READING: Mark Ch 4 v 35 – 41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
SERMON: SEA SUNDAY
Today, Sea Sunday, we remember not only the mission to Seafarers (previously the Mission to the Seamen) but also the seafarer and what kind of life it must be like for a seafarer with all its dangers. Theirs can be and often is a perilous job.
What do mean by the expression “travelling light”? It usually means carrying the bare essentials, only those things that we absolutely need. Think of the times when you are packing for a holiday or perhaps just for a few days away be it work or anything else. Do you over pack? Can you decide on what you want to take, need to take or actually say is vital to take?
Imagine a storm has blown the roof off your house. Everyone is safe, but you have to stay with relatives or friends for at least a month whilst repair work is undertaken. What does travelling light mean to you? What would you miss? Some people face these, and harder decisions in their daily lives.
Seafarers travel light by necessity. When they sign on, they often do not know for sure where they will be sailing or how long before they will be ashore again. This makes it hard for them, to plan what to take. They leave home for a long time each voyage but there is not room on board ship for many possessions. Probably only enough room for a holdall to hold their clothes, other essentials and prized possessions. Seafarers can be cooped up for months on end and have to share a cabin with their fellow seafarers.
Some seafarers may not have much to take anyway. Often they come from poor countries and poor families and have only gone to sea because they see this as a way of supporting their families back home. They arrange for most of their wages to be sent home to feed their wives and children.
We have come a long way since travel by sea was the only way to journey. Even with modern technology, and the big jumbo jets, the sea is still an essential part of keeping society going. We need only to look at all those containers offloaded from container ships to see how much we rely on the sea. Oil tankers are the only way to transport oil. We could not function without the ships and the goods that they carry.
In the hustle and bustle of today’s busy world we probably do not give much thought to seafarers and the life that they lead and how their lives affect us.
For the seafarer, days at sea can be long and boring, nights at sea are even longer and lonelier. As crews get smaller and smaller there are fewer people to talk with and little to do.
A seafarers job is not an easy job. It can be dangerous. For most of the time it can be fairly routine, but sometimes they are subject to the elements and there is always the possibility of the ship breaking up and lives being lost. An oil tanker breaking up has dreadful consequences. Not only do the seafarers have to cope with a breaking ship but also the consequence of the oil and the effect that will have on the environment.
No one knew better how a storm could affect their lives than the disciples when they were on the boat and the storm came and the boat was almost swamped with waves. They were terrified and woke Jesus saying “Lord Save us”. His response to them, “why are you afraid, you of little faith”. Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was dead calm.
It is quite frightening being in a storm. The force of nature beating upon the ship. The ship tossing about, the giant mountainous waves crashing all around you and it is times like these that you begin to appreciate how the disciples felt when they encountered the storm. How annoying it must have been for them to be told “do not be afraid you of little faith”. Yet faith is required of us in our daily lives. Faith is our commitment to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in the way he commanded us. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.
In doing this and proclaiming the good news to all is a tall order. Like the disciples, we are sent out to proclaim the news sometimes with little or no training but relying on deep-rooted conviction for God. It is he who sustains us through our life.
How we live our faith is personal to each of us, and each one of us will have our own interpretation of what faith means to us. In its most simple form faith in the Old Testament was centred on trust in, or reliance on God. The focus was not primarily on the individual but on the relationship of the people of Israel to God. This is borne out in the Old Testament stories where the prophets were called by God to lead their people.
Faith is not something that is easily explained to the unbeliever. How does one justify to the sceptics that you believe in a God who created Heaven and earth in six days and also created man in His own image. That you believe in the Lord who after a very short life was crucified and rose from the dead on the third day. Yet this is what we are called to, just as the disciples were. How adequately were they equipped for their task? Not very well by all accounts. Nevertheless they went off and not only proclaimed the good news but also anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The mission to seafarers plays an important role in the life of a seafarer. Chaplains not only bring the gospel to seafarers, they are themselves the gospel, the good news. They are probably the only visitors who come to give rather than take. They give their time, their attention, their concern, their readiness to do anything for those that they visit. They are there to serve, to welcome, to invite. A chaplain once said: The captain of a vessel I visited recently introduced me to other people on board with the words “These are the people who care for us. Nobody else wants us except for our money”.
