Have you ever been in a storm that caused you to really be afraid? Perhaps it was the storm two weeks ago when the tornado sirens went off in Kenosha and Racine. The smart people hurried into the basement for safety. The guys went outside to look at the sky.

In a broken, sinful world, storms come, fears come. Think of the things we’ve faced the past 6 months of 2020. Covid-19. Shuttering schools and closing businesses. Protesting and rioting. The threat of murder hornets and now 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes are about to be released in the Florida Keys. Hey, it’s 2020. What could possibly go wrong?

The disciples were sensible. And sending the people home was the sensible thing to do. After all, it was getting late in the day and the people needed food. So dismiss them, Jesus. Tell them that’s all for today, go home and get a bite to eat.

But Jesus does not live within the boundaries of the sensible. It was not sensible to tell fishermen who had been fishing all night and caught nothing to go back out in the day when the fish went deep and try again – but Jesus did, and provided a great catch. It was not sensible to assert that a girl who had died was simply asleep – but Jesus did, and then showed it by raising her from the dead. In the same way, it was not sensible for Jesus to tell his small group of disciples when faced with a crowd of well over 5,000 hungry people: “You give them something to eat.” But Jesus did. Perhaps the disciples were getting used to that by now, as part of their continuing education, because they don’t object. They simply take what they have and give it to Jesus. Five loaves of bread and two fish. And it is enough. For anything in the hands of the Lord is always enough. And more than enough.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case brought by Calvary Chapel, a rural Nevada church. Calvary Chapel was looking to block enforcement of Nevada’s 50 person attendance limit on all places of worship – a rule which applies regardless of building capacity.

The attendance cap for Nevada churches has drawn righteous indignation from Christians since Nevada businesses, restaurants, movie theaters and casinos are allowed up to 50% capacity.

According to a new Gallup poll, more people say that wearing fur clothing is wrong than those who say that divorce, homosexuality or adultery are wrong. In that same poll, sex outside of marriage is more morally acceptable for adults, but 40% less think so for teenagers.

We are living in a time when people will feel guilty if they throw their empty water bottle in a trash can, but not feel guilty about living together outside of marriage. It is a time when people will say that there isn’t equality of pay for women, but they are the same people way say there no such things as binary sexes of men and women. It is a time when people will become emotional about the crazy cat lady with twenty malnourished cats. But those same people are not affected when a child is gunned down from street violence.

The first time the pastor saw George in church, George was in his mid-80s, with thinning silver hair and a charcoal gray suit. The pastor had gotten to know George over the past few years. Everyone enjoyed being around George. He was a pleasant, honest and respected senior citizen. He had lived a fascinating life that had taken him through the Great Depression and several wars. He was a widower twice over from cancer. Three times he had been on the receiving end of the call no parent wants to receive – news of losing a child.

Men, you want your fishing or deer hunting stories to be worthy of retelling. Women, you want your projects to be Pinterest worthy. Parents, you want your children to be accolades worthy.

We put bumper stickers on our cars boasting our children are on the honor roll. We post our personal successes on social media for validation. We want to be remembered for our greatness after we’re gone.

Last fall, Professor Mark Zarling, who was serving as the President of Martin Luther College – where we train our pastors and teachers – announced his retirement from the ministry. I jokingly told some Synod officials that they could put my name on the call list. If I was President of MLC, they could save money on business cards, brochures and nameplates. They could just print, “M. Zarling.”

I’ve also facetiously said that if I ever wanted to move something along faster in the Synod, I signed my email as “Pastor M. Zarling,” instead of “Pastor Michael Zarling.” If people thought it was coming from “Mark Zarling,” that carries a little more weight than “Mike Zarling.”

I grew up watching and loving the Looney Tunes. So, I was excited when I learned that the new streaming service, HBO Max, will be airing the old Looney Tunes cartoons.

But I wasn’t so excited to learn that HBO Max is making new Looney Tunes cartoons. The new cartoons may be funny, but they have already given in to our current cancel culture. Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam will no longer carry guns to go after Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck.

I watched “Braveheart” earlier this week. At the end of the movie, William Wallace is being tortured for leading the Scots in battle against the King of England. While he is being brought to the platform for his public execution, the crowd boos while throwing rotten food at him.

First, William Wallace is strung up. The crowd cheers at Wallace’s pain. Then Wallace is put on the rack as his limbs are being pulled out of their joints. The crowd winces.

Little Red Riding Hood is one of world’s best-known fairy tales. Like most European folk tales, it has been told and retold so many times with so many adaptations, that its origin has been lost to time.

The modern versions we’re familiar with have a “happy ending.” Where Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are heroically saved by a woodsman. However, older versions were much scarier. In those versions, the wolf gobbles up Grandmamma in haste, “with mustard or bread.” The last scene grimly depicts the wolf doing the same thing to Little Red Riding Hood.