“Uncertainty, A Lifelong Reality”


Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – August 9, 2020

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 105:1-7; Matthew 14:22-32

    
    Our Gospel lesson is one of the more challenging episodes that has been preserved. It describes Jesus walking on the water. How easy it is for us to dismiss this story because we know that no one walks on water.  We are also aware that there was no particular need or redeeming value that would have caused Jesus to do so. Why was this account recorded in three of the Gospels?  What lesson can we learn from reading this passage?

    As with many Scriptures, we can refuse to believe what was written but often we cannot deny what the episode is teaching us.  Only in the text of Matthew do we find Peter's desire to come to him on the water.  Jesus told him to get out of the boat.  Peter did so and was initially managing quite well as long as he was concentrating on Jesus' invitation to come to him. 

    However, the winds and the waves interrupted what he was doing with fear and uncertainty.  As Peter was sinking, he called out, "Save me, Lord!"  This lesson is an illustration of how quickly our trust can be replaced with the fears associated with the uncertainty created by what is happening.

    We can remember a similar episode that was teaching the same lesson. We can recall the strong storm that overtook a fishing boat with Jesus and some of his disciples on board.  The men awakened Jesus who commanded the wind and the waves to be still.  Suddenly there was a great calm.

    We can take the viewpoint that Jesus had the ability to control weather patterns.  However, in doing so we can miss the lesson. Fear of sinking with Jesus on board introduced doubt and uncertainty into the disciples' lives. Their trust in Jesus' presence was not helpful.  In both of these episodes, Jesus asked, "Why were you so frightened?  Do you still have no trust in me?"  (Mark 4:40)

    A time came in my life where I needed to take better care of my health.  I began to exercise every day by running early in the morning.  Later I switched to exercising on a treadmill and a stationary bike.  Using these machines became boring and monotonous until I bought earphones and began to listen to audio tapes. 

    These tapes took me into other worlds of well-known men and women who had conquered the distractions caused by living in a very stimulating world. One of these personalities was a world-renown physician, Dr. Bernie Siegal, who wrote books, and was often invited to be the guest-speaker for various medical associations.  He was a pioneer in connecting the importance of a person's daily attitudes to the general well-being of their bodies.  Thousands of years ago, Jesus was teaching the same thing.

    Dr. Siegal's best-known books have compelling titles, Love, Medicine and Miracles, The Art of Healing, and A Book of Miracles.  His experiences are among the most fascinating and profound that I have ever heard.  His words kept me riveted to the point where boredom and monotony were no longer present during my exercise routines.

    One example dealt with a gardener, who was having sharp pains in his abdomen. After several tests, Dr. Siegal learned that his new client had cancer that had metastasized to most of his internal organs.  Such markers would suggest that he did not have much time to live.  The man asked what he should do and Dr. Siegal said, "I would recommend surgery, radiation, and a regiment of chemotherapy."  To Siegal's surprise, the man said,

I don't have time for any of this right now.  This is my busy season.  I am a gardener and my clients depend on me.  What do you recommend for a person in my situation?   

    Dr. Siegal responded, "You've got to do what you've got to do.  Why don't you book an appointment now and come back to see me in six months?" Siegal knew that the man would succumb to his condition long before his next appointment.

    Six months went by and the gardener showed up and was sitting in the waiting room looking quite fit.  Siegal could not believe it!  He checked with his staff to see if this was the same man whom he had seen six months earlier.  It was.  He sent the man for more tests.  The test all came back negative.  There was no trace of cancer in his body.

    Dr. Siegal concluded that the man's mind literally set his sights on the clients that needed him and that his body responded by cancelling the cancer.  His mind healed his body. The gardener had little or no understanding of what was meant by surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy nor had he grasped the implications of waiting another six months.

    Dr. Siegal likened any spontaneous remission to a teenage boy who lifted a car that had fallen off its jack, pinning his father.  Without thinking, the boy rushed to his father's aid, lifted the car and freed him. There is no way that a teenager can lift a car, but he saved his father's life by doing so.

    Most of Siegal's stories are totally outside the normal boundaries set by medical knowledge. He is the only physician who coached a client to conquer ALS.  This terminal condition was named after a well-known baseball player who died from it.  Lou Gehrig played first base for 17 seasons for the New York Yankees.

