03-10-24 Toward a Safe Harbor

Thomas J Parlette
“Toward a Safe Harbor”
John 3: 14-21
3/10/24
          Sailing the high seas back in the Middle Ages was quite a different matter than it is today. If you were sailing a ship on the Mediterranean Sea in those days, you had no radios, no binoculars, and certainly no GPS or radar available. So what was a navigator to do? How did you find your way? Well, one tool at your disposal was something called a portolan chart.
          Hand-drawn and often quite colorful, these charts were drawn on vellum – an animal skin that had been prepared by cleaning, bleaching and stretching. The charts contained information that was lifesaving for sailors, who used them to find their way to the safety of a suitable port. Although these portolans contained very little information about inland geography, the charts were pretty good at providing crucial data about coastlines and harbors.
          Sailors called them “portolans” – an interesting word from the Italian word “portolano”, meaning “harbor official” or “navigation manual”, and they were designed to guide the user toward a safe harbor. (1)
          Portolans were used for more than 500 years, showing seafarers where to dock and how to avoid danger. According to the Yale Alumni Magazine, they were “renowned for their accuracy – which is remarkable, as early cartographers couldn’t see the coast from a distance.” (2) Portolans show major ports in red letters and minor ports in black. Shoals and other sailing hazards are identified with black dots.
          And here is an interesting tidbit that might surprise you if you are accustomed to holding a map with the north side up and the south side down. “Portolans were designed to be rotated to suit viewers at a communal table, they were not drawn with a distinct top or bottom.” (3)
So, a portolan could be understood from any side or any angle.
          This third chapter of the Gospel of John contains what is probably the most famous verse in the Bible – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” I’m sure many of you know that verse by heart. It tells us that Jesus is God’s Son, the eternal Word of God in human form. He invites us to believe in him, so we will not perish. And he shows us the way to live, so that we can enjoy the safety and security of eternal life with God.
          In a way then, Jesus is God’s portolan, guiding us toward the safe harbor of eternal life with God.
         So, how does it work? God put God’s Word in human skin, long before navigational charts were put on animal skin. “In the beginning was the Word,” says John in the first chapter of his Gospel. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and full of truth.” Yes, it was in Jesus that the Word of God became flesh, visible in human skin. It was the appearance of God in Jesus that allowed us to experience the grace and truth of God in a way that we never could before.
          All those ancient scrolls just did not do the trick. No – we needed to see God’s word in flesh and blood, walking among us.
        In today’s passage, Jesus is talking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. During their conversation, Jesus tells him that God has a history of providing portolan charts to save God’s people. He says, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
        The reference to the serpent here is from our Old Testament lesson this morning from Numbers. It’s part of a long series of stories in Numbers in which the people complain about just about everything regarding life in the desert – including todays verses regarding the food and water, which they describe as “miserable.”
          In many instances, God sends punishments on Israel for their complaining and rebellious behavior, although Moses is able to step in and act as an intermediary between God and the people – saving them from God’s wrath.
          Such is the case in this passage. After God punishes the people for their complaints about the food by sending poisonous snakes among them, they apologize and Moses prays to the Lord. God offers Moses a portolan by saying, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So, Moses made a serpent out of bronze and put it on a pole. And sure enough, whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
          Like the serpent on the pole, Jesus is God’s portolan. He is as visible as the serpent of Moses, the one we look up to when we are in danger of perishing, when we are scared as medieval sailors on a dark and stormy sea. The promise is as true today as it has ever been – “everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
          Belief is so important in John 3:16. Navigators in the Middle Ages had to believe in their portolans to avoid dying at sea. We are invited to believe in Jesus to avoid perishing in the journey of life. Fortunately, we can trust him to rescue us and guide us. He is the clearest possible sign that God loves us and wants to save us.
          The two meanings of the Italian word “Portolano” – “harbor official” and “navigation manual” are also significant. Jesus plays both roles as he guides us toward eternal life. He is not only the Word of God in human skin, but he is the one who leads us away from danger and toward a safe harbor with God.
          For instance, I’m a big fan of the Bravo show “Below Deck.” It’s wonderful escapist TV as it takes place on yachts in exotic locales like Australia, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. In one recent season, the mega yachts home port was an exceptionally tight and crowded area. Even the most experienced captains were not allowed to dock the ships on their own. Before they pulled into port, they radioed the harbor master who would send out a specially trained pilot to guide the boat through the harbor because they knew all the hazards and depths better than the captains.
          Jesus is like the harbor master. Jesus is the one sent by God to welcome us home and lead us safely into port. “Indeed,” says the Gospel of John, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned.”
          Think about how important it is to trust the harbor official. If we follow their guidance, we are going to dock safely. If we don’t trust them and argue with them instead, we are going to end up on the rocks.
          You may remember the story of two radio operators on a foggy night. A large Navy ship sees a blip on their radar, indicating another craft ahead.
Radio 1, from the Navy vessel – “Please divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.”
Radio 2 – That’s a negative, advise you to divert your course 15 degrees.
Radio 1 – This is a US Navy ship. I repeat, divert your course.
Radio 2 – Divert your course.
Radio 1 – This is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. Divert your course immediately!
Radio 2 – This is a lighthouse. Your call. (4)
          Jesus is not only our harbor official; he is also our lighthouse. All the guidance he gives is designed to keep us from crashing. By believing in him, we will not perish but will have eternal life.
          And Jesus is our navigation manual. He is the one who shows us how to walk in the light of God’s truth and God’s grace. “And this is the judgment,” says the Gospel of John, “that light has come into the world, and the people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil… But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
          In John’s Gospel, there is a lot of talk about light and darkness, with light always referring to good and darkness always referring to evil. This is an unfortunate pairing, since we know that darkness is not always bad. Babies grow in the darkness of the womb, and seeds sprout and grow in the darkness of the earth. And unfortunately, language about dark and light can spill over into assessments of skin tones, adding fuel to the fire of racism.
          Better to talk simply about good and evil, and say that Jesus has come to guide us in the path of truth and goodness and grace. He is a navigation manual for us; he helps us avoid the dangers of lies and evil actions and judgmental attitudes. When we follow Jesus, we walk the path of the One who “is the way and the truth and the life.” When we imitate his actions, we show goodness and generosity to others. And when we receive his grace, we not only experience forgiveness for ourselves, but we become able to forgive those who have hurt us.
          Jesus is the One we consult when we need to find our way. To have such a figure on our portolan charts is really nothing new. Historians have found that the Red Sea was often depicted on portolans in the Middle Ages. This wasn’t because Mediterranean sailors needed to find their way through the Red Sea – they didn’t. The Mediterranean and the Red Sea weren’t connected until the Suez Canal opened in 1869. No, the Red Sea was included as a reminder to the sailors. It told them that God was with them, working for good in their lives, just as God had been with the Israelites as they crossed the Red Sea to escape oppression in Egypt. (5)
          So we can think of Jesus as God’s portolan, the Word of God in human skin. He is our harbor official, our navigation manual and our lighthouse. He can be approached from many sides, by people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. When you find yourself unable to see what lies ahead, put your faith in him. He will keep you from perishing and guide you toward the safe harbor of eternal life with God.
         May God be praised. Amen.