“The Other Side” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on June 20, 2021. This was my sermon of the two sermons preached by me and one of my colleagues that day. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 43:10.
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Scripture Texts:
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
Mark 4:35-41
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Two years ago to this day, I was on the Isle of Iona in Scotland on a pilgrimage with a handful of other young adults. We were there to retreat and worship with the ecumenical worshipping community of Iona, which some of you have learned about from our recent Thursday prayer services. Now the weather in Scotland in mid-June is mostly drizzling rain; constantly wet but not terrible. You actually get used to it. But this day was a little different. This day was different. It was different because that day it was pouring. Not only were we just wet; we were soaked to the bone. And this was before the day even had completely begun because this day we had something special planned. We were going on a boat tour… on the one day in Scotland it was pouring.
As we arrived at the boat, we could already see the waves crashing aggressively, making all the boats in the harbor aggressively go up and down, side to side. After giving us oversized rubber yellow ponchos to where, not that it mattered as we were already soaked by the rain -- After giving us oversized rubber yellow ponchos to where, I remember two rules that went over before the tour. One, feel free to climb to the upper deck where one would sway from the waves for the full “storm-in-a-boat” experience, but make sure you hang on tight to the handles lest you fly overboard. And two, feel free to huddle under one of the benches and hug a bucket if the storm is too much for you, but make sure hang out tight to that bucket lest its content soon become you or your neighbor’s newest outfit.
Fortunately for me, getting sea sick is not my affliction, and so a friend and I headed to the upper deck. Through wind and rain, we flew through the air, being tossed up and about by the boat racing through the storm. No weather would stop this vessel from crossing to the other side. And I admit, I felt no fear; only exhilaration. But this physical experiencing of a storm while in a boat was a perfect metaphor for another moment I was currently experiencing.
You see, right before I left for Scotland for two weeks, a Mr. Chip Layfield, chair of the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee from First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, reached out to me saying a friend recommended the committee reach out to me and ask for me to apply for their Pastor for Youth and Faith Formation position. One of the very last things I did days before I left for my pilgrimage was send the APNC my application and resume. And I think just moments before I left for trip was we scheduled a time for my first interview with the team. And for some reason, I think I knew in my heart of hearts, that no matter the outcome, that first conversation would be life-changing.
You see, every great moment of transition in which we are called to “go across to the other side,” whatever that other side may be, feels like there’s a storm we must navigate first. And that’s terrifying.
The moments before you marry your partner. Buying a house for the first time. Interviewing for the dream job. The birth of a child. Making a great move across the country. The death of a parent. Figuring out what to do in retirement. Graduating high school and figuring out what to do next. Navigating a pandemic. Staying with a church as it experiences an identity crisis. All of these moments have storms to cross. And for us, these storms are becoming quite familiar.
And although we weather through these storms together, we each have our own reactions to it. I think of our high schoolers. Those who graduation experience was nothing like ours. Our 2020 and 2021 graduates graduated in a pandemic, with virtual classrooms and mask requirements. With sports and productions always on risk of being cancelled because another student or teacher becomes sick. What did our students lose this year? And why did they continue to push to get to that other side? What can we learn from them?
At the very least, we must admire our students and learn from their journey. Because every day journeyed toward the “other side” – the what is to come. Every day our students crossed a barrier that had been built. Their strength and courage literally broke down the walls that were built to stop them in their tracks.
This story in the Gospel of Mark tells of a Savior who journeyed to the other even in a storm because when the Word became Flesh and shared in our humanity, Christ knew that his creation – humankind – would journey through storms of our own throughout our lives.
This year has a been a storm. The pandemic. Systematic racism. Political tension. Riots and uprisings. Murders and mass shootings. And a church that is figuring out its role in all of it.
Our students face another journey ahead of them – the what is to come. And so do we. Each of us, whether we like it or not, are on this boat in the storm. Some of us may feel the call to go the upper deck and embrace the full experience. And some of us may need to huddle under one of the benches just to stay healthy and sane. Each response is valid. No matter how we weather this storm, Christ is there with us.
Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Mark following the stormy boat ride to the other side is full of stories of compassion, of healing, of feeding, of inclusion, of radical hospitality. The other side is a drawing of the kingdom of God here on earth. And we too are called to be a part of that kingdom.
So as we continue to navigate – to sway and to brace – the storms in our lives; what will our other side look like? Will there be more compassion, less consumption, more simplicity, less profit-taking, more neighborliness, less racism? Will there be more grace and less criticism? Will there be more community and less hierarchy? Will there be more love and less hate? Will the other side we are journeying toward be the kingdom of God like it is intended to be?
Are you willing to go there? God as guide; hang on tight. We’ll get through this. After all, we follow a Savior who even the wind and the sea obeys. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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