This past week, I was surfing the internet and came across a website, “Yahoo! Answers,” where a “big question” is posed and then people can send in their responses.  Not long ago, the “big question” the website presented was this: “Can you go to heaven without going to church?”[1]  As you might imagine, some of the responses were very interesting. 

 

Here’s one I liked.  “Can you go to heaven without going to church?”  Response: “All that is important is that you believe in Jesus.  However, Christian fellowship helps strengthen one's faith.  There will be trials and tribulations in life -- will you be able to handle all of them alone?”

 

Here’s a response I didn’t like.  “Can you go to heaven without going to church?”  Response: “Absolutely!  Believe in God but do NOT believe in church.  Church is the devil, and I mean that in all seriousness.  It's a great place to be scammed out of money or guilted into giving it.  But God is something private between you and him.  Go with God.  Skip church.”

 

And here’s a response that conjured some interesting images.  ”Think of the church as a boat in an ocean.  You can probably swim the ocean and get to the other side, but I'd watch out for the sharks.  Not everyone in the boat are the best of people, but which would you rather take your chances with?”

 

Well, you’ve heard me mention before that the boat has long been used as a symbol for the Christian church.  As fishers of people, the disciples often used boats as their means of travel for sharing the Good News.  And Jesus often preached from his boat, which he used as his vehicle for service and mission.  That is what he has been doing in this morning’s Gospel lesson – teaching and preaching to the crowds from a boat moored just off the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  

 

As evening descends, Jesus makes a decision: "Let’s go across to the other side,” he says to his disciples.  On the other side of the Sea of Galilee are Gentiles.  Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, "Let's go over to the other side and have a rest," nor does he say, “Let’s go out into the middle of the lake to get away from the crowds.”  Instead, Jesus proposes a missionary venture to a group considered “outsiders,” people who have yet to hear about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  And so the disciples get in the boat with Jesus and head for the opposite shore.  But as familiar land recedes into the horizon, the skies darken and the winds begin to howl and the waters start to churn. 

 

The Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden violent storms, and the ancient Hebrews felt so powerless in the face of the unpredictability of the sea that, in their stories and in their thinking, waters represented chaos and a threatening force opposed to God.  When the ancient Hebrews wanted to stress God's authority, they spoke of Yahweh's power over the sea.  In Genesis, we read that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters, and the God brought order out of chaos.  And this morning’s Call to Worship echoes the words from Psalm 107: "He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed."

 

But water also is the symbol of the bond Christ has made with us, refreshing, renewing, and redeeming us.  The disciples knew that traveling by boat across the Sea of Galilee was anything but safe.  They knew they could run into danger and storms.  But they didn’t hesitate to get in the boat with Jesus and accompany him on a mission to the Gentiles.

 

This is a story for us today as well.  For you see, we are now the disciples.  And Jesus is asking us to get in the boat with him.  Maybe we’d prefer to stay on the shore because we don’t want to risk the storm – the chaos and uncertainty of change.  We’re afraid of what might happen when we venture into something new and different and unknown.  And so we often hold on to the familiar because it feels safe and secure. 

 

But the fact of the matter is, it is scary and difficult to be a follower of Christ, because following Jesus nearly always means that some things -- probably everything -- will change.  Christ is always out ahead of us, calling us to follow in a new way. 

 

It would, quite frankly, be a lot easier if this business called Christianity were only a matter of believing certain things about Jesus, simply assenting to a creed or saying some prayers or doing some rituals on a weekly basis, and then getting back to our own lives on our own schedules and on our own terms.  But Jesus rarely asks his followers if they believe in him.  He calls us to action, commanding us to love God and our neighbor, and to go and make disciples.  And our church’s new mission statement reflects this emphasis on action:  “We are a Christ-centered family of God, Reaching out to all in holy love and service, Welcoming all who seek God’s love and grace, Journeying together in faith, mission, and spiritual growth, and Building up the body of Christ, the church local and universal.

 

Jesus commands us to follow him.  That’s why these earliest church members were called "Followers of the Way."  Those reading Mark’s gospel in those first two or three generations following the resurrection knew what this meant: they were to get in that boat with Jesus.  Like the disciples, they too were being called to journey forth into circumstances which were not only unknown, but also filled with storms and chaos.  

