THE WORD

1 Jn 4: 11–18 / Mk 6: 45–52

After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were [completely] astounded. They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

IN OTHER WORDS

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” These are the reassuring words Jesus uttered in response to the cry of distress of his disciples.

The entire scene in Lake Galilee throbs with comic overtones. After feeding the five thousands, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. With His characteristic casualness, Jesus must have said to his disciples something like the following: “You go ahead, guys. I’ll catch up later. I’ve got to commune with my heavenly Father first. Have fun with the waves and the wind! Ciao!”

So while the disciples were rowing their boat not-so-gently down the lake for hours on end, there came the Son of God enjoying His early morning walk. Naturally, the disciples were terrified. Was Jesus playing a prank on them? If I were with the disciples, I would gently chide Jesus: “Lord, why did you let us row the whole night against the waves and the wind, only to scare us with your magnificent show of divine power? You could have asked us to wait for you up there in the mountain. After your protracted vespers, compline, and anticipated morning prayer and meditation, we could have walked on water together, thus sparing us this nocturnal paddling on the chilly waters of Galilee!” Whatever was in Jesus’ mind we would never know. But perhaps He was just testing His disciples. Perhaps He was preparing them for the greater challenges of life, for the more terrifying waves and winds that lay ahead.

“It is I.”

I think this is the key words in the Gospel today. I remember when I was a boy, I was afraid to enter a dark room. It was only when my father or mother would take my hand and lead me that my fear would vanish. Strange. Alone I was afraid. With my father or my mother I was not afraid. My fear had nothing to do with the dark room, after all. It had something to do with my being alone. Ultimately, faith is person-oriented. Faith is useless unless it is grounded in a relation with someone. That is why faith is not an intellectual assent. It is that essential component in human nature that reassures us that no matter what happens nothing will ever perturb us because we are not alone.

-          Fr. Raymun J. Festin, SVD (CKMS, QC)