IN 1991, THE NATIONAL WEATHER

SERVICE TRACKED A NOR’EASTER

THAT ABSORBED HURRICANE GRACE

AND ULTIMATELY EVOLVED INTO A

SMALL HURRICANE LATE IN ITS LIFE

CYCLE…

THE INITIAL AREA OF LOW PRESSURE

DEVELOPED OFF ATLANTIC CANADA

AND WAS FORCED SOUTHWARD BY A

RIDGE TO ITS NORTH…

IT THEN REACHED ITS PEAK INTENSITY

AS A LARGE AND POWERFUL CYCLONE.

THE LASHED THE EAST COAST

OF THE UNITED STATES WITH HIGH

WAVES AND …

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MOVING OVER WARMER WATERS,

THE SYSTEM TRANSITIONED INTO A

SUBTROPICAL CYCLONE BEFORE BECOMING

A TROPICAL STORM…

ON NOVEMBER 1ST, THE SYSTEM EVOLVED

INTO A FULL FLEDGED HURRICANE WITH PEAK

WINDS OF 75 MILES PER HOUR…IT LATER

RECEIVED THE NAME, ‘THE PERFECT STORM’…

DAMAGE FROM THE STORM TOTALED

OVER $200 MILLION AND THE DEATH TOLL

WAS THIRTEEN…

ASIDE FROM TIDAL FLOODING ALONG

RIVERS, THE STORM’S EFFECTS WERE PRIMARILY

CONCENTRATED ALONG THE COAST…

A BUOY OFF THE COAST OF NOVA

SCOTIA REPORTED A WAVE HEIGHT

OF 100 FEET, THE HIGHEST EVER

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RECORDED IN THE PROVINCE’S

OFFSHORE WATERS…

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM,

THE ANDREA GALE SANK, KILLING

ITS CREW OF SIX AND INSPIRING THE

BOOK, AND LATER MOVIE, ‘THE PERFECT STORM’…

THAT TERM, ‘PERFECT STORM’ GREW

OUT OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN

BOSTON NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

FORECASTER ROBERT CASE AND AUTHOR

SEBASTIAN JUNGER…

IT HAS BECOME PART OF OUR

POPULAR CULTURE AND IS AN

EXPRESSION THAT NOW DESCRIBES

AN EVENT WHERE A RARE COMBINATION

OF CIRCUMSTANCES AGGRAVATE A SITUATION

DRASTICALLY…

HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/1991_PERFECT_STORM

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IN A WAY, THE

SITUATION THE DISCIPLES FOUND THEMSELVES

IN IN OUR GOSPEL TEXT COULD BE DESCRIBED AS A ‘PERFECT

STORM’…

SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS ON 3 SIDES,

AND MEASURING ONLY 4 MILES ACROSS,

THE SEA OF GALILEE WAS A PRIME TARGET

FOR THE MOST FEROCIOUS ONSLAUGHTS OF

NATURE…

FOLLOWING HIS DISCOURSE IN PARABLES

ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD,

JESUS URGED HIS DISCIPLES TO LEAVE THE

CROWDS BEHIND, GET INTO THEIR BOAT

AND GO OVER WITH HIM TO THE OTHER SIDE OF

THE LAKE…

MOST OF THEM, BEING EXPERIENCED

FISHERMEN, WOULDN’T HAVE THOUGHT

ANYTHING OF IT, BUT THEN A FURIOUS

SQUALL CAME UP AND THE WAVES BROKE

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OVER THE BOAT, SO THAT IT WAS

NEARLY SWAMPED…

AMAZINGLY, LIKE JONAH, JESUS

WAS SLEEPING DURING THE STORM,

AND HE HAD TO BE AWAKENED BY

A TERRIFIED SHIPMATE WHO PLIED

WITH THE QUESTION, ‘DON’T YOU

CARE IF WE DROWN?’

HE GOT UP, REBUKED THE WIND,

SAID TO THE WAVES, ‘BE STILL’

AND PEACE WAS RESTORED…

RECALLING THE TRIUMPH OF GOD

IN GENESIS OVER THE RAGING WATERS,

THIS STORY SUGGESTS THAT SATAN’S

WEAPONS OF CHAOS AND FURY ARE NO

MATCH FOR THE SON OF GOD…

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JESUS NEXT CHIDED HIS DISCIPLES

FOR THEIR FEAR AND LACK OF FAITH…

NOW FRANKLY, I THINK THAT THIS

IS KIND OF HARSH – BEING

EXPERIENCED SAILORS, THEY KNEW

THE POWER OF NATURE AND HOW

DEADLY IT COULD BE ON THE LAKE,

AND THEY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN

HUMAN IF THEY DIDN’T FEAR ITS

MIGHTY WRATH…

BUT ST. MARK’S POINT HERE IS THAT

IF THE DISCIPLES KNEW WHO JESUS

TRULY WAS, THEY WOULD HAVE TRUSTED

HIS ABILITY TO KEEP THEM SAFE…

YEAH, POINT WELL TAKEN, BUT I

WONDER WHAT ST MARK WOULD’VE

SAID, IF HE WERE IN THAT BOAT WITH

THE DISCIPLES..I WONDER IF IT IS REALISTIC

TO THINK THAT FAITH WIPES OUT ANY HINT

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OF FEAR OR DOUBT IN THE FACE OF

TRAUMA AND CHAOS? I WONDER?