    Think about this.  Remember the woman who hemorrhaged for twelve years.  She said, "If only I can touch the hem of Jesus' cloak, I will be healed." How would touching an article of clothing heal anyone? But she touched the hem of Jesus' cloak and her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus saw her and said, "Your faith has made you well." (Matthew 9:22)

    A woman in my past was healed of cancer by having a practitioner lay crystals on key areas of her body.  It is difficult to believe that crystals had anything to do with her healing.  However, her belief in the miraculous healing qualities of crystals was as ironclad as the beliefs of the gardener in Siegal's experience. Dr. Siegal firmly believes that countless people have the potential to heal themselves.

    Some of us may recall an experiment that was done some years ago by surgeons.  They were asked to come into their patient's room and say: "Tomorrow is your procedure.  I would like to have a prayer with you."  The doctor was instructed to take the hand of the patient and ask God for God's presence and guidance during the surgery.

    The results got the attention of even physicians who were agnostics.  The cure rate skyrocketed over the control group that had no prayers offered.  The experiment of having a prayer with the doctor helped to remove the fear and uncertainty that many patients have the night before the procedure. No matter how awkward it was for many physicians to follow through, the practice of praying with a patient made all the difference in the world to them. Dr. Bernie Siegal was well-aware that our bodies are often a printout of what is going on inside of us. 

    Jesus once told a great teacher in Israel, "Unless you change your attitudes, you will never live in the Kingdom of God." (John 3:7) The Apostle Paul challenged his readers when he wrote, "Do not seek your truth by looking for it in the world, but allow your divine nature to transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind." (Romans 12:2)

    Only the wise listen to the still, small voice within them that asks, "What are you doing here?" (1st Kings 19:13b) THAT is an excellent question that Elijah had to answer from God who was asking. The world cannot take away our uncertainty and fear simply by changing the scenery.  Change is the only constant in our world filled with people who are slowly evolving spiritually.

    There is no magical formula for healing our bodies.  Everyone responds to their life-experiences differently. 

    My brother's wife had terminal pancreatic cancer.  She accepted her condition, obeyed the medical protocols, and went on living.  She continued to teach Sunday school, sing in the choir, and communicate that cancer will never win. Her trust in God's loving presence never wavered.  Mary Ann was walking on the water and never became distracted.  She was totally aware of God's presence even during her final week that ended on Palm Sunday two years ago.  She said:

Cancer can only claim my body. That is where cancer's contagion ends.  My spirit will keep on singing until I draw my last breath.  When that happens, I will be with God.  What could possibly be better than that?   We all have to die of something. People need to learn to sing every day during the time that they have left. 

    Our task is to let our trust in God show up every day in our physiology and in our spirit.  Every bad day comes from a host of decisions that we make. Since we are totally responsible for the attitudes that we display every day, let us rejoice and be glad in each one that greets us every morning.

     

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Merciful God, we thank you for surrounding us with treasures that can be discovered and used by everyone.  Yet those treasures are like a burning bush.  As Moses turned aside to seek your presence, so must we.  It is we who must search for your guidance.  It is we who must desire peace, kindness, and compassion when there are moments when we experience the temptation to respond otherwise. You designed us for growth while leaving the pace of that growth up to us.  With grateful hearts, we come this morning celebrating our faith and our journey with you.  Amen.

     

PASTORAL PRAYER

Loving God, we are so thankful for our lives and the beautiful tapestry that can be created when we allow our lives to happen through our kind and loving choices. They have a way of weaving the threads of our bittersweet moments into a work of art. 

So many times, we become caught in the midst of an experience that we feel is so unjust and unfair, without ever knowing how that experience might be preparing us for a more fulfilling future.  We are quick to judge our circumstances without knowing how one piece of the puzzle fits so perfectly into another when we greet each moment with gratitude.  We marvel at how failure can lead to an open door, how a fractured relationship can lead to one that heals, how a major change in our lives may lead to the deepening of our trust in you. 

Help us, O God, to trust your guidance in how we interpret the unfolding of our lives.  Only when we doubt your presence do we find ourselves blind, lost, and overcome with a feeling of being alone.  Help us to remember that when others are struggling with the challenges of living, we might help them to find hope by allowing others to see how we are dealing with life's uncertainties. We pray these thoughts through the spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught us to say when we pray . . .