This article was published in today’s Border Watch (our local newspaper) as the weekly pastor’s piece.
April 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The tragic event has remained in the public consciousness thanks to movies such as the understated A Night To Remember or the more gaudy epic Titanic (not to mention their schlocky 80’s cousin Raise The Titanic). The 1500 souls lost in the sinking were a rude and abrupt deflation of the pride that had heralded the coming of the ‘virtually unsinkable’ vessel.
But residents of the South-East of South Australia don’t need to take our thoughts all the way to the icy Atlantic Ocean to reflect on the tragedy of shipwreck. I recall the sense of solemn wonder and semi-disbelief when examining a display at the Millicent Museum which showed the location of various shipwrecks which had occurred in the region from 1838-1938. Each one of the scores of paper name tags alluded to their own story of loss and grief.
It is hard to conceive how much a part of regular life these events were. The Museum displays a reproduction of an advertisement for the sale of barrels of beer from the wreck of the Geltwood, which seems disrespectful, but also seems to reflect acceptance of such situations. (And an Australian capacity to make the best of them.)
In the Churches the reality of maritime tragedy is evident in such hymns and songs as We Have A LifeLine and Will Your Anchor Hold. Before being supplemented with verses relating to other branches of the armed services, Eternal Father, Strong To Save was known as The Naval Hymn, with all its stanzas relating to the dangers of life on the sea.
Even as the continents of earth were explored and settled, the oceans were traversed, but never tamed. They were emblems of erratic and precarious power. Go, park your car and watch the southern ocean on a bleak winter’s day and you’ll be reminded of this again and again.
The unpredictable and treacherous strength of the oceans is used in the Bible as an evocative image of rebellion against God. And that is why, in the book of Revelation, one of the promises about the renewed creation which is to come is that the sea will be no more.
Now that may be something of a disappointment to the sailors, fishers and swimmers among us. Thinking more closely about that image, I believe what is being promised is the absence of everything which currently serves to remind us that all is not as it should be. Death; sickness of various sorts – the infirmity of old age and illness in the young; sadness and separation – whether through loss or the breakdown of relationships; these will be gone from present experience, only a memory.
The idea that when the Titanic sank the band played Nearer, My God, To Thee has been indelibly imprinted on the public consciousness. Even if it’s not true, most of us want it to be true because of the transcendent image an oasis of future peace in present turmoil which it pictures. Easter, just passed, brings to mind the claim of Jesus to have conquered the grave, and His invitation for us to share that victory with Him. God’s promise that the sea will be no more is a promise of future peace that bids us endure current seasons of suffering, grief or separation with a hope that rests on Jesus.
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