The Fourth Sunday of Trinity, 23 June 2024
Austwick, Clapham, Keasden
You may know the expression Not Waving but Drowning. It is one of those phrases from literature which has made it into our everyday language. It comes from a 1957 poem by Stevie Smith, and here it is in full:
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning. [1]
A prayer today for those who spend all their lives much too far out for safety or comfort or well-being; and whose stories - if they are ever heard - get dismissed as being mere waving, when in truth they might be drowning.
A prayer for those who work far out at sea in vulnerable conditions and lonely situations, in an industry noted for its poor standards of care.
Lord, when we hear Gabriel, a Pilipino seafarer aboard a Liberian-flagged supramax cargo ship in Australian waters, tell us they have no food or toiletries aboard, as the ship’s Bulgarian owners have again not re-provisioned their vessel; when he tells us their cabins lack air-conditioning and they can’t sleep in sweltering overnight conditions; when he speaks of their having been unpaid for months and of being repeatedly denied shore leave - Lord, when seafarers call for the world to pay attention to their plight - though some may say they are just waving, Lord, do you care they may be drowning? [2]
Do we dare to hear the prayers they sing?
Lord, who cares if they are perishing? [3]
A prayer for those who struggle with poor health, disability, and the poverty which accompanies these things.
Lord, when we hear Steph, a young woman whose complex health condition means she is always exhausted and in pain, tell us that she and others like her are disabled not by being impaired or different, but by barriers which society puts up: physical barriers, like buildings with no accessible toilets; the barriers caused by people's attitudes, like assuming Steph can't do certain things which in fact they can; the barriers caused by legislation which puts disabled people into poverty - Lord, when Steph appears with other disability campaigners to focus attention on these things - though some may say they are just waving, Lord, do you care they may be drowning? [4]
Do we dare to hear the prayers they sing?
Lord, who cares if they are perishing?
And lastly, a prayer for our country’s 18-24 year olds in the week when two-thirds of them did not register to vote; a prayer for these 4.3 million of our young people, many of whom have tried but failed to find any party who will represent them.
Lord, when we hear Lauren and William describe feeling excluded by a process which allows their gran to use her old person’s bus pass as voter ID, but not their young person’s student card; when they speak about the unaffordable high rents which makes them think they’ll never leave their parents’ homes; when they decry the low wages and poor conditions of service in the meagre jobs available to them; and when they fail to hear any discussion of the most momentous issue of our time, which most affects their future: climate change; Lord - when Lauren and William and other young adults take to the streets outside their campuses protesting high tuition fees, though some may say they are just waving, Lord, do you care they may be drowning? [5]
Do we dare to hear the prayers they sing?
Lord, who cares if they are perishing?
[Silence]
The stormy wind arose and lifted up the waves of the sea.
They were carried up to the heavens and down again to the deep;
their soul melted away in their peril.
They reeled and staggered like a drunkard and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were calmed.
Then were they glad because they were at rest,
and he brought them to the haven they desired. [6]
Whether we picture ourselves as standing on the shore watching those far out who we see waving, troubled that they may be drowning, fearful for their safety; or whether we, in our own plight, feel ourselves to be struggling out at sea, in need of rescue:
Through the wind and waves, Jesus calls:
“Peace, be still! Friends, are you all still afraid? Is your faith still so small?”
We are glad when our seas go calm.
God, guide us all, to our safe haven. [7]
Notes
[1] Stevie Smith, “Not Waving but Drowning” from Stevie Smith, Collected Poems of Stevie Smith.
[2] Sam Chambers, ITF highlights Bulgarian ‘ship of shame’. Splash247 Maritime and Offshore News, 7 May 2024; The Nautilus International Social Conditions Survey Report [PDF]. 14 March 2022.
[3] The refrain throughout this sermon is from Pastor Joel S Neubauer, Some Went Down to the Sea, version of Psalm 107, original text adapted from the ELW psalter with original tune, YouTube, 15 June 2021.
[4] Stef Benstead, About Me, Second Class Citizens; Scope, Disability Equality Charity: Social Model of Disability.
[5] Michael Savage and Aneesa Ahmed, Disaffection among young UK voters fuelling growth of smaller parties. Observer, 16 June 2024.
[6] Psalm 107.25-30.
[7] Pastor Joel S Neubauer, Some Went Down to the Sea, version of Psalm 107, original text adapted from the ELW psalter with original tune, YouTube, 15 June 2021.
"Some Went Down to the Sea"
Prayer and song for God, original text adapted from the ELW psalter with original tune Pastor Joel S Neubauer, YouTube 15 June 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VODlmwcL9ug
Some went down to the sea in ships, "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
working away across ocean depths. "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
God spoke up and the wind arose, "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
troubled the waters, heaven close. "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
Breathe the sky till we drown below; "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
souls sink away in peril. Oh! "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
Cried to the Lord under duress, "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
"Deliver us in our distress!" "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
Wind and wave! Jesus call:
"Peace, be still!" Friends, are y'all
still afraid? Is your faith still so small?
Roar of a storm to a whisper stilled, "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
quiet the waves that would have killed. "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
They were glad when the sea went calm. "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
God, guide us, Lord, to harbour home. "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
For your love, let us thank you, Lord, "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
safekeeping grace upon us poured. "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
Who is this that the wind obeys? "Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
Who dances on the waters' praise? "Lord, who cares if we are perishing?"
Wind and wave! Jesus call:
"Peace, be still!" Friends, are y'all
still afraid? Is your faith still so small?
"Christ, I dare you hear the prayer I sing!"
“Jesus, care if we are perishing.”
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