Sermon
of September 20, 2009
Presented by Rev. Chuck Ericson
“Thunder Hole”
Proverbs 3:13-24
“Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding, for the
gain from it is better than gain from silver and its profit better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways
are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to
those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy. The LORD
by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His
knowledge the deeps broke forth, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, keep
sound wisdom and discretion ;let them not escape from your sight, and they will
be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your
way securely and your foot will not stumble. If you sit down, you will not be
afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
Matthew 25:1-13
"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their
lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were
wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the
wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they
all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their
lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our
lamps are going out.' But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough
for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while
they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him
to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came
also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.' But he replied, `Truly, I say to you, I
do not know you.'
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
As this parable is being told by Jesus, it's near the end of His ministry and near the end of His life. If you are mathematically inclined you'll notice that Matthew 25 is very close to the end of Matthew which has 28 chapters. It's close to the end, and Jesus is busy preparing the disciples for the events that will transpire. He's preparing them for His arrest and the crucifixion and the resurrection, and also for another chapter of the story that He tells them will happen sometime later -- that the Christ will return and people should be ready for that time of return. There's a term we often hear us associated with that: "the Second Coming". There are a variety of ideas about when that will take place and how it will happen, but it's introduced here in the parable we have just heard from Matthew 25, and this is something that is understood to be beyond the crucifixion and beyond the resurrection. It's something that's down the road, and most Christians believe we are still waiting for -- that second arrival of the Christ come from God to our world.
And in the parable, the wise and foolish maidens or bridesmaids (they have different names depending on which translation you use) -- they are getting ready for this event to happen, and you have to believe that they are excited. That helped me to connect up a little bit with an experience I had this past summer that was also a very exciting experience. It wasn't the return of Christ, but it was nevertheless quite an unusual and unique experience. I told a few of you about it when I got back from my vacation. It occurred back in August when I visited a place in Acadia National Park called Thunder Hole on the day that hurricane Bill was going up the East Coast of the United States a hundred or more miles out to sea. There was an expectation that there would be unusually high waves and surf on that day all along the East Coast including the coast of Maine, and it would be a very unique occasion. I observed the amazing effects of hurricane Bill on the coast of Maine near Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park that day, and for me it all connected with the parable we heard earlier from Matthew 25. I’d like to spend a few moments sharing with you some of that connection. It's about how God I believe expects us to approach life.
One of the connections that I made between the parable of the wise and foolish maidens in Matthew 25 and the experience I had at Thunder Hole on August 23 was the deep believe that God wants us to be passionate about life. God wants us to be alive and full and joyful and expectant that amazing things can happen all around us in nature and in people. Too much of our lives, I believe, have become humdrum and dull and boring, and we need more passion in our lives. Now I don't mean necessarily romantic passion, I mean the kind of passion where you are simply excited to be alive, and that there are all kinds of wonders for us to experience every day all around us. In the parable, the bridesmaids were getting ready for the return of the bridegroom, and we understand that there are different levels of meaning in parables like this one. For example there's the “face value” meaning where a wedding is about to take place, and a bridegroom is about to arrive, and maidens or bridesmaids are preparing for that arrival. But there's also this underlying lesson about Jesus being represented by the bridegroom and all believers being represented by the wise and foolish bridesmaids, waiting for Him to arrive in the second coming. At this deeper level, we should be asking ourselves, “Will we be ready for His arrival like the wise bridesmaids or will we be unprepared like the foolish bridesmaids?” In any event, in real life and in the symbolism of the parable, it would be a very exciting and passionate time indeed. It is about something that is not going to happen again -- the second coming is only going to happen once. It is something that we and the bridesmaids in the parable should be passionate about. It is something that should not be missed.
That same spirit began to grow in me as I found myself at Thunder Hole on August 23. I had started out not being very passionate or excited about the whole thing. I was in Maine for a week of vacation and my wife Jane had instructed me to take photographs at Thunder Hole knowing that the surf might be magnificent that day. In other words, I was on assignment from my wife, and that doesn't always start out feeling exciting and full of passion -- when you're doing something else as an assignment for someone else in your family.
If you have ever been to Acadia National Park, you have probably paid your entrance fee at the main gate, and then begun a ride along what is called the Loop Road. At various places along the Loop Road there are sights to stop and see. One of the first places is called The Sand Beach because it is one of the few places where you will find sand along the coast near Acadia rather than rocky ledges. Another place to stop is called Otter Cliffs where you can sit on the rocks and have a delightful picnic if you like. And then there is Cadillac Mountain -- the highest elevation on the island from which you can look out and see beautiful island and ocean vistas for miles. One of the most popular places is Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole is basically a deep crevice cut into the rocky coast where a loud thunderous sound can be heard when the incoming tide rushes into this rocky crevice. People crowd to see this. The National Park Service has now built a stairway with railings partway down into Thunder Hole so that people may observe the amazing tidal movement and thunderous sound close up. Most of the time the tide comes in at a moderate level and makes a resounding noise like thunder to the delight of the crowd gathered around. Our family goes there almost every year, and if there's a thunderstorm in the area we make a special point to visit Thunder Hole in hopes that the sights and sounds might be even better than usual.
