Against the Wind

In The Madeline I imagined myself in a sailboat with Jesus in the wind. Wind is a symbol for spirit, as when the Holy Spirit blew through the upper room at Pentecost, bringing the power of Jesus to the disciples. Every day I listen for the voice of God in the scriptures and seek where God is at work among those with whom I work. It's like a sailor testing the wind.

But not every wind is a good wind. In the gospel for Sunday we see the disciples in a boat where the "wind was against them." "The boat," says Matthew 14:24 was "battered by the waves... far from the land." Jesus came to the disciples in that wind, not as the cause of the wind, but "walking on the sea." And with Jesus finally in the boat, "the wind ceased" (v. 32).

It's good to know that not everything that happens comes direct from God. As a child, I learned from Rocket J. Squirrel to ask if "spirits" are friendly. So it is with things that happen to us and those around us. Some things are just plain wrong. Some spirits are evil. Some changes are bad. Some times we shouldn't just give in.

Sometimes God works against the wind. That's what we're doing as we call our members to worship every week. I learned how much "against the wind" of the times this is last Sunday when I skipped church and drove with mom and dad from the cities to Duluth. We stopped at Toby's in Hinckley for a cup of coffee and the crowds amazed me. When I was a kid growing up in Crystal almost everyone went to church on Sunday (or, for the catholics, on Saturday night). Today, those who worship every week are a minority to be sure.

Let's stand against this wind. Let's gather to hear the Word each week. Let's share in the Lord's Supper. When you can't gather at our church on Sunday, worship at another church, or get together with your family and friends to hear the Word of God, which brings God's wind, God's will.