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Theater of the Absurd I Samuel 17 (1a, 4 – 11, 19 –23); Mark 4:35 – 41 Through most of my young life, I spent vacations at Crystal Lake in northern Michigan. This is a lake that has been likened to the Sea of Galilee because of its size, shape and the way it gathers storms. One time when I was old enough and thought I was smart enough, a friend and I got in a boat (a canoe) and decided to try to make it to the other shore; that shore being visible but several miles away. It was a nice, sunny day. When we were in the middle of the lake a storm arose, suddenly and fiercely. Fortunately, both of us were good swimmers and strong paddlers. Neither of us, however, was good at allaying fear. By the time we safely got to the other shore and the storm was past we had another fear, and this (fear) was more in the family of embarrassment. Who do we call to come pick us up and haul the boat home; we surely were NOT going to try to cross back on the water to our home shore. Reading this passage of Jesus’ disciples caught in the storm usually brings to my mind that experience of 40 years ago. The memory of the terror still can get a hold of me. The sudden-ness of the fear and the absolute vulnerability of being in the middle of a lake in a small boat has never been erased from my neurons. Fear grips us. Fear can define us. Fear often immobilizes us. “Theater of the Absurd” is an art form that actually had its beginnings in the 1920s and 30s, but came into fullness in the 50s after World War II. It highlights the precariousness of human life and the fear and trauma of living under the threat of nuclear annihilation (new to that age). The drama produced in this school pushed viewers to recognize that a rational explanation of the universe was beyond anyone’s reach. This art form was anti-realistic, unconventional, illogical, sometimes plot-less — absurd — and always posed against fear that humans face. This type of theater also attempted to restore myth and ritual, helping people to understand cosmic wonder and to accept that some things (many things) were never GOING to be understood. Sounds like faith to me, and is why many of the productions of this particular time and school of theater continue to be classics among theologians. Today’s scriptures — both David killing Goliath and Jesus calming the sea — are good examples of absurdity. A young boy killing a giant with a slingshot?! Jesus waking up in the middle of a storm when the waves are about to tip the boat and calming the storm?!? That’s not real; those things don’t happen; neither of those are possible. They are both absurd! Let’s begin with the fear part, and staying with the boat incident of Jesus and his disciples, what exactly is their fear? Notice in the scripture a few things: First of all Jesus and his disciples obviously had a safe friendship and they knew how to challenge each other — “Don’t you care that we’re about to die?!” is a fairly accusatory statement/question. I don’t imagine that the disciples were saying that softly to Jesus but, rather, yelling at him, shaking him with those words. And secondly, after Jesus exclaims to the storm to be still, he — with undoubtedly every bit of passion as the disciples had — said to them: “Why are you afraid; do you still have no faith?” And that too is an accusatory statement/question. Besides the deep relationship that this banter indicates, note that Jesus did not ask why they were afraid but why they are afraid. This moves us to the crux of the passage and the importance of this tale. The commentary after Jesus’ question is that the disciples then were filled with great awe and they wondered who this man was that the wind and the sea obeyed him. The literal translation for “they were filled with great awe” is “they feared a great fear.” What is the source of that fear? Yes, the disciples were fearful of their death in this storm, but that is not the deepest fear they have or we have. Next weekend I will be with a friend who has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Her prognosis is extremely limited. In talking with her recently, she has assured me that she is not afraid of dying. I know that about her and frankly about most people with whom I have opportunity to accompany through the last stages of life. But there is still fear. What is it that grips us if, in the long run, it is not death. What is the GREAT fear we have? What is the GREAT fear that we share with Jesus’ disciples? Is it not that if we allow God into our lives, these lives will really change? Is it not that if we believe, God could calm the storms of our lives? Is it not, that if we invite God to take our burdens, we will be relieved of them? Is it not, that if we truly partner with God, things will happen in our lives and the world that defy reality, are illogical, unconventional and absolutely absurd? That, dear friends is the fear that faces us as faith-filled people. That is the fear that grips us in our soul, and keeps us trying to maintain some semblance of control. Because once we face that fear we can be sure that our lives will no longer be under our control. We will be facing surprises every day; we will be confronted with possibilities every moment; we will be led to places we would not choose or think we wanted to go and the protection in those journeys will not be of our making. What will happen if I really believe that God has the power to change my life? What will happen if God's imagination for our portion of this universe is different than my imagination? That is the great FEAR, and that is what inhibits us from the faith of letting go of our controls in every aspect of our lives. Every one of us faces the GREAT fear daily. Every one of us makes choices to stay in our own comfort, controlled zone when we are being beckoned to get out of that protected space. The church through the ages has faced this GREAT fear. Thinking that we have done enough, changed enough, served enough, we often have said “enough already” let's keep everything the same for a while because we fear going into uncharted waters where the storms may be ready to take hold. |
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