So as I said, I was there on assignment with my camera to take photographs to bring home. I had checked with one of the local people to see what time would be best to observe Thunder Hole as the hurricane was approaching far out to sea. I was told to try to catch the tide about half way between low and high tide, on the incoming high tide. I estimated that would be around 8 a.m., and so I planned my arrival at Thunder Hole for that time and expected to stay about a half hour or maybe a little more. I was then going to worship at a 9:30 a.m. service in nearby Ellsworth, where some seminary acquaintances of mine were the co-pastors. Around about 10:30 a.m., I realized I wasn't going to get to the 9:30 a.m. worship service. I had become swept up in the amazing sight of the rising tides growing larger and larger as each moment passed. It was so incredible! It had started out with about 10 people there when I first arrived at 8 a.m. (curiously matching the total number of wise and foolish maidens), and grew to dozens and later hundreds of onlookers as the morning wore on. Along with everyone else there, I was filled with the magnificence and splendor or of nature on display at Thunder Hole that morning. You could look to the horizon, and see a very calm sea out in the distance. You could look to the sky and see the sun shining amidst the overcast clouds. Closer to shore, the waves started forming and growing larger and larger as the minutes went by. I stayed until about 11:45 a.m., and decided I had seen about all there was to see and went to my car to drive home. I had taken over 100 photographs on Jane's camera, and a couple dozen short videos on my Blackberry. I realized that I had been filled with passion throughout the morning of August 23 at Thunder Hole.
I realize also that this passion has stayed with me. The other day I was walking along my back walk out to the driveway, and I noticed a place where I had filled in a small hole by the edge of the walkway the night before. Now the hole is open again, and I can see a small creature going in and out of the hole carrying the dirt out that I kicked in the night before in order to reopen the hole. I bent down to look, and it flew up at me. When it returned to the hole, I bent down again to look at it more carefully. I spent about 10 minutes watching it, realizing that once again I had become passionate about something unusual I had discovered it in nature. It had a black and orange body and fuzzy orange legs. I entered the description on Google on my computer, and found out that it was called a Great Golden Digger Wasp. They are solitary creatures, they don't swarm with other wasps. They are not aggressive, and when they approach you they are doing so only because they are curious about you not because they intend you any harm.. I find that I am becoming more and more passionate about things in life that I used to take far too much for granted.
Another connection that I made between Jesus' parable and my experience at Thunder Hole is that God wants us to be vigilant. God wants us to be watchful, to be prepared for things in our lives, too, which is the other side of being passionate. Again, in the parable about the bridegroom arriving and bridesmaids getting ready for his arrival, some are vigilant and some are not. Now they all fall asleep and slumber for a time, but when the bridegroom arrives the wise bridesmaids -- the wise maidens -- are prepared and ready for his arrival. Their lamps are ready, they have plenty of oil, and their vigilance pays off for them. Their lamps stay lighted and they are prepared when the bridegroom arrives. Is this preparedness that I believe God also wants us to have as part of our lives today. It's not just about the second coming, it's about how we live our lives right now, too, I think.
And I noticed that same principle at Thunder Hole on August 23 as well. I had started taking photos on the rocks that were close to the water because it wasn't dangerous at all. But then the waves started coming in much more forcefully. They were progressively bigger and progressively closer as time went along. Some of the park rangers closed off the walkway that led down to Thunder Hole, and they also began to caution the crowd to move back away from the edge of the rocks. I was being vigilant, as I was taught from a very young age. Others, however, continued to try to get closer to experience the awesome power of the waves coming in. They position themselves along the rocks on either side of Thunder Hole, even though rangers tried moving them back. At one point, I was sitting next to a man and as we were talking he commented that he wasn't sure where his wife and son were at the moment. I was thinking "this is getting pretty serious", and was struck by his apparent lack of concern for his family. At this point, a park ranger passed in front of me saying, "it's time to herd the sheep again." He headed over to once again caution people to move back away from the rocky ledge. But as soon as the ranger went somewhere else, the people start moving forward again to get a better look at the incoming waves. These people who are full of passion for the force and awe of nature are not being very vigilant at the same time. So I think that's what the lesson of the parable is, and also the lesson for our lives here today.
