Insurance Theology? Act of God?

10  Pentecost, A p 14, August 13, 2017
1 Kings 19:9-18 Psalm 85:8-13
Romans 10:5-15,  Matthew 14:22-33

Lectionary Link
What does theology have to do with actuarial science in the insurance industry?  The insurance industry relies upon an official definition which encroaches upon theology.  Insurance companies use the phrase "Act of God" to define or classify events in nature when damage is caused because of the uncontrollable forces of nature.

Is it fair to "blame" God for all of the uncontrollable events that occur in nature, especially the ones which cause harm to people and their possessions?

One of the consequences of being called the Creator of the universe means that eventually the "buck stops" at the Creator's door.

How does the buck stop at the door of the Creator?  I would say that Creating is the power of freedom.  Creation as we know it, is the entire possible range of free events that can occur.  The human task is to learn how to live in the very best possible way within the range of free events that can happen to us.  This is both glorious and daunting.  It is glorious to sail in a boat on a lake on a breezy day.  What is more glorious than that?  It is daunting to be caught in a boat on a lake in the midst of a horrifying storm.  How can you and I live effectively with the glorious and the daunting experiences of life and everything in between?

The Gospel appointed for today, gives us in story form insights about the church's teaching on baptism.

What can we learn about the baptismal teaching of the church from this Gospel story?

Christian baptism is a faith lifestyle to live with the free conditions that we must face in life.  Based upon our experience everything in life can be understood as a metaphor of blessing or a metaphor of woe.

Water is a universal substance of life.  Wind and breath are universal signs of outer climate and inner human life. 

Water and Wind, known in the conditions of a storm, can be metaphors for uncontrollable events when people are threatened by these forces of nature.

Water as a cleanser and thirst quencher can be the living metaphor of the positive value of water to life itself.  Wind and breath can be the positive metaphor for the very evidence of a person being alive.

Being a baptized person, does not mean that we are exempt from any of the possible things that can happen in the free condition of life.

Christian baptism teaches us to be honest to the free condition in life, including the conditions of loss and death.

In this Gospel story, we are invited to be identified with the disciples of Jesus and we follow Jesus into the true free conditions of life.  The free conditions of life can be a breezy sail on the lake or being caught in sudden threatening storm.

What is common to all of the free conditions of our lives?

The presence of Christ is common to all conditions of life.  Christ is Emmanuel or God with us, always.

The goal of our lives is to seek the presence of Christ in all of the events of our lives.  And yet we know that we can often be "foxhole" Christians.  When life is a breezy sail on the lake, we can in our comfort see no need to find Christ because Christ seems to be "apparent" in our success and blessing.  One of the collateral benefits of being caught in a storm in life, is the sudden intensity of our prayer to find Christ as one who can rescue us.

In the conditions of ease, faith may seem to easy; when we are caught in the storm of life our faith attains a different kind of authentic value.

Peter in the storm of life had an inadvertent baptism.  He journeyed in excited faith towards Christ, but the threat of the storm took away his focus and then he got "baptized."  He got immersed into the lake.  The end of such an immersion would be a drowning death, but Jesus took his hand and lifted him out of the water.

The early Christians practiced baptism as an immersion in the waters of Jordan.  The immersion aspect of baptism is an identity with the death of Jesus experiencing the power to die to our sins.  Coming up from the waters of baptism is being identified with resurrection of Christ.  It is experience of knowing the hand of Christ lifting us up in the midst of the stormy events of our lives, and especially the final event of our lives, our deaths.

I think that we need to correct the terrible theology of the insurance industry.  In the insurance definitions, "acts of God" are only events of harm and damage which happen because of uncontrollable events in natures.  Are not all of the glorious events that happen in nature also "acts of God?"  Wouldn't it be better to simply call events of harm and danger, "random and accidental" events of freedom in Nature?

This Gospel lesson today teaches us about our baptismal theology.

First, it is honest to the actual conditions of freedom of what might happen in life.
Second, when we find ourselves in harm's way, we are invited to call out for Christ and find his presence.
Third, we need to keep our focus upon Christ even as the tumults of life tempt us to be overwhelmed by the negative of what can go wrong in life.  We need to be delivered from letting sin, harm and loss define our lives.

And let us quit defining the events of harm in life as acts of God; rather let our lives become testimonies for the acts of Christ who is always offering us salvation and rescue.  Amen.

