God’s Calling in ExistenceOur Gospel text today, it seems to me, is highly appropriate for a day on which we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Baptism. For it speaks to us of God’s faithfulness in his calling and constant presence in our lives.The drama of the story, of course, is the storm that threatens to envelop the disciples’ boat and their panicked cry as they wake their Master to inform him of the danger. But consider the beginning of this story: ‘One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake”’.The initiative was Jesus’s. He called the disciples to get into that boat and go, knowing full well the danger that they would face. The same is true of us and of our lives.The fact that we are called by God is true whether or not we are aware of it. The twentieth-century German philosopher Martin Heidegger spoke about the way that human beings are “thrown” into the world without having chosen anything about their lives: the time and place they are born, the social context – rich or poor, and even the condition of existence itself. We do not choose to exist. We simply find ourselves in this world – both existing and existing in a certain condition.So if we are indeed thrown into the world then we might infer that there is someone who throws us into it. Or we might say that there is someone who calls us into existence. Why does God do this? The answer is simple: so that we might love him and respond to him: there’s a hymn that captures this idea nicely. It says that God ‘calls us out of nothingness to find in him a resting place’.God’s Calling in ActionSo we might say that God calls us to be. And in our story we also see that he calls us to do. He calls us to act. As Jesus calls the disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side, so we are to respond in this life to God’s calling to us. How it works out precisely is different for each one of us, but the basic call from God to humanity finds its most potent symbol in the cross of Jesus Christ: there we see the sinfulness of humanity atoned for by the once-for-all sacrifice of the Son of God and this so that we might be brought back into relationship with God, our transgressions having been forever put away and the demonic powers that held sway over us decisively banished.But the calling to each one of us is also different and personal: to me it is to be a priest, a father, a husband. But the point is to listen for that call and to respond. As we baptise today, it is a good time to remind ourselves of this and to ask: “Lord, what are you calling me to?” and “Am I trying at least to fulfil that purpose with my life?”God’s Calling and the StormWhen the storm threatens to overwhelm the ship, we see that disciples are still in an early period of spiritual formation. This is because they don’t understand the calling of God. They don’t recognise the power of Jesus Christ, who is so unconcerned about the storm that he falls asleep in the stern of the boat.Why does he fall asleep? Why does he give the impression that he is absent and that he will not be able or willing to help? The reason can only be that he is seeking a response: the response of faith. This spiritual lesson is articulated in many ways in Scripture. For example, in the Book of James 1:2-4:Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.The testing of your faith – this is what the disciples faced as their ship filled up with water and threatened to be overturned. What was this for? That it might produce in them steadfastness. In the King James Version of Scripture the word for steadfastness here is “patience” and it can be defined as ‘the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings’. In modern day language, we might say that this quality can be described as “grit”, “determination”, “endurance”.But how does the testing of our faith produce steadfastness? Because it gives us an opportunity to practice entrusting ourselves to God and to turn our minds to him, to his power, and to his faithfulness. And, after a time, this becomes habitual.So here the disciples fail the test. We all do sometimes. They panic and their words speak of the unbelief for which Christ rebukes them later, “Master, master, we are perishing!” How easy it is to panic. How easy it is to give in to unbelief. But what might a different response have looked like?For a start, it would have involved the recognition that Jesus got them into this situation in the first place. He called them out to go to the other side of the lake. He wanted them there. Was this not for a purpose? Would he not demonstrate his power, his faithfulness, his wisdom in providing exactly what they needed when faced with this deadly squall?So too for us when we find ourselves in the storms of the spiritual life: when we are beset by anxiety, misery or discouragement. Let us not panic and fear, but let us call to mind the promises of God: ‘And I am sure of this’, wrote the Apostle Paul to the Philippian believers, ‘that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ’ (Phil. 1:6).There is a notorious building in Pyongyang in North Korea called the Ryugyong Hotel. This hotel is an enormous, pyramid-shaped structure which was intended for several uses alongside its principle function. Construction began in 1987, was halted in 1992, resumed in 2008 and was halted again in 2011. It was meant to open partially in 2013 but this too was cancelled. Now the Ryugyong Hotel is the world’s tallest, unoccupied building and it is used principally to display North Korean propaganda via an LCD display which has been installed on one its sides.I mention this in order to make the point that God’s calling to us in this life is very different to the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel. He will not leave his purposes for us unfulfilled but he will bring them to their completion. And we know this because he calls us and therefore he will provide for us. Again, as the Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians, ‘The one who calls you is faithful. And he will do it’ (1 Thess. 5:24).When we find ourselves confronted by challenges, obstacles, hardships, sufferings; when we are tempted to panic and to doubt that we will ever find a way to the shores of peace, let us remember that is not we who brought ourselves here – either into this world or into the life of faith – but it was and is from God.The Fear of the LordI want to pick up on one final thing, which is the response of the disciples to Christ’s stilling of the storm: ‘He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marvelled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”There is a Proverb that says ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ (Proverbs 9:10) and we see something of that wisdom dawning upon the disciples in this moment.They had been afraid of the wind and the raging waves. But then they recognised that asleep in the stern of their boat had been one who had a greater power still, a power to silence the forces of nature with only a word. And being made afraid, they marvelled.This text demonstrates the truth that we all fear something in this world. That is, we all recognise that there are powers that can destroy us all in a moment. For fisherman such as James, John and Simon Peter, their respect for the power of nature would have been paramount. They knew, when they encountered this power, that they were utterly outmatched. But in this moment their fear was transferred from the power of nature to the power of God dwelling in Christ who was in their midst.Let’s translate this to our own situation: the fear of the Lord is to not allow the circumstances or discouragements that we face dominate or destroy us. Why? Because we know that the ultimate power belongs to God and not to our enemies. And we fear to walk away from him and we fear that his power might not be used in our defence and deliverance. That is the fear of the Lord.And so this is a salutary word to those who have been walking with the Lord for many years and to those who are joining the Church this very day: Fear the Lord. Fear not that he will destroy you but what it would mean if his power were not deployed in your service as a friend and as a father. Fear to entrust yourself to a lesser god – to your own strength or to the powers of fate or chance or material causation. Recognise that the ultimate power belongs to him and that he is indeed on your side.So friends, as we both baptise and renew our baptismal vows today, let us once again pledge ourselves to the service of God. Let us remember that he has called us to follow him in faithfulness. Let us remember the specific callings that he has placed upon our lives and entrust ourselves to him, beseeching him for his provision and help. And let us fear the Lord all the days of our life until the day he brings us to the peaceful shores on the other side of the sea.In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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