WE ALL KNOW THAT ST. MARK’S

DISCIPLES HAD JUST BEEN ENLIGHTENED

BY JESUS’ TEACHING IN PARABLES AND THAT

HE WOULD CONTINUE HIS MISSION WITH DEEDS

OF EXTRAORDINARY POWER, BUT IN THE END THEY WOULD

FAIL TO UNDERSTAND WHO JESUS REALLY WAS…

IT WOULD TAKE AN ACT OF GOD

EQUAL TO THE GLORY OF CREATION (EASTER)

TO GET THEM TO CONNECT THE DOTS…

BUT WHO ARE

THESE DISCIPLES?

ARE THEY JUST 1ST CENTURY

FOLLOWERS OF A JEWISH PROPHET, WISE MAN AND RABBI,

OR ARE THEY SOMETHING ELSE?

I WOULD SUBMIT TO YOU THAT

THEY ARE SOMETHING ELSE – THEY ARE US –

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WE, WHO HAVE

THE BENEFIT OF 2000 YEARS OF

WISDOM ABOUT THE MAN FROM

NAZARETH, AND STAND ON THE SHOULDERS

OF THOUSANDS, IF NOT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SAINTS

WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN THE

NAME OF JESUS..

STILL FIND

OURSELVES PARALYZED BY FEAR, DOUBT AND

MISUNDERSTANDING AS WE TRY TO

NEGOTIATE THE PERFECT STORM THAT IS

OUR LIFE OF FAITH…

ST MARK’S IMAGE OF THE DISCIPLES

CAUGHT IN A SQUALL ON THE SEA OF

GALILEE, IS JUST AS POWERFUL AND DISHEARTENING NOW

AS IT WAS 20 CENTURIES AGO…

NOTHING HAS CHANGED – THE FOLLOWERS

OF JESUS ARE JUST AS FLAWED AND UNCOMPREHENDING

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NOW AS THEY WERE IN HIS LIFETIME…

BUT THE REAL QUESTION IS, WHERE IS GOD IN THIS

TRAGIC DRAMA? I WOULD

SUGGEST THAT HE IS PLAYING THE SAME

ROLE TODAY THAT HE DID 2000 YRS AGO - TEACHING,

PREACHING AND PERFORMING

EXTRAORDINARY ACTS FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE

LIKE YOU AND LIKE ME – THE QUESTION IS, DO WE

SEE HIM – DO WE FEEL HIM – DO WE HEAR HIM –

GOD’S PRESENCE IS NOT ALWAYS SO

OBVIOUS – BUT THE ONLY WAY WE

CAN DETECT HIM IS IF WE, LIKE A RADIO, ARE TURNED ON

AND TUNED IN –

THIS TAKES WORK, IT TAKES DISCIPLINE,

IT TAKES KNOWING HOW TO QUIET DOWN

AND LISTEN TO A STILL SMALL VOICE EVEN IN

MIDST OF THE DEAFENING CACOPHONY THAT IS

EVERYDAY LIFE IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA…

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THE DISCIPLES OF ST MARK’S GOSPEL

DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHO JESUS

WAS DURING HIS MINISTRY BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT FOCUSED –

THEY WEREN’T TURNED ON OR TUNED IN…

BUT WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING HEIRS OF

THE GLAD GOOD NEWS OF EASTER MORNING AND

OF FOLLOWING THE SPIRITUAL PATHWAY OF THE

SAINTS THAT LEADS FROM SILENCE TO MEDITATIVE

READING, TO REFLECTION, TO PRAYER AND

FINALLY TO CONTEMPLATION

WE HAVE A WONDERFUL SPIRITUAL

LEGACY TO DRAW UPON AS WE,

ENGAGE WITH THE INEVITABLE

STORMS OF OUR LIVES

AND WE HAVE

SO MUCH WE CAN LEARN TOGETHER

AS FALL APPROACHES AND WE BEGIN

OUR FULL SCHEDULE OF BIBLE STUDIES

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UPCOMING SERMON SERIES ON

THE WAR

WITHIN AND FASCINATING STORIES

ABOUT FORGOTTEN LIVES IN THE BIBLE,

WILL HOPEFULLY GUIDE US IN THIS RIGOROUS

DISCIPLINE OF TURNING ON AND TUNING IN

TO THE MASTER WHO IS, AND ALWAYS

HAS BEEN, LORD OF SEA AND SKY – THE ONE

WHO ASKS THE ETERNAL QUESTIONS – WHO

WILL BEAR HIS LIGHT -

WHO WILL SPEAK HIS WORD –

WHO WILL GIVE HIS LIFE TO HIS PEOPLE ?

MAY THE OBVIOUS ANSWER BE –

HERE I AM, LORD,

I HAVE HEARD YOU CALLING IN

THE NIGHT – I WILL GO –

I WILL HOLD YOUR PEOPLE IN MY HEART… (Hymn 574)

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