Sunday School, August 13, 2017 10 Pentecost, A proper 14

Sunday School, August 13, 2017   10 Pentecost,  A proper 14

Theme:

Water and Wind Stories in the Bible

Water and Wind, when combined can be wild and dangerous.

The disciples took a night boat trip and experienced a storm on the water.

They were frightened until they saw Christ appear to them in the storm.

On a normal day, water on the lake and wind in the sails of the boat would be great and wonderful.

But darkness, storm and bumpy waves means that water and wind can be dangerous.

We know that good and wonderful things in life can be dangerous if we have the wrong experience with them or if we are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When we are sailing on the lake on a nice breezy day we are grateful and we can feel safe and we might find it easy to have faith in God.

If we are on the lake in a boat during a storm we can experience fear and when we have fear it might be very difficult to have faith in God.

Baptism is about water and wind.  How so?

We are baptized in water and we believe that we remember that in the end we survive death and fear of death because we are raised with Christ in the resurrection.

Baptism is about Wind.  Wind or Breath is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  In our lives we can become aware of the Holy Spirit as like God breathing in and through us.

When Peter tried to walk to Jesus on top of the water, he fell into water.  Jesus grabbed his hand and lifted him up.

This is what we celebrate in baptism.  We are “buried” with Christ in baptism but we are raised with Christ when we come up out of the water of baptism.

Our life can be like sailing on a breezy lake or life can be like being in a boat on a stormy lake.

When life is easy, we need to have faith.  When life is stormy we need to have faith and look to find the presence of Christ with us to help us through the stormy or difficult times of life.

We are baptized because we believe that God can tame the water and the wind in our life experience by giving the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Sermon:

Has anyone ever had a dream?  Do you remember any of your dreams?  Have any of you ever had a water dream?  Or a dream about   a storm?  Some people think that water dreams are about us being fearful and anxious in life.

  We worry about things in our life.  We worry about little things like scoring goals in soccer.  We worry about big things like earthquakes.  The story of Peter and Jesus on the lake during a big storm is a story about fear and faith.

   We are born with ability to have fear or have faith.  And if too many sad things happen to us we can begin to be fearful.  We can let our imaginations make us think that only bad things are going to happen and we can begin to begin to be fearful.  In baseball, if I strike out once.  I can get sad and think that I am going to strike out next time and every time.

  Peter was in a boat on a very stormy.  He was fearful.  He did not think he would survive but he saw Jesus walking on the water.  And suddenly he had hope.  And he decided he wanted to walk towards Jesus.  And he did but then he looked at the frightening water.  And he fell into the water.  But Jesus rescued him and told him not to fear but to have faith.

   The storms of our lives are all the things that can go wrong.  The storms of life are the bad things that can happen to us.  And these things can make us worry.  These things can make us fearful.

  But we need to remember that hope is greater than fear.  We need to look for the people who give us hope.  When we have hope we let our mind think about good things happening to us.  We let our mind think about keep trying hard to do our very best because with practice we can always get better.

  When we have hope we can change our fear and worry to faith.  Faith means that we just keep trying to do our very best no matter what happens, whether it is stormy or sunny, we just keep doing our best.

  Jesus is the one who can inspire us to keep trying, even when we are faced with difficult things in our life.

  Jesus is like a magician who can help us convert our energy of worry and fear into the energy of faith.

  And with faith we can become our own heroes.  We can become our own heroes when we do not quit but just keep trying to do our very best.

  Remember Jesus is the one who walks in the middle of the storms of life.  And he inspires us to convert our energy of fear into the energy of faith.

  Let me see your faith muscles.

  Say, “I am strong.  I have converted the energy of fear into the muscles of faith.”  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

August 13, 2017: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah, This Little Light, Alleluia, When the Saints Go Marching In

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song:  Hallelu, Hallelujah  (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 84)

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah!  Prasie ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah!  Praise ye, the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter to the Romans

If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 105

Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name; * make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him, * and speak of all his marvelous works.

Glory in his holy Name; * let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."  Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:         The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song: This Little Light of Mine (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 234)

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I’m going let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, No!  I’m going to let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, No!  I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine.  Don’t let anyone blow it out.  I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let is shine.

Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine.  Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Alleluia (Renew!  # 136)

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

He’s my savior, alleluia.  He’s my savior, alleluia.  He’s my savior, alleluia.  He’s my savior, alleluia.

He is worthy, alleluia.  He is worthy, alleluia.  He is worthy alleluia, he is worthy, alleluia.

I will praise him, alleluia.  I will praise him, alleluia.  I will praise him alleluia.  I will praise him, alleluia

Maranatha, alleluia.  Maranatha, alleluia.  Maranatha, Alleluia, Maranatha, Alleluia.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: When the Saints Go Marching in (O When the Saints # 248)

O when the saints, go marching in.  O when the saints go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints to marching in.

O when the boys go marching in.  Ho when the boys go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the boys go marching in.

O when the girls go marching in.  O when the girls go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the girls go marching in.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Having Faith While in the Storms of Life

9  Pentecost, A p14, August 10, 2014

1 Kings 19:9-18 Psalm 85:8-13

Romans 10:5-15,  Matthew 14:22-33

Lectionary Link

Have you ever seen anyone walk on water?  I have seen people walk on water and I've done it myself.  I did it as a child and also when I was at seminary in Wisconsin.  I must confess though the water that I walked on was the hardened variety found on the frozen lakes of the north.  That sort of diminishes the miracle doesn't it?  I have also seen people walk on water before in one of my water dreams.  But dream state, altered state seeing does not have the same status it once had in the ancient world.

   All of the miracles in the Bible are believable if we accept "altered states" kind of seeing.  It was common for dream states to be a significant mode of communication from the non-conscious side of life often characterized as the abode of God or the Spirit.  Dream states have a naivete about them, a purity about them because we as human being do not control such states.  Since we as humans cannot make dreams happen and since we cannot control their content, they have a fascinating feature to them.  They can have the sense of the divine because they seem to be communication to us in a fashion which we are not used to.  They also are mysterious to us since they have cryptic communication.  They do not seem to have obvious meanings.  They engage us and make us ponder their meanings.  And they do not have literal meaning.  And they do not have scientific meaning because one cannot replicate or repeat exactly what the dream experience was.  When anthropologists have gone to study other cultures which have not had contact with the cultures affected by the Enlightenment and modern science, they have found that people in their wakened state and conscious lives can still see in way that is more of what we call "dream-like" seeing.   They do not yet fully distinguish between what's inside and what's outside in the way in which we have been taught to do so from having been raised in the cultures of science where the subject and object split is so pronounced.

  Much of the Bible includes accounts where it is obvious to us today that people saw things differently and experienced differently and used a different kind of language reporting to relate to them the important things about their values, their beliefs and their faith.  Dreams and visions were shared and became a part of the community lore and written down as a part of the community’s literature.

  After reading the Gospel language of the storm, Jesus walking on the water and Peter's attempt to do the same, I think we could honestly say that we could dream something like this ourselves.  And in dreaming something like this we might be able with some reflection to come to some various insights.

  First, our conscious minds cannot collect everything that is happening to us and around us.  Our conscious minds have the limitation of remembered frames of focus but our unconscious peripheral awareness is always taking in more than what we do with intentional focus.  And in our dreams and in other moments of altered awareness we can have access to all of what we have taken in and it is presented to us in sort of collage images.  And we have to reflect upon these collage images to come to some insights about our lives and about how we can live with hope and faith in our lives today.

  The Gospel story today is the equivalent of a very serious water dream.  And a water and storm dream is definitely an indication of an anxiety dream.  Anxiety is a major truth of everyone's life because we love our lives enough to cherish and value them and to know the threat of the loss of life and the things and people we have come to enjoy.

  We enjoy loving friendship, freedom and ability to be free agents, health and safety.  We experience or we observe the loss or the threat of loss of everything.   A water dream reveals to us the experience of anxiety, a form of fear.  This is a universal human experience.  The water and the storm would indicate to us the state of chaos which everyone can know when systems come into conflict and when the competing goals of people cause pain, hurt and injury.

  The chaos of Anxiety and fear come to us on many different levels.  We can be incredibly galactic in our anxiety and worry about solar flares or a comet hitting our planet or we can resort to conspiracy theories involving UFO's and aliens.  When people were limited to but a radius of but a few miles and relied upon the stories of travelers, then it was much easier to subscribe to the great cosmic stories to provide cause and effect answers for local situations even when one had no way of verifying cosmic effects.  Astrology is very entertaining even while it is hard to verify as valid one to one connections between stars and human personality tendencies.

  Today with rapid communication it is easy for us to have world and global anxiety.  The water and storms of our own world threaten us to think about the spread of chaos.  Genocide in various places in the world.  ISIS forces killing Christians and other religious minorities.  Boka Haram extremists slaughtering innocent people.  Troops amassing on the border of the Ukraine, cyber thieves threatening economic interchange, perpetual hostilities between Israel and Palestine, Syria is in an incredible warring mess as well as Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Pakistan.  Drug cartels having violent control and we oppose them while being one of the largest drug using countries in the world. Kleptocrats making condition so unlivable in their own countries forcing even children to make dangerous journeys for the hope of a safer place.  Truly, there is occasion for us to have storm and water dreams of anxiety for the global threats in our world.

  But water dreams of anxiety are also relevant to our own pockets of chaos.  We face economic changes, job changes, change of location, addictions, relationship stress, family crisis, health crises and so we like Peter and the disciples can be in our small boats caught in the midst of great waves of water in very windy storms.

  In the midst of our storms when we react with fear and all of fear's fingers of anxieties, we seek one who is with us enough to know our anxiety but beyond us enough to see beyond the particulars of our chaos.  Peter in the midst of his storm saw the vision of Jesus walking on the water.  Jesus did not allow himself to be possessed by Peter's fear; he was the vision of one who could survive and live within the storm.  The vision of Jesus was so comforting to Peter that it actually made Peter confident.  Peter decided that he too did not want to put his life completely on hold during the storm, he wanted to walk in the storm.  He wanted to express his faith even within the storm.  So Peter walked toward Jesus but the conditions of the storm distracted his faith.  It was so much easier to believe in the reality of the storm than in the reality of Jesus, who lived beyond the storm.  And when Peter used his good reason not to believe, he did not believe and he sank.  But even in his sinking he found that Jesus rescued him.

  Can we not see in this story portrayal an altered state way of seeing our lives?  Can we not see the literal truth, the literary and artistic truth of this story to our lives?

  You and I are always already in stormy states of life by virtue of the conditions of freedom in our world and because of the reality of time which means there are many different changes that are always occurring.  And we have to live with, adjust to, respond to and assert ourselves within the conditions of change.

  So what are the Gospel insights for us today?

  One Gospel insight might be the admission of the actual conditions of life.  Folks, it can be stormy out there and it can be stormy in here.  It can be stormy in the heavens, it can be stormy in the galaxy, it can be stormy in other countries, it can be stormy in our country, state, city, neighborhoods, homes and family.  We cannot avoid the reality of the storms of life.  Human storms are as inevitable as the changing weather.

  Another Gospel insight is this: Storms are not the only weather condition.  There can be many other weather conditions which are more supportive of human safety.  So, do not let the storms define the totality of all weather conditions.  In the human sphere, do not let loss, pain, failure or threat, define the totality of life.  The total good outweighs the total bad; it is just that the bad is such a deprivation of the good that it yells out and gains attention beyond its actual strength.

  Another Gospel insight for us:  Let hope give us the vision for survival in the midst of our life storm.  The greatest storm of life is death and the threat of death.  The resurrected Christ stands before us as the trump card to death.  We begin there to deal with the big Anxiety.  But we let the hope of seeing Christ inspire us to take steps in the direction of what is hopeful.  The details of the hopeful are many: another job, a good health report, a successful surgery, a child growing up, a relationship improved, an addiction interdicted in an encounter with a higher power grace experience, a new friendship, the ministry of a piece of music, reading some telling piece of wisdom in a book, an artistic image, a sublime encounter with stories of cinema and television, a report of heroism, courage, rescue and healing.

  Another Gospel insight for us:  Even if we falter in our efforts of faith, we can still be rescued and given more chances.  Christ picks us up and Christ forgives us and he does not accuse us.  He simply challenges us to keep on being faithful and taking those small steps of faith in the direction of Hope signified by Christ who is the one who gives us a vision of surpassing our current stormy situation.

  My friends, this Gospels is true because it invites us to an altered way of seeing within the very real storms of life.  Look up and see Christ as the one who surpasses our stormy situation to inspire hope for us to take the next step of faith.  Amen.