The final connection that I see between Jesus' parable and my experience at Thunder Hole is that God wants us to have wisdom. To be wise, or to have wisdom, is the primary theme of the unison reading we said earlier in the service today from Chapter 3 of Proverbs. It is also at the heart of what Jesus describes as the difference between the two groups in the parable -- there are the foolish bridesmaids and there are also the bridesmaids who have wisdom. The wise bridesmaids are the ones who are vigilant and you have their lamps trimmed and ready with oil, and the foolish ones are the ones who figure, "Oh well, we'll pick that up later" (I've had that same problem on Sunday afternoons in the summer when I have forgotten to fill the propane tank for my gas grill and we were planning to cook out that evening and there's no fuel to be found anywhere!). It is wisdom that makes a difference, and often the difference is between joy and sorrow. Because in the parable those who were wise those who were passionate but also vigilant and prepared, were welcomed into the marriage feast and enjoyed the company of the bridegroom and all the festivities. On the other hand, the bridesmaids who were not prepared who had also been passionate but not vigilant ran out of oil and couldn't keep their lamps lighted, and arrived late to the wedding feast after the door had been shut. For these bridesmaids the result was tragic, as they were not allowed to enter or the wedding feast and be in the company of the bridegroom. They were filled with despair and sorrow over what had happened when the bridegroom said, "I don't even know you." Wisdom is what made the difference between the experience of joy or sorrow for the two groups of bridesmaids in the bridegroom at last arrived.
I found that the same was true on August 23 at Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park. As the waves grew higher and closer and more powerful, I moved back again and again, and when I decided that I had taken enough photographs, I left for home. I drove the rest of the Loop Road passed through Bar Harbor, and returned home where I completed a few errands, and late in the afternoon settled down to watch the golf tournament on television. The CBS national news broke into the golf tournament with a story that 20 people had been swept into the ocean at Acadia National Park late that same morning. I thought to myself, "I was there, I didn't see anyone swept out to sea." It turned out that that story wasn't entirely accurate, and as the next couple of days brought forth the real story, the following details were confirmed. The truth was that this incident happened at approximately 11:50 a.m. -- apparently just as I was preparing to leave to go home from Thunder Hole. Apparently it didn't happen right at Thunder Hole, but off to the side on the rocks adjacent to Thunder Hole. The report said that waves had crashed onto the shore and were about 15 to 20 feet high. About 12 or 13 people had been knocked down by a powerful wave as they stood on the rocky ledges near Thunder Hole, and they sustained numerous injuries like broken legs deep lacerations and shoulder separations. About five other people had actually been swept into the ocean when that huge wave had hit. Two were immediately helped back onto the rocks by bystanders. The Coast Guard was able to rescue two of the three remaining people; however 7-year-old girl tragically died in the water.
It was a tragic day especially for the parents of the little girl who died. It was also a tragic day for the others who were injured -- a day that could have been joyous. It seems that wisdom is what makes the difference -- deciding about how far to go with your passion, and how vigilant to be. It seems to me that there is a balance to be maintained in our lives between feeling passionate about all the wonders of life and also being vigilant about the cautions and the dangers in our lives. There is so much that God has given us in our lives and in nature, but also in human relationships and in other experiences we have that can bring us so much joy and wonder and passion and can feed our spirits – but at the same time we need to be vigilant and watchful and prepared for the of dangers that can arise. This was true in the case of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, and the same was true that day at Thunder Hole -- for there were some like me who went away thinking they had just seen something amazing that may never be seen again in our lifetimes, and there were others who went too close...for whom the day will always be remembered as one of injury and sorrow and loss.
You see, I think that the good news today is that all three of those things must work together for our lives to be good. We need those things that make us feel alive and full of joy and enthusiasm and passion. Taking in as much of these things as we can makes life good for us, but at the same time we need to remember that vigilance and preparedness and watchfulness helped to steer us away from going too far with passion in a way that might lead to sorrow and tragedy. Whether it's something going on in nature or in our families or other relationships, this balance between passion and vigilance is very important for us all. The difference, I think, is described beautifully in that passage from Proverbs Chapter 3: "."Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life using her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her way is the way of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to all who lay hold of her." Wisdom is what helps us to know how much passion to take in, and how much vigilance to be allowed. Being too vigilant, and not passionate enough, makes for a very dull life. But too much passion without enough vigilance can also lead to undesirable results. Following the path of wisdom, and having a healthy balance between passion and vigilance, is what can make our lives full and complete.
Let us pray...
God, we thank you so much for the wonder and glory and magnificence of the world
around us and indeed all the universe. We can look up to the heavens at night,
or out to the sea during the day, or deep into a forest -- or into one another's
hearts...and we can find amazing things that fill us with inspiration. And yet
we also know that there are places where we should stop because we have seen and
felt and experienced enough, and it is time to show care for ourselves and for
one another. Help us, dear God, to have such wisdom that is so very precious
and helps us to take in the wonder and joy of life as much as possible.
In Jesus' Name. AMEN.