When I am afraid, open my eyes, Lord, so that I may see you are with me!

Oobleck, sounds like the name of someone from the Old Testament, but it is not. Oobleck is a mixture of two parts cornstarch to one part water and is known as a non-Newtonian fluid, which is a fluid that does not follow Newton’s law of viscosity. This means that a change in force changes its viscosity. In other words, when you first see Oobleck, it looks like a liquid, but if you move it and keep it moving, it acts like a solid. Just like there is more to Oobleck than what you can first see, God’s presence in our lives is more than what we can first see.

Jesus’ disciples were sure they knew where they would see him again. In our Gospel reading from Mark 6, we pick up after Jesus had miraculously fed the five thousand men, plus the thousands of women and children. He then directed his disciples to get into a boat and cross to another city on the Sea of Galilee, while he went off alone to pray. The disciples expected to see Jesus on dry ground at some point the next day, but during the night, Jesus went walking out on the water to his disciples who were struggling to paddle against a strong headwind. When they saw him, they were terrified, thinking they saw a ghost, but we read in Mark 6,

50 … Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

It might sound strange to hear the disciples jump to the consensus that they all saw a ghost, but the more startling reaction is their failure to understand or even anticipate Jesus’ miraculous walking on the water. Even after seeing Jesus’ miraculous feeding a few hours earlier, their faith still struggled to see Jesus as he truly is, the Messiah, the Savior, who is God and man come to earth to save the world.

The Bible records many instances of God’s miraculous power. For example, Jesus’ walking on water did not involve organizing hundreds of barges filled with cornstarch to transform the Sea of Galilee into a non-Newtonian fluid, it was a miracle witnessed by many individuals. Another instance occurred in our Old Testament reading from 2 Kings 6, at a time when Elisha had been informing the king of Israel about the battle plans of the king of Aram. As the countries warred against one another, the king of Aram was growing frustrated that Israel always seemed to know where they were going to be and avoided battle 2800ish years before the modern location tracking abilities of airplanes, satellites and drones. Thinking there was a traitor in his ranks, he questioned his officers, and we hear their response in 2 Kings 6,

12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

Learning it was Elisha, the king sent his men to find out where he was. When he found that he was in the city of Dothan, the king sent a detachment to capture him. Then, we read,

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

Elisha’s servant’s fearful reaction does not surprise us. From what he could see, their only option would be to surrender.

We like to have options. When a pushy salesperson does not give us the options we want or when the option to use inflight Wi-Fi disappears, we get frustrated. We deeply appreciate the availability of options when it comes to payment plans when money is tight or treatment options when a serious disease becomes a permanent part of life. When it seems only one option is left, and it is not the one you wanted, frustration is sure to come, but even more so fear. When we see forces like debt, disease and death coming at us, fear seems like the only option. And when we surrender to fear, life is empty and lonely. Even when there are other good things in life, when our heart’s deepest feeling is fear, life is hard, and it can hardly be called “life.” And the worst fear is to fear God is not with us.

The forces of God are the strongest. The worst fear is to fear God is not with us because he is able to do what no one else can do. When Elisha’s servant woke up to an army surrounding the city, he was confident they were there for Elisha, and himself included, so he was afraid. But Elisha did not see the same thing his servant saw, so he was not afraid. Elisha turned to God to help his servant see the unseen and take away his fear as we read in 2 Kings 6,

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha’s servant’s fear no longer had a firm basis when he saw that the Lord was there to fight for his people.

As with Elisha’s servant, the firm basis for our fears is broken by the power of God. Perhaps, Elisha had in mind our Psalm for today, Psalm 46, written by Sons of Korah from the tribe of Levi who served as musicians at the Temple at the time of King David, about 125 years before Elisha and his servant stood surrounded by two armies, which reads,

7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

These words remind us that God functions high above even the most advanced weapons and plans we create. He is also above the most dangerous weapon of our spiritual adversary as we read in Hebrews 2,

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Though the devil most often works unseen, his power is real, but God is with us. God became one of us; he was seen by massive crowds. God became one of us to save us. We do not make pilgrimages to see the bones of Jesus. Instead, we give thanks for the empty cross and empty tomb. Together, they are the firm foundation of our faith and assure us that we will see heaven, where we will live life to the fullest forever.

The Lord is with us to save us. God protects us and his angels surround us, even though we cannot see them with our eyes, they are visible with our eyes of faith. After Elisha prayed to the Lord and he opened the eyes of his servant, the Lord blinded the Aramean army. Then, Elisha took them to the city of Samaria to stand before the king of Israel, where they were given a meal and sent back to Aram alive. The miraculous sights seen by Elisha and his servant, and by the disciples fill us with awe, but our New Testament reading from 2 Timothy 4 opens our eyes to the greatest miracle God has worked for each of us. This is the last letter we have written by Paul and in it he expresses the assurance we all have in the face of death,

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing… 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God’s greatest miracle is the rescue mission Jesus completed to save us. Through Jesus, we have already seen death, and seen past it to eternal life in heaven. As God’s people, we are safest, even in the most frightening times. We have something better than a physical army; we have prophets of God. Prophets are those who share the Word. We do this for one another, and this is also what makes having a pastor so important. A pastor who functions like Elisha for his servant, Paul for Timothy and Jesus for his disciples will open your eyes to the Word of God to see that our Savior Jesus lives victorious fighting for us, standing with us, defending us, listening to us and one day delivering us safely to heaven.

Oobleck, sounds like the name of someone from the Old Testament, but it is not. Oobleck is a mixture of two parts cornstarch to one part water and is known as a non-Newtonian fluid, which is a fluid that does not follow Newton’s law of viscosity. In other words, when you first see Oobleck, it looks like a liquid, but if you move it and keep it moving, it acts like a solid. Just like there is more to Oobleck than what you can first see, there was more to see for Elisha’s servant whose eyes God opened to see his forces standing ready to save him. When what we see fills us with fear, the Bible reminds us of God’s presence. Even now, God is with us and one day we will go to be with him because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. When I am afraid, open my eyes, Lord, so that I may see you are with me. Amen.