Today is a snow day.  Schools are closed, people are shoveling, fireplaces are burning:  happiness reigns.
     Unless you commute.  Then life isn't as fun.  As I watched the snow fall this morning, musing on the delicate consistency of the flakes tumbling through the air, I thought about the story of Jesus stilling the winds on the Sea of Galilee.  As accounts in Matthew and Luke describe it, Jesus and the apostles are moving across the lake when a fierce storm descends on them.  Panicked, the apostles turn to Jesus who, it seems, has fallen asleep.
     Abruptly awoken by the men in the boat, Jesus sets himself against the blowing winds and commands them to be calm.  Immediately, the storm stops and a lovely equanimity pulses across the water.
     Fantasy?  Mythology?  Although I have no reason to doubt the historical authenticity of this story, I will set that subject aside to to make a larger point.  When snow appears to be on its way, I hear many students thank God for the upcoming snow day.  Does God really bend the weather to our advantage?  And how do we assess "our" advantage?  Also, is our "advantage" important than that of others?
     We all find it easy to thank the "man upstairs" when the weather tilts in our "favor."  When the opposite occurs, however, we are not as quick to respond.  But if we believe in a purposeful world, we should.
     If God is there, whatever the weather may be, it is never without an ultimate purpose.  And we rarely know what it is.
     Besides, did not Jesus say that God ensures that the rain and sun fall on the just as well as the unjust?