Letter to the Congregations: 1st November 2025

Our Dear Brethren,

While we hear of so much going on around us — destructive storms affecting the people of Jamaica (and other Caribbean islands), flooding here in NYC disrupting the lives of many, ongoing drought in parts of Africa, political disagreement and turmoil in various countries (in particular the current situation in Tanzania comes to my mind), Halloween festivities in which people seek entertainment through a misguided celebration of the dead supported by “the rulers of the darkness of this age…spiritual hosts of wickedness” (see Ephesians 6:12)  — God’s people are taking a step back and Sabbathing. We are taking a moment, a 24-hour moment, to come out of the world, to rest, to be rejuvenated, to hear the word of God preached openly, and to spend time with people of like mind.

I’m reminded of a moment described in the synoptic gospels of the Bible when Jesus and His disciples went out on a boat on the Sea of Galilee. They intended to cross over to the other side of the sea, a trip they had taken countless times before. In this particular moment, probably somewhere in the middle of the crossing, Jesus was sound asleep, getting some physical rest from the work He was constantly doing. “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep” (Matthew 8:24).

The disciples were very afraid! Perhaps they were also surprised that God the Father would allow such a storm when His Son was on the sea. Either way, they woke Jesus up and pleaded for their lives, knowing that He was the only one there who could possibly do anything other than drown. “Lord, save us! We are perishing” (see verse 25)! Did the Son of God panic? Did He immediately cry out to His Father in prayer, worried for His life and those of His disciples?

Jesus didn’t worry at all because He knew that His Father would not allow His life to be ended before His time. First He rebuked His unfaithful companions for their lack of faith, and then He calmly but powerfully “arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (see verse 26). It was obvious that the disciples were still learning the power held by their Teacher, and the fact that He had authority over even the creation.

We need both in our lives. We need the correction from the Word of God when we lack faith. But we also need the calming of the sea, the rest of the Sabbath day, the reminders that our God is powerful enough to put the storms to rest, to protect us during turmoil, and lead us to everlasting life! As king David wrote: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe