January 30, 2022

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Until recent times, Christians never considered the art, architecture, and music that we use in the worship of Almighty God to be an indifferent thing.

Byzantine and Medieval Church art was intentionally, but respectfully, stylized to reflect the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the heavenly realities of the angelic host, and the Church triumphant: all of which defy our ability to fully comprehend with our limited and sin-corrupted human reason.

Renaissance and Baroque art, with equal reverence, depicts biblical themes with detailed realism in homage to the Incarnation of our Lord: God taking on real human flesh and blood in the person of Jesus to experience the same hunger, sorrow, fatigue, and temptation that we experience (although without sin in His case). And to bear all the sins of His fallen creation: atoning for our sins by the outpouring of His life-giving blood on the cross and the giving of His true body into death.

Reverent music developed organically in the Church as an outgrowth of Psalm singing in the Temple, as an intentionally subservient, yet beautiful, vehicle for the proclamation of God’s Holy Word, and as distinct from secular musical forms that elicited feelings of worldly passions and desires.

This same principle of reverently expressing the truths and texts of Holy Scripture found their way into Christian architecture: simply, of course, in the early house churches like those described by Justin Martyr before his execution in 168 AD, then, more elaborately as Christianity was increasingly tolerated and finally legalized by the Edict of Milan in 313 AD.

One of the early Christian symbols that was eventually incorporated into church architecture was the boat. In church architecture, the area where Christians gather together to hear the Word of God proclaimed – where all of you are sitting right now by the grace of God – is called the ‘nave’: from the Latin word navis, meaning ‘boat.’

In fact, many churches were designed with a large ridge beam running down the center of the roof above the nave to bring to mind the keel of an upturned boat. And this symbolism isn’t surprising when we consider the first verse of the Holy Gospel appointed for today: “When [Jesus] got into the boat, his disciples followed him.”

The disciples had been listening to Jesus for some time now. They’d been called by the Gospel. They’d been given the gift of faith by the living and active Word of Christ (the same Word that healed the leper and the centurion’s servant in last week’s Gospel reading).

Of course, they wanted to be where Jesus was. As St. Peter would say to Jesus on another occasion: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” So, they got into the boat.

But things didn’t go as they expected. “There arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves.” Indeed, they feared for their lives.

There’s a parallel in this for us. We are Christ’s 21st century disciples. We’ve been called by the Gospel to faith in Christ as Scripture says: “buried with [Christ] in baptism … you also were raised with Him through faith,” … and also … “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

By virtue of Holy Baptism and faith, and continually hearing the read and preached Word of God, we are in the boat with Jesus. But that doesn’t mean life is always going to be smooth sailing! Holy Scripture has some things to say about the rough waters ahead for Christians. For example:
– “It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” (Phil 1:29)
– Or perhaps, “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Pet 4:12)

Some of the rough waters that afflict us come from the godless world we live in. Like Nineveh, our societies are fraught with evil – evil that, either directly or indirectly, causes trials or suffering for Christians.

There are those places in the world where it’s still illegal to be a Christian and for which imprisonment or death is not uncommon.

And there’s the increasing intolerance for Christians in our own society: governmental attempts to limit or prevent Christians from gathering together to receive the forgiveness of sins in Word and Sacrament, harsh ridicule for valuing the lives of unborn children as gifts from God, accusations of hate crimes for opposing the worlds wickedly deceptive views on gender, and the assault on absolute truth and godly morality that public schools preach to our children to encourage them to embrace all of this godlessness in their own lives.

But some of the great storms in life are the result of our own sinfulness. St. Paul, as we heard in today’s Epistle reading, reminded the church in Rome of God’s moral law:
“The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”

As orthodox Lutherans, we can’t be antinomians who don’t see a place for God’s Law in our lives as Christians. We always need the Law as a curb to keep us in check, as a mirror to show us our sinfulness and desperate need for the forgiveness of sins and salvation in Christ, and as a guide to daily teach us how to love God and neighbor.

It’s dangerous for us to thumb our nose at God’s Holy Law because, whether we like it or not, Scripture is clear that we can turn away from Christ’s gifts of forgiveness life and salvation. The inspired writer of Hebrews, for example, preaching to Jewish Christians whose faith was teetering, exhorted them, saying: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Heb 3:12).

Reflecting, then, on God’s reminder through St. Paul, we should examine ourselves and confess our sins of lust, hatred, theft, covetousness, and general lack of love for our neighbors: first and foremost so that, in contrition and repentance, we might hear the absolving voice of our Savior say to us, “Your sins are forgiven … go in peace” (Lk 7:28-50); but also because we know just how much our sinfulness contributes to the stormy seas and rough waters of life for both ourselves and others. For, as St. Paul continues, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.”

So what are we to do when we’re engulfed in the torrents brought on by the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh? In their own fear of looming death, the disciples:
“went and woke [Jesus], saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

And in the case of the pagan mariners who were likewise faced with certain death and had just flung Jonah into the sea, God used the peril of their situation to bring them to faith so that “the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”

In both cases, “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” And the culmination of that deliverance for this sinful world, and for us sinful people, is the sign of the Prophet Jonah. Jesus said:
“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt 12:39-40).

Jesus, the Son of Man, died for our sins, was buried in the ‘heart of the earth’, and rose again on the third day in triumph over sin and death: for us, and for our salvation.

By the power of His Word that even rebukes wind and sea and which He’s also connected to His Holy Sacraments, Jesus forgives our sins, strengthens our faith, and keeps us safely in the boat of His Church. We cannot stand upright in our frailty, but the grace and mercy of our crucified and risen Lord will strengthen and protect us though all the dangers and temptations of this life until He finally navigates us into the safe harbors of His heavenly kingdom.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Pr. Jon Holst

Readings:
Jonah 1:1–17 the word of the LORD came to Jonah
Psalm 96 Oh worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Rom. 8:18–23 the whole creation groans and labors
  or Rom. 13:8–10 he who loves another has fulfilled the law
Matt. 8:23–27 even the winds and the sea obey Him