Scripture Reading for July 1, 2025

Genesis 19: 15-29, Psalm 26: 2-3, 9-12, Matthew 8: 23-27

Maybe it’s obvious, but for me the key to today’s two readings is the parallel between saving Lot and saving the disciples in the storm. In both cases we have people of “little faith.” Lot is reluctant to leave Sodom. God’s messengers literally have to drag him and his family outside the city and still he doesn’t think he can make the hills but needs to go to a small town that closer. The Apostles are totally unnerved by the storm at sea and need to wake Jesus because they are “perishing.” Both the Apostles and Lot’s family are saved not because of their own actions but because of their relationship with someone else who is a “friend of God.”  Lot is Abram’s nephew and the disciples are, of course, Jesus’ disciples.

It seems to me that the message is pretty simple. If you are in real trouble, “we are perishing,” the right move is to reach out to God for help. So regardless of what you may think about the historical facts of miracles in the Bible, the story is saying the God has the power to change what seems like hopeless situations. Nothing is inevitable. Life can be different than the way it looks at the moment. That’s what happens for Lot in Sodom and the frightened disciples at sea.

I would argue that it isn’t even about having a great confident faith in God’s presence. This story suggests that even if you’re unsure, reluctant and even resistent God can bail you out if you just follow instructions. Lot hesitates to leave, then argues with his divine savior about where he’s going and still ends up safe before literally fire and brimstone rain down on everyone who stayed behind. Sometimes you have to wonder what it takes to see the right path. I think that’s the point. Seeing the right path isn’t easy but there is help if we’re open to it.

So, to the emphasize the point, the same is true for the disciples in the boat with Jesus. They think it’s the end and Jesus has to calm both wind and waves before they feel safe. If you ask if it really happened, it’s the wrong question. Again, it’s what the story is saying about God’s relationship to all of us. We’re all in the same “boat” and God’s presence is with us. We just have to ask for help even when we are of little faith. The idea is God is the one with the power to transform, we aren’t expected to have all the answers. But recognizing our own uncertainty is probably part of the solution. Then we may be able to express what we hear in today’s psalm, “O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.”