The mission to seafarers crosses all boundaries. Their mission is for the seafarer and his or her needs. It does not matter whether the seafarers are religious or not, the chaplains cater to the seafarers needs. The chaplains and their helpers from the local community, try to respond to the seafarers’ needs, whatever they may be – collecting warm clothes if they are cold, books and videos if they are bored; putting them in touch with people who can help sort out problems on board; helping to keep in touch with their families; offering Bibles and reading material that will help them to stay in touch with God.
As I said before, Jesus told his disciples to go out and tell people the good news they had heard and seen in Him. He commanded them not to take anything with them but the clothes they stood up in. It must have been rather scary going out into the unknown. What if they were hungry? Lost? Needed shelter for the night? What if people did not listen to them? Laughed at them? Attacked them.
Travelling light like this taught those first disciples to rely on their faith in God, to trust that this was what Jesus wanted them to do, and to depend on the help of people who supported their work. It’s just the same today. Jesus is still sending out missionaries to tell everyone his Good News. And they have to rely on their own faith and our support. Amen.
PRAYERS
For Seafarers
Almighty God, we remember those whose lives are lived on your great oceans. For those who go down to the sea in ships, we give thanks; they enrich our lives at great personal cost. May they daily feel the strength of your protection, the warmth of your presence and the love of your relationship as they seek the hope of safe passage. We pray for seafarers who are stranded at sea and forced to survive using only the resources available around them. Comfort them in times of loneliness and need and remind them that, in you, they are never alone, particularly when they are struggling with poor weather conditions or sickness. AMEN
For Harmony on Board
Holy Spirit, may you join the crew of every ship that sails the oceans, bringing peace and harmony to them. May your presence counsel the downhearted, heal the sick and bind together seafarers of all nationalities, cultures and faiths so that they can live in harmony despite their differences. AMEN
Remembering Seafarers’ Families
Loving Father, we pray for solace for families awaiting the return of seafarers; allow your grace and peace to dwell in their homes and their hearts until they are reunited with their loved ones. Banish fear and pain and uncertainty from their lives, that they may be blessed with hope for a safe return and joy at the reunion. We pray with hope for imprisoned (kidnapped) seafarers and their families that they would be released and returned swiftly. We also pray for seafarers and their families who are struggling with ill health. Father, please provide all that they need to recover and wisdom for any medical professionals who may be involved. AMEN
For The Shipping Industry
God, we lift up the shipping industry to you; those who build, those who own, those who manage and those who operate ships to support the trade of the world. We thank you for every company that cares for those who go to sea on its ships. Lord we pray for the wellness of all who work at sea and ask that you bless them with safe working conditions, good food and just rewards for all their efforts. Let justice prevail so that those who are exploiting seafarers would cease to do so. Lord, please surround those who work for unjust employers with your love and protection when they are treated unfairly. AMEN
Those on Whom Seafarers Depend
We give thanks for those who protect and support those that work on the sea, providing rescue services and safe havens. We remember today the work of the Coastguards, Royal Navy, and maritime trades unions. We rejoice that the work of these, and other organizations around the world, gives great comfort to those who are at times in danger, exhausted, injured, exploited, lonely and afraid. AMEN
A PRAYER FOR THE MISSION TO SEAFARERS
Lord God, you show your love in providing for our needs through the service of seafarers. Bless the work of The Mission to Seafarers and kindred societies, who minister to seafarers and their families throughout the world. Raise up supporters and workers that this ministry may grow according to your will, and that seafarers be blessed through loving care and service, in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
And so we bind our prayers together in the words that Jesus taught his disciples…
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen
BLESSING
Lord God, be the canoe that holds us in the sea of life. Be the rudder that keeps us on the straight course. Be the outrigger that supports us in times of great testing. May your Spirit fill our sails to carry us through each day, and keep our bodies strong so that we may paddle steadfastly on in the voyage of life….AMEN.
Revd Kevin
Associate Priest at St Wilfrid and St Thomas
