"Rescue At Sea" - John 6:16-21 - May 27, 2001

The Vagabond was sailing across the Mediterranean when it got caught in a gale. During such terrific storms sailors attach themselves to the boat with a harness. It is clipped to one of the lifelines in case you are thrown overboard. If you do not keep yourself connected to the boat and have the unfortunate experience of being thrown off your chances of survival are very bleak.

Ingrid Bergstrom had just stepped into the cockpit from the companionway. Before she could clip herself to the clip-point, she was tossed overboard during the storm in the middle of the night. Her husband, Sven, rang a deck bell and summoned Leif, to man the helm. Meanwhile, Sven said, "Hold this course." He then went below and started making some calculations at the chart table. He figured the ground that was lost due to drift and the wind. He figured the winds, waves and the boat’s speed. He determined a reciprocal course and then had Leif turn the boat around and they headed in the opposite direction.

They began to look for Ingrid, and after a short time they found her and got her back aboard. This was a rare miracle. Fortunately the story has a happy ending since Ingrid was rescued at sea. (From Sea Change, by Peter Nichols)

Sailors who sail alone rely on safety harnesses to enable them to return to the boat if they have been tossed off during rough weather. Without them they would surely perish. The same is true for our faith. We depend upon our faith to "save" us from perilous times and circumstances. Faith is what enables us to endure the storms of life. Faith is our lifeline.

There are times when someone who is very close to us, like Ingrid’s husband, Leif, comes to our rescue. Those are the times we are grateful that there is someone to watch over us, who cares for us and rescues us when we begin to sink. But, there are other times when the one who rescues us is a complete stranger.

Recently I was sailing in the Chesapeake Bay. After debarking from our marina we soon discovered that our instruments did not work. On modern sail boats you have electronic devices that tell you your speed, wind direction, course and the depth of the water below the keel. We could have navigated our way down the bay as ancient sailors before us, however we modern sailors depend on our electronic equipment.

There was nothing to do but return to the dock. We called for assistance and waited for help. We were afraid of being caught in a storm or running aground. Assistance came, only it wasn’t Jesus who came, it was Ben, a charter company technician. He solved our problem and we once again set sail. The charter company technician had come to our rescue. It seems that some switches had been rewired and we had no way of knowing that a change had been made and therefore which one would turn on the instruments.

One of life’s frustrations is to depend on other people. They are not always reliable. They sometimes do things that aggravate the heck out of us. When they fail to communicate changes it can be very upsetting and may even risk our lives.

Storms are not always the result of our making. There are times when other people darken our skies with clouds because of their unreliability or carelessness. All of us have had experiences when we have done our best only to have forces prevail against us which are beyond our control.

The disciples were getting nowhere. They were rowing hard all night, but the storm was too great for them to continue. They found themselves in a violent storm. They too needed assistance. That is exactly when Jesus appeared, walking on the water. God assured them of God’s presence in the midst of a storm. "Do not be afraid," Jesus said, "I is I".

There are times in life when it seems as though that God doesn’t care or that God is nowhere in sight. Those are the times we are filled with fear, afraid of what might happen. Imagine that you were a sailor crossing the ocean. You are the only person on board. You are doing everything by yourself, navigating, steering, tending to the sails. Suddenly a storm arises and blows you off the stern. But, like Ingrid, you have not clipped yourself to the lifeline.

You find yourself in the ocean, swimming desperately, trying to stay afloat. Meanwhile, your sailboat is headed on a course away from you. You cannot possibly swim fast enough to catch it. There is no one to rescue you.

This is how we feel when the storms of life suddenly overwhelm us. Storms for example like, losing someone who is very close, losing our jobs, or having our home burned to the ground. Perhaps its the frustrations of raising children, paying all the bills or losing our health. Maybe it is just getting older.

We wonder if God cares. Those are the times it is necessary to keep ourselves attached to the lifeline. Only it isn’t a line, connected to the boat that will save us. It is our faith in God, who has promised we are never alone. Even in a situation like bobbing up and down in the middle of the ocean, we are still not alone. God is with us. God was with the disciples in their darkest hour and God will be with us during ours.

Just because we have faith does not mean we will not face storms. It does not mean that life will be fair and that there won’t be times when a storm appears out of nowhere. Faith gives us the assurance that we are not alone. Just as Jesus was close to the disciples, God is also close to us.

Sometimes we are rescued by people we know. Sometimes we are rescued by complete strangers. Sometimes we are rescued by circumstances beyond our wildest dreams. There was a man, sailing in San Francisco Bay, who was blown overboard during a storm. He had one of those distress signal devices, attached to his belt. No other boats were in the area and no one knew he had been sailing in the bay. He would soon perish.

Meanwhile there was a ham operator in North Dakota who picked up a faint, beeping signal on his radio. He notified the US Coast Guard, and within the hour, they managed to locate the man and bring him safely to shore. These were two individuals who did not know that the other existed.

The God who cares for us comes to us in ways cannot always explain, like walking on the water. God assures us that in the midst of the storms of life, God is with us. We are never alone.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio