Christian Funeral for Alfred "Al" Clifford Cox

(Audio)

John 10:11-16; Romans 8:31-39; Job 19:21-27

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

I think it’s fair to say that Al was a simple man. I’m not speaking of his intelligence, for Al was whip-smart and nobody’s fool, but his lifestyle, his interests, his dreams were fairly simple. Al was content, at peace, happy with what he had and with what he could do. Sadly, longing and desiring for things we don’t or can’t have, or can’t do, is what often make us so miserable. Most of us, I imagine, could learn a thing or two from a guy like Al and be a lot happier for it.

Al was born in Florida but lived most of his life in Pennsylvania where he worked as a bakery assistant and as a car wash attendant. It was much later in life that he reconnected with his high school sweetheart Robyn. Robyn was living in Texas at the time, and Al was living in Pennsylvania, but Al’s sister Kathy hooked them up. Robyn traveled to Pennsylvania to see her high school sweetheart, and thirty-three years after high school, Al and Robyn were married on April 23, 2016. Together they lived in Pennsylvania for a while, then Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania again, and finally they moved to Waverly, Iowa in May of 2023 to be closer to their daughter Michelle. Though Al was not her biological father, Michelle said that Al was a better dad and was that he was there for her from day one. Al and Robyn would have celebrated their ninth anniversary in April.

Al and Robyn enjoyed everything together, especially watching TV and playing the Wii. They regularly joined us here at St. John for fellowship dinners and for cards and games at 5-C. However, Al was the cook at home, and the dishwasher too! His favorite dishes to make were meatloaf and spaghetti, and Michelle enjoyed cooking with Al from time to time.

Al and Robyn began attending St. John in the Fall of 2023. They immediately became a part of our family of faith and appear in countless photos of fellowship dinners and events. Al was always so happy and smiling in those photos. He was funny, easy going, and positive. We will all miss him, along with you his family and friends.

On August 25 last year Al suffered a debilitating stroke. Life would never be the same. Al was life-flighted to Iowa City where he spent a month or more in the surgical ICU at the University of Iowa Hospital. It was touch and go most of that time, but Al pulled through and he and Robyn had to adjust to a new way of living that involved a long stay at Mercy One Rehabilitation for inpatient physical rehabilitation, and then later, an indefinite stay at Harmony House in Waterloo. The damage from the stroke, however, was truly debilitating and the recovery was long and slow and frustrating for Al. I truly believe that it began to wear down his contentment, peace, and patience, and to rob him of some of his lighthearted joy and spirit. Al put up a strong fight, perhaps all that he had, but in the end, the Lord took him that he might find rest in Him.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” says Jesus. There is rest and peace and comfort and joy in the presence of Jesus. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep by name; He calls them, and they follow Him. He leads them to cool waters. He guides them and protects them. And He feeds them in the presence of their enemies. In Jesus, there is no want, for every need is met and all desires are fulfilled. Jesus’ sheep are like a cup, a chalice, filled to overflowing with His love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest. All who trust in Him find rest and comfort, through good times and through bad times. Job was a man blessed richly with family, wealth, possessions, the admiration of men, and personal health. Though the LORD permitted all these blessings to be taken from him, Job still trusted in the LORD confessing, “The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; blessed by the Name of the LORD.” And 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, in his suffering, Job confessed his belief in an already living Redeemer and in the resurrection of his own body saying, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, [and He is!] who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? […] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Robyn, Michelle, family, friends, take comfort, find peace, and have hope in the promises of the LORD: “Nothing can separate you from my love.” “I will never leave you or forsake you.” “I am with you always.” Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on, for they are with Him. Though we grieve their passing, and we miss them, we truly do not wish them back, but our wish is to be with them where they are in the presence of our Lord, Savior, and Good Shepherd Jesus. That promise has been kept for Al and for all who trust in Him, and that promise will be kept for you if you trust in Him as well.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Sexagesima

(Audio)

Luke 8:4-15; 2 Corinthians 11:19 – 12:9; Isaiah 55:10-13

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Farming is hard. Did you know that? Pretty much everything is stacked against you: Not enough rain; too much rain. Not enough sun and heat; too much sun and heat. Weeds, insects, mold, blight. Bird flu, parasites, and more. It’s almost like all of creation is in bondage to sin, corruption, and death, or something? And, as it goes for the farmer, so it goes for the preacher, and so it goes for you dear Christian in your life in this world: You are under continual attack from Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh, and you will enter the LORD’s kingdom only by persevering through trial, temptation, tribulation, suffering, and finally death as you follow and live your life in the One who was pierced and crushed for our sins and iniquities.

The Scriptures abound in agricultural themes and imagery. Jesus compared Himself to a grain of wheat that must fall into the earth and die that He should produce an abundance of new life: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” Jesus, of course, was talking about His suffering and death. He was literally born so that He might suffer and die for us. Yes, that’s what Christmas was really all about: The Father sowed the Seed of His Word, His Son, into our flesh, into this world, so that He should suffer and die and be raised to new, abundant, and everlasting life for all who trust in Him.

The Parable of the Sower is a particularly beloved parable, perhaps in large part because Jesus actually explains what it means. The Seed is the Word of God, which is to say, the Seed is Jesus. Thus, the Sower is God the Father. These two, the Sower and the Seed, stand at the very center of the parable as the only agency, power, and life. The Sower sows the Seed, and only the Seed has the agency, power, and life to bring about new life and fruitfulness. However, the life-giving Seed, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, will be attacked by the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh of men. For, we are the soil: The hard soil, the rocky soil, the weedy and thorny soil, and, by the grace of God alone, sometimes the good soil too. Do not think that anyone, including yourself, is one particular soil alone, for we are each all of the soils at different times, often even in the same day. The point is that, apart from the powerful, life-giving Word-Seed-Jesus, we are just soil, and we are lifeless and fruitless on our own.

The Father sows the Word Seed, His Son, into this world, into our flesh, in full knowledge that He will be opposed, resisted, and rejected by most – indeed, by ¾, 75%, in the parable – and in the full knowledge that He will suffer and die. Moreover, the Word Seed Son Jesus also knows that He will be resisted, rejected, will suffer and die, and He goes willingly out of love and obedience to His Father. This is the Father’s will. And, the Son’s will, Jesus’ will, is the same as His Father’s. Resistance, rejection, suffering, and death is the Father’s will for His Word Seed Son. Yes, as much as it is the Father’s will that the Son should die that those who receive Him and trust in Him, but a remnant, should have life in His Name, it is also the Father’s will that those who reject Him and do not believe should be exposed, for in this way the LORD’s righteousness shines forth and God is glorified. The Prophet says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” And St. Simeon prophesied of the infant Jesus, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed […] so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

The Father didn’t have to send His Son. By all rights, He shouldn’t have. But that’s who He is. God is our true Father who loves us with a perfect, selfless, sacrificial love. No, He shouldn’t have, but He did, because that’s who He is. The Father’s sowing of His Seed Word Son is a gift of grace, pure grace, no strings attached. We are the soil, inert, lifeless soil. Be we hard, rocky, thorny, or good soil, we are the soil, and we contribute nothing, but we only receive, or we reject, the powerful and life-giving Seed. We contribute nothing because we are creatures, created by our Creator God and LORD. What did the pot contribute to its creation by the potter? What did the painting contribute to its being painted? If a pot or a painting are bad, they might be destroyed or painted over. Not so with our Creator God and LORD. Though we, His creatures, rejected and rebelled against Him, He did the unthinkable, He set in motion a plan to redeem and restore us, a plan that would require the death of His Son. It was the Father’s grace alone that gave us a chance to be redeemed, and it is by His Word, Scripture alone, His Word Seed Son Jesus alone, that we can be redeemed. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The Sower sows the seed of His Word. This Word is living and powerful to conceive new life in those who hear it. But the planting of Christ is attacked by the devil, the world, and the flesh. Satan snatches the Word away from hard hearts. The riches and pleasures of this life choke off faith. Shallow and emotional belief withers in time of temptation and trouble. But see how Christ bears this attack for us! Christ’s cross was planted in the hard and rocky soil of Golgotha. A crown of thorns was placed upon His head. Satan and His demons hellishly hounded and devoured Him. Yet, through His dying and rising again, He destroyed these enemies of ours. Jesus is Himself the Seed which fell to the ground and died in order that it might sprout forth to new life and produce much grain. He is the Word of the Father which does not return void but yields a harvest hundredfold.

There’s nothing easy about farming. Likewise, there’s nothing easy about being a Christian. You are under continual attack from Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh, and you will enter the LORD’s kingdom only by persevering through trial, temptation, tribulation, suffering, and finally death as you follow and live your life in the One who was pierced and crushed for our sins and iniquities. Thanks be to God our Father that He is gracious and merciful. He has sown His Word Seed Son into our flesh, and He has suffered all the assaults of the evil one in His own flesh and blood body, has suffered and died and rose again victorious of sin, death, and Satan the firstfruits of those who believe and trust in Him. Because He lives, we will live also, provided we do not give up. By the Grace alone of the Father we have the Holy Scriptures, His Word Seed Son. Remain in His Word and He will remain in you, and you will bear His fruit a hundredfold into life that does not end. Grace alone; Scripture alone; Christ alone. Faith alone; Believe it and live in Him.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Septuagesima

(Audio)

Matthew 20:1-16; 1 Corinthians 9:24 – 10:5; Exodus 17:1-7

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Outside those doors is a world ruled by man’s wisdom and reason, knowledge and intellect. In that world men are in competition with one-another, much less for survival than for the amassing of power and wealth, material possessions, and for the admiration, envy, and fear of other men. Outside those doors men use political philosophies, business and marketing strategies, coercion, threats, and even force to gain one-upmanship over one-another, to advance the self, and to squash all competition or opposition. That’s what lies outside those doors from whence you came this day. But, when you come through those doors into this place, you must leave all those things behind, check them at the door. For, such philosophies, strategies, and means have no place within the walls of God’s house, and they must find no voice amongst God’s children. And we must not attempt to use them to grow, to maintain, or to defend the Church of Christ, for they are of, and they belong to, the world outside those doors, and, though the Church of Christ is within that world, She must never be, or become, or desire to be, part of that world.

Indeed, in His parable today, Jesus is not describing what lies outside those doors, but He is describing what is inside those doors, the kingdom of heaven, a reality of which our humble assembly in this place is but a dim reflection. It is a parable about a Master who hires laborers to work in His vineyard and who, at the end of the day, pays them exactly what He had promised each of them regardless of how long they had worked or what they believed that they earned, deserved, or merited. To be sure, if Jesus’ parable were enacted as a socio-political philosophy today, neither the capitalist nor the socialist, nor even the libertarian outside those doors would agree or be pleased, for the first principle in Jesus’ parable is grace, which, by definition, cannot be earned, deserved, or merited. For, you must remember, this is a parable about the kingdom of heaven, and not a parable about the crumbling, rotting, selfish, and wicked kingdoms of men.

And, notice this, there is no “go and do likewise” teaching from Jesus here. For, the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of grace – period. In the end, you are either in the kingdom of God’s grace, or you are outside of it; you are either on this side of those doors, or you are on the outside. Those on the outside of the kingdom of God’s grace will be there by their own choice alone, for the Spirit of the Lord will continue calling laborers to work in the Lord’s vineyard even unto the eleventh hour of this world, and those who enter last will receive the fullness of God’s grace in Jesus Christ even as the first. The only question that is asked of those who enter the kingdom at the eleventh hour is “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” Do not begrudge the Lord His generosity.

Indeed, there is more for you to check at the door when you enter this place than merely your socio-political philosophies and your worldly wisdom and fleshly desires, for you must check every sense of merit, worthiness, and deserving as well. For, you come into the kingdom of heaven much in the way that you came into this worldly kingdom – naked, helpless, and with nothing to offer. Worse than that, you come as damaged goods, broken, selfish and self-centered, envious, greedy, and filled with every corruption. That’s the way you come into the kingdom; but that’s not the way you leave. For, there is not one in the kingdom of heaven that does not receive a 100% share of the Lord’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ. And, there is not one in the kingdom of heaven who is not made to be holy, innocent, and righteous in the atoning incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Outside those doors, many men are concerned only about preserving, keeping, and defending what they believe they have rightly earned, deserved, or merited, while, many other men are concerned only about providing for those who are either unable or unwilling to earn, deserve, or merit much of anything at all. As the former may be tempted to self-concern and selfishness, so the latter may be tempted to take, by coercion or by force, from those who have to distribute it to those who have not. But, that is outside those doors. For, inside those doors, in the kingdom of heaven, no one earns, deserves, or merits anything at all, and yet all receive equally and fully of God’s rich grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness for Jesus’ sake. Again, there is no “Go and do likewise” teaching here, but, nevertheless, you are sent back out through those doors into the world, but not of the world. And, you go out into the world differently, as a child of God, as a recipient of God’s boundless grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness, to show and to share to those in the world that they might come through those doors and enter the vineyard kingdom of heaven as well. No, you will not be perfect in your efforts outside those doors; you will pick up some of the old habits, and thoughts, and sinful ways of the flesh. But, when you return, you will leave those things at the door once again and return to the kingdom of heaven in repentance and humility, where you will find that, though you strayed, the kingdom was never far from you, and that you will be restored and renewed in God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness once again for the sake of Jesus Christ your Lord.

For, while the way into this place may be through those doors, the way into the kingdom of heaven is not through those doors, or the doors of any building, but the way into the kingdom of heaven is through the font. For, the font is the womb of the Church, the place where the children of God are conceived and born through water and the Word. And, from the pulpit and the lectern the children of God are nourished and strengthened in faith by the faith creating and sustaining Word of God. And from the altar the children of God are served the finest of meats and the choicest of wines to eat and to drink, that Christ may dwell in you and you in Him. For, as St. Peter has written, “our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”

And so it is, dear Christian, that you live your life in two kingdoms – the kingdom of this world outside those doors, and the kingdom of heaven inside those doors. And, as much as the world out there must not influence, change, or affect life in the Church of Christ, so likewise, it is not the mission or the purpose of the Church to conquer and to rule in the world. Rather, you are to be like leaven in the world, you are to be like salt in the world, and you are to be like light in that world of sin, darkness, and death. That is to say that you are to take the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness that you have received from God in Jesus in His kingdom of grace and you are to live it, to speak it, and to do it in the world, in your vocations, to your neighbors, as God has freely lived, spoken, and done to you in Jesus Christ.

And, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, you must not seek to use the government or politics or force to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth, for grace does not force itself on anyone, but it is freely given and it must be freely received. Likewise, Jesus nowhere teaches that the children of God should utilize government, politics, or force to take what belongs to one and give to another. Instead your Lord teaches, “Give, as it has been given to you” and “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” You search the Scriptures in vain for a socio-political philosophy, for Church growth strategies and marketing techniques, for such things are of the kingdom of the world outside those doors, while Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. But, you are the Lord’s laborers in His vineyard, and, notice, there is no description of the kind of work that you do or even of the limits of your work shift, for, the conditions of your hire are a relationship of faith and trust in the good will of your Lord and Master, and the work that you do is to live your life outside those doors in faith and trust in Him and in loving service to your neighbor. Put not your trust in princes, they are but mortal, but put your trust in Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. He offers His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness to all, to the last as to the first. Let us not begrudge His generosity but share it in life, word, and deed to the glory of God the Father, in His most Holy Son, in the love of His Holy Spirit.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (Epiphany 4)

(Audio)

Matthew 8:23-27; Romans 8:18-23; Jonah 1:1-17

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Why do bad things happen to good people? You might be surprised to learn that God’s Word does provide an answer to that question, but you’re probably not going to like it. The answer to the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people,” God’s answer to that question, is that there are no good people. Remember the words of St. Paul to the Church at Rome: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “there is none that is righteous, not even one.” And remember Jesus’ own words to a rich young man who called him good teacher; Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Therefore, instead of asking the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people,” perhaps you should be asking, “Why don’t bad things happen to me continually?” Truly, you shouldn’t wonder why a terrible thing has happened to this person or to that person, but rather why you, who are just as deserving as they, have, by the grace of God, been spared. That’s the true mystery of it all, the mystery of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

The so-called “Problem of Evil” isn’t really a problem at all when you take God’s Word and your sin seriously. In the beginning there was God, period. God created all things that exist, including humankind, and it was good; in fact, it was very good. There was no evil in God’s very good creation. There was only God, who is good, and the good creation he created. However, God gave us a free will, that is, a will that was free to reject him and his goodness and choose something else, something other – evil. So, why is there evil in the world? It’s not because God created evil, but it is because his free creatures, man and woman, chose to reject God, to rebel against his goodness; it is because God’s free creatures chose evil over good. Because of mankind’s free choice of evil over God’s Word and goodness death entered the world. This was mankind’s choice and doing, not God’s. While it may be incorrect, and certainly unhelpful and unkind, to suggest that any person’s suffering is the direct result of his or her sin, it is not incorrect to say that suffering and death in general are the result of sin in the world, sin and death that came into the world, not by God’s choice, but by man’s. And so, the storms of life often encompass us and threaten to destroy us. But we need not fear, for God is still good, and he is still God, and that means that he is in control. Though he did not create the evil that afflicts us nor introduce it into his good creation, he is still LORD of all, and he will restore all things, in his way and in his time, to order, goodness, and perfection once again.

The LORD commanded Jonah to go to wicked Nineveh and preach his Word, his Law and Gospel, that they might turn in repentance and find salvation in him. But Jonah didn’t want to go. More importantly, Jonah didn’t want to go, not because he feared the Ninevites or that God’s Word would be ineffective, but quite the contrary, Jonah fully believed that the LORD’s word was powerful to turn the Ninevites in repentance so that they could be saved. Jonah didn’t want that to happen; he felt that this was too good for those wicked people, and that they shouldn’t have the opportunity to receive forgiveness. So, Jonah made a choice; he chose to reject God and his goodness and to run away and hide from God. He charted a freighter and sailed off for Tarshish, hidden and fast asleep in its hold. The LORD permitted a ferocious storm to come upon the ship. The wind roared and the waves buffeted the ship striking terror into the hearts of the sailors that they would be overcome and perish. Now, storms and gales, trials and tribulations, come and go upon us all. They are not of God, who is good and the rule and measure of all that is good, but they are under his control, and he permits or prevents them from befalling us according to his good and gracious will.

Jonah knew this fully well. When the sailors awakened him in their terror, Jonah confessed that this was God’s doing, and that it was because of his sinful rebellion that he permitted the storm to afflict them. He told them to throw him overboard and that the storm would cease. Whereas before the storm Jonah refused to obey the LORD and preach his Word to the Ninevites that they might repent and be saved, now Jonah was willing to die that the pagan sailors might be saved. And so, they threw Jonah into the sea, and the storm was stilled, and many of the sailors believed in the LORD who made the sea and the wind and is their master. But then the LORD did something more; he sent a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish where he prayed fervently to the LORD that he might save him. Though his sin was his own and he justly deserved death and eternal torment, the LORD heard and answered Jonah’s prayer and, demonstrating his power and authority once again, this time over the beasts of the earth, the LORD caused the great fish to vomit Jonah out on dry land. And the LORD commanded Jonah a second to time to go and preach repentance to the Ninevites. This time Jonah obeyed. He preached repentance to the Ninevites, and the Holy Spirit worked contrition in their hearts, and they cried out to God and were spared his impending judgment. Truly, the LORD works all things together for good, even the rebellious and evil things that we and other men do, for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.

So often it seems that God’s ways are not our ways. What we count as foolishness may we come to see as wisdom by his Holy Spirit through his Word. For, it appeared foolishness that the people of Nineveh should be forgiven. And it appeared foolishness that the LORD would use a wicked, rebellious man to bring this Word to wicked people. And it appeared even greater foolishness still that this man should be thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish in order to make this happen. Thus, when the scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus in order for them to believe him, Jesus answered them saying, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

Indeed, Jesus had performed many great and miraculous signs, and still they did not believe him. Heaven was opened, God the Father spoke, and his Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan. He changed water into wine at a wedding in Cana. He healed men of leprosy and disease and of paralysis and even raised several from death to life by the power of his life-giving and creative Word. Jesus had demonstrated his authority and control over the forces of nature on land, and then he demonstrated the same over the forces of nature at sea. As in the story of Jonah, Jesus was at sea with his disciples when a terrible storm came upon them and the disciples were terrified that they would perish. All the while Jesus was sleeping. Shaking him awake in their terror, they said to him, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” Jesus arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Then he rebuked his disciples saying, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? Does your life seem to be out of control? Are there forces and powers at play that affect you that are indifferent to your suffering or need? Does it sometimes feel as if the Lord is sleeping, is powerless to help, or doesn’t care? Repent. Perhaps the LORD is causing your idols to be stripped away, those persons and things in which you have knowingly or unknowingly placed your fear, love, and trust over, above, or in place of him. Repent. It is good that they be tossed overboard and buried in the depths of the sea. When you are tempted to cower in fear, hopelessness, and despair at what is befalling you and the world, and when you are tempted to flee from the presence of the LORD and his will, remember that he is awake and active, upholding heaven and earth and the laws of nature and all things for you, his beloved.

God permits storms and trials to come upon you, but he also rescues you in them so that you may see clearly his protection. Jesus’ kingdom, his Church, is strengthened and grows by sorrow and trial as by these the LORD calls you to turn your attention away from yourself and back towards him. The LORD uses storms and trials to perfect your faith and to strengthen your weak and little faith. Your Lord is present with you always, even if unseen or seemingly inactive and asleep. He is in this place, this boat, this ship, this ark, his Church, commanding the natural elements of Word and Water, Bread and Wine to serve you, to absolve you, to strengthen you, to equip you and to send you. Do not be afraid. Your LORD, Your God, is present to save you.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.