Out of Chaos

Where is God when the world seems to spinning out of control? We know the answer -- right there with us -- but it's hard to believe sometimes. This sermon takes a look at why I know God is in the midst of chaos with us, planning something new that we could never imagine!

Where can we find God? If we are really in need of the Divine Presence, where should be look? These days, we know the answer to that question: God is everywhere; and we are in God’s presence no matter where we go or what we do. But that’s not what the ancient Israelites thought. They believed that God lived in the Temple in Jerusalem, in the local synagogue, and sometimes even in the homes of people who faithfully followed the Torah. But was God everywhere? Of course not! There were some places where God simply couldn’t be found; places that were so full of chaos that God’s presence couldn’t stay there. The sea was one of those places. After all, the sea is chaotic, rolling and cresting and breaking. As late as the Middle Ages, people believed that dragons lived there. The sea is no place for God! They couldn’t find God where there were demons, either. The presence of demons was always evidence of the absence of God. It was the reason that people who were thought to be possessed were shunned, if not driven out of town! And God certainly had no place in a graveyard. Death is the absolute opposite of the God who gives life; so wherever death intrudes, God leaves. Death and God were like matter and antimatter – they just couldn’t be found together!

So, that’s why this story in Luke – really two stories that Luke tells us back to back – is so astounding (Luke 8:22-35)! In these two stories, God is found not in the Temple, not in a synagogue, not even in a good Jewish home, but in places full of chaos. Luke has combined the three places that are the most chaotic – the sea, the graveyard, and in the presence of demons – and shows God’s power in all three of them! First, Jesus calmed the raging sea that so terrified the disciples. When a storm at sea threatened their lives, Jesus spoke a few words, and the sea calmed down like a toddler whose tantrum is soothed with a lollipop. Then, Jesus ventured into a graveyard and met a man who was possessed by a legion of demons. Legions were divisions of the Roman army, each one consisting of up to 6,000 soldiers. If that poor man were possessed by 6,000 demons, no wonder that he lived among the tombs! He was so filled with chaos that he lived in a place of chaos! And once again, Jesus showed God’s power. He commanded those demons to get out and stay out; and by the time the townspeople came to see what was going on, that man was as sane as we are! The sea… a graveyard… the presence of demons. God’s presence invaded all of those chaotic places in the person of Jesus Christ and showed everyone that divine power isn’t limited to just a few places, even though no one ever thought that God would ever go into places of chaos.

There’s a lot of chaos swirling around us right now. Some people are dealing with chaos in your personal lives. Some are caregivers for loved ones whose illnesses make them more and more dependent. Some are dealing with chaotic personal relationships; while others are wrestling with a difficult decision and simply cannot find an answer! Our world is certainly chaotic. I dare you to find anyone who thinks that the world is doing great right now! People murder one another at the drop of a hat; drug overdoses are a daily occurrence; and whole species of animals are facing extinction. Sometimes it seems like society is collapsing around our ears. Even our own congregation isn’t as stable as we might think it is. We’re appear to be doing just fine (and in many ways, we are), but underneath the surface, a lot of anxiety is bubbling around. Our numbers are declining, our income isn’t steady, and we face some difficult decisions as to how we should move into the future. Some people might even think that God has forgotten us, leaving us to face the unknown chaos of the future.

Well, I’m here to tell you that God has not abandoned us! God is still present in the lives of those who are dealing with personal chaos; God is still present in our chaotic world; and God is still present in this congregation! God doesn’t run away from chaos! Instead, God wades right into the middle of it, like a first responder who runs towards gunfire while the rest of us are scurrying away. We’re all afraid of chaos because we can’t control it. All we can see is the anxiety, the confusion, and the helplessness that chaos causes. But God sees something else in chaos. God sees possibilities! What we see as a confusing, overwhelming muddle of events, God sees as a multitude of paths to new possibilities! In fact, God does God’s best work in the middle of chaos, when the old has completely passed away and what is to be has not yet appeared. That’s when God says, “Great! Let’s do something new!”

It’s worth remembering what God said through the prophet Isaiah so many years ago (43:1-3, 18-19): “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Forget the former things; don’t dwell on the past. Look, I am doing a new thing! It is springing up even now; don’t you see it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” A way in the wilderness: that’s what God promises to do for us, no matter how chaotic the situation may be to our eyes!

Now, I know that’s hard to believe sometimes. We can’t often see God in the middle of mass shootings and political turmoil. But remember, we are people of the resurrection. Every Sunday morning, we proclaim Christ risen; and it that’s not making a way out of chaos, I don’t know what is! Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. He had been sealed into a tomb. It was the end. Jesus was gone. His followers were in the middle of chaos. And yet, that was the moment that God waded right into the middle of that chaos and said, “I am doing something new!” and up from the grave Christ arose! A God who can raise Jesus from the dead can do anything, even in the midst of the chaos of our world!

Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be afraid, no matter what kind of chaos swirls around you. Don’t be afraid of the chaos in your personal life. Don’t be afraid of the chaos that rumbles under the surface in this congregation. Don’t even be afraid of the chaos that threatens to engulf our whole world! God is working in the midst of it, seeing new possibilities and moving us into a future that is full of hope.