For Those in Peril on the Sea

At the funeral we attended last week we sung the old hymn:

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Rebellion: Yesterday, visiting Wells-next-the-Sea, I saw a plaque commemorating John Fryer. Born in Wells, Fryer served in the Royal Navy, and finally returned to Wells where he’s buried.

In 1787 Fryer was appointed the sailing master on HMS Bounty. The  famous ‘Mutiny on the Bounty occurred in the South Pacific in 1789. Lieutenant Fletcher Christian led disaffected crewmen to seize control of the ship from Captain William Bligh…

Fryer remained loyal to Bligh and, together with eighteen loyalists, was set adrift in the ship’s open launch…

Sometimes ‘peril on the sea’ (literal and metaphorical) is caused by rebellion.

Rescue: We visited the Wells Lifeboat station. Established in‍ 1802… nineteenth century stories of courage, dedication and bravery… countless lives saved… lives tragically lost… volunteers providing aid to those in ‌peril on the treacherous​ waters of the North ​Sea.

More recently …On a stormy night in 1965 the crew saved a fishing ‍vessel stranded against the rocks,‌ rescuing all crew members… In 2010 two capsized Kayakers​ in life-threatening trouble were rescued … In 2018, during a foggy night, a vessel reported engine failure and the lifeboat successfully brought the stranded sailors back to safety…

Sometimes ‘those in peril on the sea’ are those rescuing others in peril.

Redemption: This morning I read the story of Jonah. God tells Jonah to go to Ninevah; Jonah goes in the opposite direction to Joppa, where he boards a boat. When the storm comes he’s ‘in peril on the sea’. Thrown overboard, he’s swallowed by a big fish.

In the fish he comes to his senses. He calls to God for help, realising that God’s present with him in his rebellion… in the peril of the storm… in the rescuing fish.

Jonah’s ‘peril on the sea’ was part of the process of restoration and redemption with his God. Literal and metaphorical… Me too.