One of the things that gives us courage is the knowledge that Jesus is with us. And Jesus is the one who is able to calm the storms of life. You recall how frightened the disciples got when they were sailing in the midst of the storm and Jesus spoke to the elements saying, “Peace, be still.” The disciples asked, “Who is this that even the wind and sea obey him?” 

Psalm 148 is one of the most glorious and poetic of the Psalms of Praise.  Instead of focusing on individual things for which we praise God, it is giving the voice of praise to all sorts of beings. And not just what we like to call “living creatures”. The sun, moon, stars, oceans, mountains and, of course my favorite sea monsters, give praise to God. I wonder how God feels about us wantonly destroying Creation, which we ourselves are also part of?

This week’s lectionary readings are full of references to sheep and lambs. Those of you who know me well or have heard me preach before on this Sunday, typically called Good Shepherd Sunday, know that I have an attitude about sheep, having grown up in farm country. And that attitude is not entirely favorable. Maybe because the sheep I grew up with were also pastured with goats and learned lots of mischief from them. Can you guess where I’m going with this?

There are so many wonderful things about the season of Easter. Especially for me, the excuses to say and write ALLELUJAH at every turning! One of the things I really treasure, though, is that from Easter Day through and including the Sunday of Pentecost, we read from the Acts of the Apostles. To read brief sections of Acts here and there over three years means that we don’t get a real understanding of what was happening.  So I encourage you to take a few hours and read the Acts of the Apostles straight through.