2 Samuel 12:4  But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

How many times can you retell a story and keep it fresh? Even best friends will nod their heads when you start the story and then volunteer the ending before you get there. You've told that story one time too many. Perhaps you need to tell the story differently.

Nathan did that in 2 Samuel 12. He had to confront David about his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. Instead of retelling that story directly, he told a story about a poor man who had one beloved lamb. But that lamb was taken and killed by a heartless rich man. David was enraged that someone would be so cruel and declared that the rich man should die.
 

How easily we can miss ourselves in our own story. We often seek peace by telling our story in a new way. In this new version, we usually come out sounding much better than ever before. But will a generous retelling of our past really bring us peace? The good news is that God's lasting answer is not our story but the story of His Son. Advent is the time to find peace in this never-changing story of the Savior.

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Mark 4:41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

Which is more unnerving, noise or silence? If you're used to noise, sudden silence startles you. Parents can be almost numb to the sound of two children playing. But when there's suddenly silence, parents spring into action.

The sudden silence on the Sea of Galilee had a similar effect on the disciples. They had known the raging wind of the storm. But when Jesus said, "Peace! Be still!", the immediate calm was more frightening than the storm.

Is this surprising? A perfectly calm lake should be the ideal place of peace. But the disciples on that calm lake were terrified. However, it wasn't the lake or the calm that was unnerving but the nearness of the One who could bring that calm. And so Jesus asked why they were so afraid. He has shown a new dimension to His divine power, but it is the same power that healed the leper and cast out demons. He is the One with divine power, not to harm but to heal, cleanse, calm, and save. In Him, we find our peace.
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Mark 4:39 And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!"

Does one warning work in your family? Think of the many sentences that need to be said over and over: "Eat your vegetables." "Do your homework." "Go to sleep." You've uttered those sentences almost every day.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if just one sentence was enough? Vegetables eaten. Homework done. Lights out and sleeping. It's a great idea, but don't count on it.

But that's the wonderful power of Jesus' words. In the middle of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus only needed to say, "Peace! Be still! Immediately, there was a great calm. His words showed both His power and His care for the frightened disciples.

Jesus has that same power and care for us. His word of peace has echoed over the world from His birth to today. Look at the nativity scene that captures the night of His birth. See the peace, calm, and stillness. The angels announced peace to the world. That gift still resonates over us. The Savior's peace comes by His word and silences our fears. His word silenced the storm on the sea, and His peace reigns over us today.
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Mark 4:38 But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.

When a crisis hits, is that a time of peace? When everyone is frantically looking for a solution, is that the moment to take a nap? When frightened voices get louder and louder, is that the time for sleep?
 

Most of us would answer "No!" to these questions. When there's a crisis, we're on full alert. So it was with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee when the storm hit. Though many of them were fishermen who were used to being on the sea, they feared for their lives.

But in the midst of the storm, Jesus slept. They asked, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" To them, His silence meant that He either didn't know their danger or He didn't care. When we're in the storms of life, we often ask the same questions, wondering if God knows or cares.

The wonderful news is that God's apparent silence is neither ignorance nor carelessness. God knows and cares for us at all times. Peter said it so well: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God....casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7). Don't despair in the storm. Look to the Savior, who is with us, closer and more powerful than the wind and the waves.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Mark 4:35 When evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."

Have you found the perfect place of peace? When you are surrounded by to do lists, wouldn't it be wonderful to escape to a place of perfect peace? What would that look like for you? How about a lonely lake where you are the only cabin on the shore? The water is calm. The sky is blue, and the sun shines on the maple trees on the far shore. Ah, there's a place of peace!

We can imagine the disciples in our text seeking that same calm place as they sailed on the Sea of Galilee that evening. All day they had watched as Jesus taught the crowds. The lake promised to be a familiar, welcoming sanctuary.

We can wish for this same place, but we'll only find true and lasting peace in the Savior born in the stable. Remember the calm and beauty of the nativity scene, where the Savior sleeps in the manger. It is His unique peace brought by the presence of the Child, who is God Himself. We find peace wherever we are when we remember He has chosen to be with us, bringing us His lasting peace.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

1 Corinthians 11:23-25  For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

We call it "real presence." It's no representation. It's His body and blood in, with, and under bread and wine. We take Jesus at His Word.

Preoccupied by sacramental logistics, however, it's possible to miss the point. Jesus is there! He is present and active there for you. You take Him at His Word, but you take Him! Risen and reigning, He returns through a meal to deliver to you the fruits of His cross: the body and blood, broken and shed then and there but given to you to receive here and now.

So, before He accomplishes anything else, He establishes His presence. He gives you new eyes of faith to see with your ears, to wonder and marvel at His way of coming to you in such a humble way, and to trust that, through the bread and wine you consume, He enters as Lord and Savior.

Not everyone received Jesus in His ministry (John 1:11). Many did. Receiving Jesus means receiving His presence, His Word, His work, and His gifts. Wherever He is, that's where the kingdom of God is, that's where the Church is, that's where heaven is (Matthew 4:17)! Not only that, but every Christian receives the same Jesus; in Him the Church has its unity (1 John 1:1-10).

Jesus, really present, continues to teach you to receive Him (Hebrews 5:14). He teaches you to see with your ears and trust His Word. Best of all, He promises to receive you at His heavenly table (Luke 22:30)
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Ephesians 4:11  And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.

John 20:21 Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you."

"Who's in charge here?" The principal may ask that question on entering an overly noisy classroom. The teacher appears to be teaching, but the students do not appear to be learning. They talk and giggle and disrupt. Who's in charge?

The question may come up in Lutheran congregations as well. Who's in charge? Is it the pastor? He is a highly trained theologian. He received a certificate of ordination. He knows the biblical languages. He preaches, teaches, baptizes, consecrates, marries, and buries.

Or is it the congregation? They called the pastor. They pay his salary and provide him housing and health insurance. They make important decisions in voters' meetings. They elect leaders and establish boards and committees.

Who's in charge, the pastor or the congregation? Neither!!! Christ is in charge! It is His church. However, He works through people to accomplish His will for His church. He calls men into the Office of Public Ministry, yet He does so through the congregation. He gives His pastors authority to forgive and retain sins, but He gives it through His people in a local congregation.

Think of the harmony that would prevail in congregations when we all acknowledge who is actually in charge! Members would respect their pastor as the undershepherd of the Good Shepherd, sent to minister to them. Pastors would respect their members as the sheep of Christ's pasture to love and nurture as Christ Himself does.

So, pastors, relax. Laypeople, relax. Christ is in charge! Joyfully serve Him together.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,