Last week, we read that Jesus had sought a break from the crowds in a “remote place,” only to have 5K people follow him there. Instead of gaining some space to mourn his recently executed relative, he healed and fed them all with what appeared to be the contents of a boy’s lunch. The crowd wanted to make him a king right there and then; but, he told them to go home. The Greek for “sending away” here is “setting them free”, and I think that Jesus wanted them to be from the “quid pro quo” kind of faith sustained by “bread alone” (his temptations had taught him well). Maybe, such faith is easier though; or maybe his friends had genuinely grown attached to Jesus, and so the disciples wanted to stay. Yet, he “strongly compelled” them to go on.

I’m not sure which way they were to cross the lake, as tradition suggests various locations for the feeding of 4K vs. 5K. But, at 13 km wide and 21 km long, any shore of this lake would be ways away. It really does look like a sea! Cold air comes down from the mountains and collides with the warm air over the water, resulting in frequent, sudden, violent storms. Imagine rowing a small boat into the wind and waves, rain, and utter darkness of “the 4th watch” (3 – 6 am). We, city-folk, never get to see anything like this. If they started at sundown, they’d have been rowing for 9 hours, covering only 5 – 10 km. Would it be more unnerving then to hallucinate from exhaustion, or see someone actually walking upon the waves? Of course the disciples were afraid! In their childhood stories, even Moses waited for God to part the waters of the Red Sea and Jordan, rather than walking right upon them!

Had Jesus set up this scenario just to test the emerging faith of his friends, especially Peter? Had he known he would find it lacking, get to demonstrate his divinity, and while he was at it, remind his friends of the scriptures they ought to have remembered even, or especially, in crisis? Yes, boats and storms, sailing and drowning, are archetypal symbols. In the OT, God “treads upon the waves of the sea” (Job), “is above the waters of the river” (Dan), “hovers over the face of the waters” (Gen), and saves Jonah from drowning. And, most notably, the movement of Noah’s arc is described uniquely as “walking,” not floating or gliding as boats normally do, implying that Noah’s family had “walked” on water long before Jesus and Peter did, as a sign of God “starting over” with them. Jesus’ usage of “I am,” familiar from the Torah as God’s holy name, certainly enhances these references.

I get this. But, personally, I can’t imagine that God ever “needs” to prove anything. I think that Jesus simply epitomized compassion, and always acted upon it. So, yes, he needed some space, and was likely going to walk over to his friends in the morning; but, he saw that they were in peril — now! Gospel writers knew how to interpret God’s compassion flowing through Jesus in light of what they knew from their sacred texts. And so they wrote of Jesus saving his friends, as a powerful allusion to God’s “big picture” salvation extended to us all; both in eternity, and moment by moment. 

The evangelists knew that Jesus was said to be the first human to defeat the power of death – to have walked upon the forces of chaos and destruction without sinking. As God saved the few gathered in the Ark, Jesus would never hesitate to save his friends in the little row-boat. But God’s saving grace extends equally to the multitudes fed and healed earlier, and to us today – continually fed, healed, and rescued from the storms raging within our hearts, minds, and psyche. That’s why we love this story, another Sunday school classic, which illustrates our ultimate hope. The hope that as we cross the sea of life that bridges birth with eternity, God comes to us, unbidden; now, and on that day when all storms will be made calm, and all boats safely reach “the other shore”. 

Not only that, but God also regularly “takes us up” on our offer to come closer to him/her by doing things seemingly as impossible as walking on water: switching jobs and vocations, deciding to enter or leave relationships, achieving acceptance and letting go of jealousy, forgiving others and ourselves, overcoming trauma and exploring our gifts. These kinds of decisions at times do make us feel like we’re sinking. But Peter did the impossible both because the Lord enabled him, and because Peter had hoped that God would. What is faith, but such constant interaction between God and ourselves, underpinned by compassion which God extends to us, and inspires in us for the sake of others. Amen.

Questions

1. From the 1st century perspective, most instances of extreme weather, disease, tragedy, natural disaster, or trouble were due to the activity of evil spirits. This may seem naive or superstitious to us. But, can you think of any instances when we anthropomorphized diseases or natural phenomena, or even “bad karma” or luck? Even COVID, at times, as though it was one “being/entity” that had a will of its own?
2. To build on the above, consider the following. Every synoptic gospel has a story related to Jesus calming the storm — as distinct from walking on water (which is found only in Mark and Matthew, not Luke; but unlike calming the storm, it is also in John). This gives us 6 stories about Jesus interacting with one of the key forces of nature, showing that he can control both natural and spiritual energy. So, the demoniac exorcism story in Mark is, in fact, structurally a close parallel to that of Jesus quelling the storm: Jesus first rebukes the demon and storm, then commands them to be still, and finally the witnesses respond with “what is this, he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey” or “who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” What do you make of this parallelism?
3. Over the centuries, philosophers and theologians developed different opinions re. the origins of suffering. Perspectives range from viewing it as a test of faith (either sent by God, or only allowed), to nothing more than random chaos, to the activity of the powers and principalities. But many of us are fortunate to be able to recall the moments in our lives when, despite the storm and darkness (or perhaps even more because of it!), we suddenly had a strong sense of God’s presence. Instead of them washing over our heads, we walked right over those difficulties – often, as preceded by an impulse to surrender our will and fate to God. Can you recall a time in your life when you felt that God held your hand and enabled your “walking on water”? What did it feel like? How did you know it was happening? And did you recognize God then, or did you think it was a hallucination, figment of your imagination, ghost, or some other force – and how could you tell the difference?