 

And just as Jesus asked his disciples then, Jesus asks us today to get in the boat with him and go to the ‘other side' -- to go somewhere new and different, to risk change in our own lives and also in the life of our church, to move beyond the familiar and comfortable ways. 

 

That’s what following Christ means.  And the question being asked of this church is precisely the one Jesus asked that afternoon: are we willing to get into the boat with him and go to the other side?  Are we willing to reach out to others who do not yet have a relationship with Christ?  Jesus is always leading us into places we would, on our own, prefer not to go.  Are you willing to leave the safety of our shore, to leave the comfortable and the familiar behind in order to get in the boat and sail forth with Jesus.

 

When Jesus says to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side," it is about more than getting from one point to another.  It is about venturing into the unknown, reaching out to people who may be different than us.  Those reading Mark's words heard quite clearly that this is part and parcel of following Jesus.  Jesus doesn't call us to ministry in the safety of a sanctuary, but into chaos and change.

 

There was a church in Washington, D.C., that developed a powerful outreach ministry in response to Jesus' teaching that we are to clothe the naked, visit the sick, shelter the stranger, feed the hungry.  Their building was on the site where a large, multinational company wanted to build its headquarters.  The church received a lot of money for their building and went to another neighborhood to continue their ministry.  Suddenly, their new neighbors took the church to court, complaining that their ministry was bringing "those kinds of people" into "their kind of community."  The church was doing what Jesus taught, and following his teaching brought them head-on into a storm.

 

As a church, we are constantly reflecting on where God is calling this boat in Stoughton.  A church can never stay just the way is has been, because do stay static is to deny the Resurrection.  If you think about it, change is the essence of life.  How do we recognize that something has life?  Growth and change.  Something that never changes is lifeless.  One sign that Jesus is alive -- a sign of the reality of the Resurrection -- is the continuing growth and change of his body, the body of Christ, the church.  And so, when we, the Church, stop changing and growing, we deny the Resurrection.

 

When I answered God’s call to ministry almost 12 years ago, I dedicated myself to Christ and made Christ the focal point not only of my personal life, but of every aspect of my life, including my vocation.  Sometimes I get the question, “As a minister, what is it exactly that you do?”  And my response is simple:  I am a conduit for God’s love, and I connect people to Christ.  That is the bottom line.  I help people encounter and follow the living Christ, and everything I do in this church is focused on that goal.  Christ is the focus. 

 

When we come to Church, we do not come just to meet each other -- pleasant as that is.  We do not come simply to pray for all those who need God's help -- important as that is.  We do not come just to have an hour to sit quietly in God’s presence – as much as we may need that.  We come to meet with Christ, to hear him speaking to us, to rejoice in his love; to know his forgiveness; and then to respond to his by sharing his love with others who may not yet know it. Why do we come to Church?  We come to meet with Christ; and then to go out and serve him.  Everything else is secondary to that.  Christ is the focus.

 

Our mission group knows that.  In a few minutes, we will be commissioning 8 young people and two adults for their mission trip to the New York City.  For some, this is their first mission trip.  Maybe there are a few butterflies and some apprehension along with the excitement.  But they’re getting into the boat – OK, it’s van, then a train – they’re getting into the boat to venture forth into unfamiliar territory, leaving the safety of their homes and families in order to follow Christ.  And our prayers and blessings go with them. 

 

The artist Rembrandt painted a canvas of this morning’s gospel story entitled “Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”  It’s on the back page of your bulletin insert, and if you look carefully at the painting, you can count fourteen people in the boat.  But there were only twelve disciples plus Jesus, which makes thirteen.  So who is the fourteenth person?  It is Rembrandt himself.  If you were the artist, would you paint yourself into the picture?  Are you in the boat?  Are you willing to leave the safety and security of the shore to get in the boat with Jesus, to follow where he leads, to put your faith into action?  It means you will encounter the storms of change – but that is what following Christ means.  And in the process, you will also discover the essence of life.  Amen.