Sermon for Midweek of Lent 1 COPYCAT
Theme: By reenacting Jonah’s journey, Jesus alerts His disciples that God’s wrath is now upon Him. Jack the Ripper is London’s most famous murderer. He committed his crimes more than a century ago, and yet still today, his name is known all over the world. Jack the Ripper is so famous that many other murderers have wanted to pattern themselves after him, in order to share his notoriety. These copycat killers want you to think of Jack when you think of them. These copycats want to their name to be closely associated with Jack’s name, so they choose the same sort of targets Jack chose and they murder in the same manner Jack murdered. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” What exactly was happening when Jesus climbed over the gunnels of the boat and curled up to sleep? Theologians and Bible scholars often use this story from Jesus life as a way of pointing to His divinity, and in particular, His power over the forces of nature. Why should the Lord of Creation feel afraid of a storm? There is no reason not to take a bit of a nap when you are able calm wind and wave any time you wish, merely by speaking a Word. Jesus’ trip upon the sea displays more than His divinity. By getting into the boat and sleeping during a violent storm, Jesus acts like a copycat killer, so to speak. Jesus deliberately emulates and copies the famous and well-known prophet Jonah, who likewise slept in raging seas. · In both cases, with Jonah and with Jesus, the men in the boat turned to a landlubber for help. Peter, Andrew, James and John are not only experienced sailors, but they know how to work together in these familiar waters. In the same way, the sailors in Jonah’s boat knew exactly what to do, “and they hurled the cargo… into the sea to lighten it.” · In both cases, with Jonah and with Jesus, the sailors feel indignant at what they see when they come to the prophet for help. “What do you mean, you sleeper?” declared Jonahs’ captain. “Save us, Lord; we are perishing,” cried the disciples—and St. Mark even has them asking Jesus, “Do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). · Of the four Gospel writers, St. Matthew especially loves to depict Jesus as though He were re-tracing the steps of God’s Old Testament people and living the same life that they lived. For example, Matthew is the one who said that the baby Jesus was whisked off to Egypt and then brought back into the Promised Land so that prophecy could be fulfilled which said, “Out of Egypt I have called My Son” (Matthew 2:15). So, too, when he described how Jesus slept in the boat, Matthew copied the Word from the book of Jonah that describes how Jonah slept in the boat (ekatheuden). And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” These parallels with the book of Jonah are no accident! When Jesus climbs into the boat and goes to sleep, He is not merely setting the stage to display His divinity! Jesus is retracing Jonah’s steps. Jesus is acting as Jonah acted. In the same way that copycat killers emulated the horrible crimes of Jack the Ripper, Jesus here emulates Jonah’s crimes—and He does so for your sake. Jesus is copycatting Jonah for your sake because · Jonah ran away from saving a great many people. By retracing Jonah’s steps, so to speak, Jesus does rightly what Jonah did wrongly. Jesus shows Himself willing to do that which Jonah was unwilling to do. · Jesus wants you to think of Jonah when you think of Him (Matthew 12:38-41). Jonah bore God’s wrath onto the sea. By copying Jonah, Jesus is showing you that He also is bearing God’s wrath, not only through the sea but all the way to the cross and the grave! · Jonah suffered God’s anger so that Nineveh could be saved. By mirroring Jonah so carefully, Jesus is showing you that He suffered also God’s anger—He suffered for your sake, so that you, like Nineveh, may be saved. ___________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. Subscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons...@cat41.org Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons-...@cat41.org Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/sermons@cat41.org/> For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at: Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
