Immanuel Lutheran Palatine Media

SUNDAY (10:00) – In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands the wind and the sea to become calm, which understandably stuns the disciples. “Who is this?” they wonder. The other Readings todayreaffirm that we know that Jesus is one person of the Holy Trinity. The Creator puts creature Job in his place. We also ought to remember with whom we are dealing when we request or complain. Paul encourages his readers, then and now, to put their
circumstances into the context of the whole Church. Our situations do not define us! Sure of God’s care and emboldened by the strength He provides, we are called to live out our faith confidently. We know who this is: He is Jesus, our Savior. Listen-In or Watch below.

Though much is made of the smallness of the mustard seed, the focus of Jesus is on outcome – the plant that becomes large enough to give nest and shade to all the birds of the air. The kingdom of God seems small and even irrelevant in the face of large problems, challenges, and problems of this mortal life, and yet it is the kingdom of God that is great. God gives to us the forgiveness that makes a clear conscience, the life that is stronger than death, and the joy that is greater than every joy this world can deliver. In this way, the small seed makes for a great plant, large enough for us to find refuge and a home in its shade.

How the kingdom of God grows may seem part of the mystery, but we know that it is a seed planted in the good soil and fed and nourished by God’s grace to the day when the harvest delivers us into His presence forevermore. Listen-In or Watch below!