The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Evil can be frightening in its power, and unexplainable to us humans. Watching too much of the evening news can numb you with the frequency of acts of violence, crime, accidents and disasters. Often we feel powerless to do anything about it. But in today’s reading we witness One who boldly took on the powers of evil and commanded them to stop with a simple Word of rebuke. Jesus Christ, who could command the storms and waves with His rebuke, here commands the demonic forces of evil and the various sicknesses and diseases that people had. Jesus’ Word carried a whole different power and authority than we’re used to seeing. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Jesus was fearless in the face of evil. He came teaching and preaching in His home region of Galilee, and there in the synagogue, a place of worship, He encountered a demon-possessed man. Perhaps it...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The miracles in today’s Gospel follow just after Jesus fed the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. While Jesus was dismissing the crowds, He sent the disciples in the boat to cross the lake ahead of Him, and then He took some time alone for prayer. Today we’ll see how Jesus calls us to courage. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Try to picture the situation of the disciples. Jesus sent them out across the lake to Bethsaida late in the evening. Jesus finishes praying and sees that they’re struggling against a strong wind, and were making it across the lake with great difficulty. Their backs must have been bent hard against the oars, their muscles fatigued and failing, their spirits discouraged and distressed by the lack of progress. And it was the 4th watch of the night! That was the last watch of the night, which meant it was between 3-6 AM. This ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. When Jesus reentered the world of the disciples for the first time after Easter, He was entering a world of fear. Their hopes and expectations had been dashed by Jesus’ crucifixion and death, and it appeared as though mankind’s greatest enemy had stolen their greatest hope. In the Gospel for today, we’ll look at how Jesus enters our world of fears and speaks peace to our fears. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The disciples were gathered to talk about these things, after several of them and the women had seen the resurrected Lord. Even with these eyewitness reports, there was still an uneasy fear and apprehension that gripped them. They weren’t quite ready to fully believe this, or even understand what it all meant. We’re often in their company. Even with the knowledge of the resurrection, both for Christ and for our eternal hope, we’re gripped by...