In 2001, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia suggested that during the year, special prayers could be made for Refugees on one Sunday, for Seafarers on another Sunday and the members of other churches on another Sunday again.

Today is Sea Sunday, when we pray for seafarers, that is, as psalm 107 says it, "all those who go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their business on the great waters."

These people, continues the psalmist, "have seen the deeds of the Lord, the wonders of God in the mighty deep. For the Lord commanded, and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. The people went up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in the face of disaster; they reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits' end.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and the Lord delivered them from their distress; the Lord made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Then they were glad because they had quiet, and God brought them to the haven they hoped for. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for the wonders that God does for the children of earth!"

Anyone who has been on a boat or a ship when the sea is rough can tell you that this is an accurate picture. You might have been on the Manly Ferry with a ten metre swell coming in from the ocean, or maybe you've crossed Bass strait on the Princess of Tasmania when the Roaring Forties lived up to their name. No human skill or technology can tame the sea. It remains wild and unpredictable; able to overwhelm the biggest of ships or to dash them against the shore. Those who go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business on the great waters are always at risk of disaster. The sea is not cruel, or malicious, it has no feelings at all. It follows the laws of wind and tide, the laws of nature that God built into creation at the beginning of time. It is easy to see that seafarers can often feel that they are in God's hands and that only God can save them from the raging of the sea. How thankful we are when our ferry moors quietly at Manly Pier or comes into the shelter of South Head!

Of course most of us do not have much experience of the sea in a storm. Our lives often sail in calm waters and the daily round of work and home, friends and family. We can forget God and get on with the fun things of life. We can distract ourselves with all sorts of good things, like World Cup Football Matches or our business or watching our children grow. These are good things, they are gifts from God, and we should rejoice in them and be thankful for them. The people of Nazareth in today's gospel were people whose lives were undisturbed and peaceful. The Roman occupation had freed them from the threat of invasion and had made it safe to farm and to trade and grow rich and comfortable. The Nazareans thought that they did not need God, life was good, why bother about God? And when Jesus began to stir up their little backwater and make waves, they took offence at him. St Luke reports that Jesus came among them saying, "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to thew blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

This was not a message the Nazareans wanted to hear. They did not want to bring good news to the poor, they did not want to release captives and set the oppressed free. No, they were like blind people who did not want to see. They might have been thinking to themselves, "What can I do? There is poverty in the world, and warfare, and oppression and disease, but how can I have any effect? The problems of the world are too big for me. And anyway, Jesus is only a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?"

The Nazareans were like people everywhere, neither very good nor very bad. They could be generous if it suited them, and they would cry out to the Lord if things started to go wrong, but the Spirit of the Lord God did not burn brightly in them. They were like seafarers who wanted always to stay in the shelter of the harbour. Their lives were like ships at anchor in Sydney Harbour or yachts tied up at a marina somewhere.

Now I don't want my life to be like that and I'm sure that you don't want our church to be like that. A ship only fulfils its purpose when it sailing, so a Christian person or a Christian Church only fulfils its purpose when it is active and alive. I thank God that St Luke's is active and alive, but it would be foolish to think that we have done everything we can. The Op Shop has successfully moved across the road and, thanks be to God, is now doing better than ever. The Friendship Group has been struggling with leadership issues and is beginning to emerge with new strength. The Children's Ministry is seeking new direction and inspiration and our new Small Group Ministry is taking its first steps.

Being active and alive does involve setting out in faith, and like those who go down to the sea in ships we will find ourselves going up to the heavens and down to the depths. Look at the history of St Luke's. Its fortunes have been going up and down since its rather stormy beginning over a hundred and twenty years ago. But the psalmist also tells us that seafarers see "the deeds of the Lord, the wonders of God in the mighty deep."

I'm excited about the things we are doing at St Luke's. We've done something the people of Nazareth couldn't do. We have set out in faith, so now let's look for the wonders of God.

Let us pray that we may see and believe the miracles of God in our lives, that we may see the presence of Christ among us and that we may go forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen