he owns. He also nearly loses his life. The book of Job is a tale of Job losing these important pieces of his life, and spending a majority of the book lamenting and conversing with God about his toils. Then in Chapter 38, the chapter we read from this morning, God turns the tables on him. God reminds Job that it is not Job that causes the world to exist as it does, but God. It is God that, “laid the foundation of the earth… determined its measurements… and prescribed bounds for it.” It is God that was, is, and will be there in the darkest of our storms, and the happiest of our joys. God was there before the lights were turned on, and will be there after the lights go out. Back to poor Job, at the end of the story, Job gets back his family, his livestock and everything he owned, twicefold. For undergoing the immense hardship, Job survived for a time and got everything back. Job had the roughest of life’s transitional periods, but he made it through.
“We have spoken frankly to you…; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.” (2 Corinthians 6:11-13)
Paul writes that invitation to us all – “open wide your hearts also…” As part of my summer’s studies, I was here in Morris this week trying to get at the question – What can a small Minnesotan rural congregation do for those on the margins of our society? To ask it better, what can First Lutheran do for the impoverished, the minority, the differently-abled, the sick, the elderly, and the immigrant? I’m speaking frankly to you, now, as Paul did to the Corinthians. There are roughly 3-500 Latina immigrants living in Stevens County these days. Assumption Catholic Church next door has Saturday evening mass in Spanish. Morris Evangelical Free has a full-time Latino pastor that leads services in Spanish on Sunday nights. Faith Lutheran has held events for Latina organizations. How is First Lutheran welcoming of our Latina neighbors? What outreach has First Lutheran done to our Latina neighbors? What have you personally done to welcome your neighbors?
Don’t hear this as me telling you to fill these pews. Don’t hear this as me telling you the church is dying and we need new life in this church. That is not what I am saying. Well, what am I saying then? I’m saying that we are the disciples in the boat, and First Lutheran has yet to set sail. As Chris wrote in the newsletter this past month, this congregation needs a communal project to work on, to bring people together in unity. First Lutheran needs an identity, beyond being the big church next to the courthouse, and home to many of us for many years.
This congregation raised me, formed me, supported me, confirmed me, sent me to seminary, and helps sustain me at seminary. This congregation and community have been my home. First Lutheran has been home to many of us for many years. For some, the walls in this building speak volumes to the great times we’ve had, to the sad times we’ve had. These walls are our home.
Now it’s time to let this home belong to others as well. What use is a courtyard if it’s locked and fenced off? What are your visions for this congregation? What are your dreams? This is not about survival, but revival. This is not about holding on to traditions, but starting new ones. Jesus and his disciples got into the boat and set sail, why again? To get to the other side of course! (Had to make sure you were still with me again…) (Hold on, I’m almost done…)
Morris has a vibrant history, filled with the realities of mashing seemingly disparate communities together. From the town’s beginnings where Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Irish and Swiss came together on this patch of ground to make new lives out of the soil. From these farms came community, churches, schools, identity. Lutherans came together and formed this congregation. Trinity Lutheran in Alberta is celebrating its 100th Anniversary today. We celebrated that many years ago. First Lutheran has its name because it was the first Lutheran congregation in Morris to offer English services. The common language brought people together, and together this congregation had an identity. Later on, the Indian boarding school became the West Central School of Agriculture. In the 1960’s, my Great-Uncle Herb Croom helped bring the University of Minnesota to Morris, where the University has lived and thrived to this day, becoming one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country.
Morris is the town that it is, because of the communities it has brought together. Morris is what it is, because people desiring a growing community came together in a boat, and set sail together. Sure there were storms along the way. What change doesn’t happen without its death-inciting storms along the way? All along, in every merging of realities, in every new identity formed, God was there to rebuke the storms, saying “Peace. Be Still.” In every transition henceforth, in every growth-inducing measure, in every neighbor you welcome to your table, God will be there to quiet the storms in your heart.
In the ultimate quieting of the storms, Jesus hung on a cross to die, so that all of life’s storms could be quieted. So that all are saved by God’s saving grace, in our most troubling times. When the wind and the waves are at their strongest, God will be there to be your sanctuary. When even sanctuaries are no longer sanctuaries, God is still there, in the chaos, in the sadness, in the brokenness. Racism persists to this day, and the tragedies of last week and the last few years have proven that this country is still broken, but not irreparable. Over 150 years have passed since the abolishment of slavery, and we have a black man as president.
The transition from institutional slavery to a black president has been a very hard battle; a very strong storm, but God was, is and will be there to calm the storm. We have not capsized as a nation yet. We have a long way to get to the other side, but forming community right here, in Morris, Minnesota is one way to stem the evil tide of racism. Show Minnesota what forming community in a rural small town looks like. Show the United States what forming community with your Latino neighbors looks like. Extend the welcome to your neighbors, so that all may truly be welcome. God is there to quiet the storm when you hit it. Are you ready to set sail?
Amen.
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