# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1848 03 01_S122
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

...fell into such an uproar, that the little ship was not able to withstand their fury; the whirlwind cast the waves into the ship, so that it became full, and every moment threatened to sink. We too, my hearers, have all crossed over the sea; we have been eyewitnesses of the fearful power of the elements. We have, to speak in the words of the 107th Psalm, experienced the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep; when he spoke and raised a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves, so that they mounted up to heaven and went down again to the depths, so that their soul melted away for trouble, so that they reeled to and fro and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wit's end; then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses and stilled the storm, so that the waves were calmed, and they were glad because it had grown quiet, and he brought them to the land as they desired. Let them thank the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonders which he does for the children of men, and praise him in the congregation, and laud him among the elders.

Although we too, my hearers, have all been in danger upon the sea, more or less, yet there is no doubt that the little ship in which Christ and his disciples were sailing hovered in far greater danger. This is proved by the great consternation and mortal terror of the disciples, who had surely already been in danger on the sea more than once before, since they had previously plied their trade as fishermen on this very sea. They knew no counsel any longer; every moment the sea threatened to swallow them; they saw that no human being could help them here any longer. Only one hope remained to them. It is Christ, their Lord and Master, from whom alone they still expect help. But he sleeps; he gives himself over to sweet rest, while his disciples tremble in mortal danger. He seems not to care about his disciples' distress. And yet, even sleeping, he was their protection and shield; they could be safe and comforted, since they had Christ with them, whether he was sleeping or waking. But their faith proved itself weak in this respect, that they thought they had to wake him, that he could protect them only while awake. Therefore they came to him, woke him, and said: "Lord, help us, we perish!" or, as Mark relates it: "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Then he said to them: "O you of little faith, why are you so fearful?" He does not scold them as unbelievers, but as of little faith; for had they had no faith at all, they would have given up all hope of help and been utterly despairing. But still they lacked a strong faith, otherwise they would not have become so full of terror of death, but would have remained composed and courageous in all danger, and would have thought within themselves: Let storm and waves rage as much as they will, they shall not be strong enough to overturn this ship, on which the almighty Christ, the Lord of the sea and of the storm, is present; and even if they could, we would still find in the midst of the sea a vault that protects us from the floods and keeps us alive. For we have a God who can preserve us, not only upon the sea, but also in and under the sea, just as he kept the prophet Jonah alive for three days in the midst of the sea. For that is a strong faith which does not look at what is present and become terrified and despairing over it, but looks to future, hidden help and deliverance, and even in the midst of death retains the comfort that help will come to it through Christ. But it commonly happens that even the strong become weak and tremble when the danger is great. They look more at the danger than at the help. The danger seems greater to them than the protection; for if trust in divine protection always remained equally strong, the fear of danger could not move them so violently. This David also confesses, when in the 30th Psalm he says: "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved; for thou, LORD, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong; thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." Only in distress and trial, when God allows the storms of affliction to break over us; when he hides his face and acts as though he were asleep and paid no heed to our distress: only then is it proved how weak or how strong our faith is. And if only then at least a small faith is present, there is no need for concern; for the Helper does not thereby become weak merely because our faith is weak. If only the right Helper, that is, Christ, is sought, whether with weak or with strong faith, then weak faith obtains just as great help as strong faith.

Christ helped, although at that time his disciples' faith was small and weak. He helped with almighty power in the very moment when death and destruction raged about the little ship. "He arose, and rebuked the wind and the sea; and there was a great calm." The creature obeyed the beck of its Creator; the howling storm-wind and the raging sea fell silent before the rebuke of the almighty Ruler. Upon the terrible tumult of nature and of the frightened people there suddenly followed a deep stillness; whereas otherwise, when a sea storm subsides in the ordinary way, some time still passes before the agitated elements grow calm. With wonder and amazement the people in the ship gaze at the man who did this. "What manner of man is this," they said, "that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Has it ever been heard that wind and sea obeyed the will of a man? Truly, God himself must be in this man! For indeed in Holy Scripture power over the sea is ascribed to no one but God alone. Psalm 89: "Thou rulest the raging of the sea; when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them." Through this miracle upon the sea, Christ glorified himself as the almighty God. Those people in the ship had not before believed in Christ, but had held him for an ordinary man, because he comported himself as other men do; they had, only shortly before, seen him sleeping — how could they think that a man who needs sleep for his refreshment could be the eternal, almighty God? And yet, when they saw the miracle with their own eyes, they cry out full of wonder: "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" What now will the deniers of Jesus Christ and of his true deity say to this? They suppose, to be sure, that those people did not see rightly, or that it was all merely a matter of their imagination, a mere excitement of their fancy — only so that they need not give Christ the honor, and need not from this miracle recognize and confess his true deity: yet they are, all the same, to be pitied, for through their unbelief they rob themselves of the highest comfort which they could have, in all distress and affliction, in the hour of death and on the day of judgment, in this almighty and merciful Savior, if they believed in him. Just as the disciples there experienced upon the sea that we can be undismayed in all distress when we have Christ with us, so too has

2.
the Church of Christ experienced this at all times. For the little ship of Christ is namely an image of the Church of Christ and of what befalls her. For just as Christ is in the ship, so too Christ is always with his dear Church and congregation, which hears his Word, receives it, and keeps it in true faith. "Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world," he says to his disciples; and "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Likewise we find already in the prophet Isaiah the glorious promise: "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not overflow thee; and when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." The Church is that ship on which Christ travels with his disciples; his voyage goes through the sea of this world; his rudder is faith; his helmsman is God himself; the angels are the sailors, in that God uses them in his service for the governance of his Church; the passengers are the multitudes of believing Christians; in the middle of the ship the wholesome mast of the cross is raised, on which the sails of the Gospel are spread, and the breath of the Holy Spirit drives the ship onward to the safe, quiet harbor of eternal life. Therefore see to it, dear Christian, that you are on board the ship, with Christ and his congregation. If you cling with the heart's true confidence to Christ and his Word, then you are on board the ship. It is not...