In the first reading, we hear God reminding Israel that it was He that brought them out of the desert and saved them from the Egyptians. This reading, like so many readings that speak of the power of God, including today’s gospel in which Jesus has power over the elements, identifies a fundamental view of the world which has become a dividing point in our modern era. Some hold that the world owes its existence only to the material laws of nature and therefore any moral order is simply the application of material laws of nature. Although the laws of nature help us understand the world (don’t try arguing with gravity) these laws do not supply the fullest meaning to human existence. The dignity of the human person, known both by faith and reason, makes no sense in a world governed by a materialist view of the world. Today’s reading reminds us that our understanding of the world, and our understanding of ourselves, include both a spiritual and a physical reality.