THE WORD
1Jn 4,11-18 / Mk 6,45-52
After the five thousand have eaten and filled, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray. When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. He could see they were worn out with rowing, for the wind was against them, and about the fourth watch of the night, he came, towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they had all seen him and were terrified. But he at once spoke to them, and said, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.
IN OTHER WORDS
The phrase “He was going to pass them by” caught my attention as I read this gospel episode. I wondered why he was going to do this? He might have intended to show his disciples a shorter way to get to land. He saw how tired they were. “But they saw him walking on the lake and they all saw him and thought it was a ghost … and were all terrified.” That made Jesus change his course; he got into the boat and said, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”
A person with faith can only nd a direction in life when one encounters Jesus as a person who cares. One needs to experience his presence, not as a ghost but as a person. Jesus must become a companion on the journey.
Tonight, I visited John, a friend who is a volunteer in the Mission Office where I work.. He just arrived home from the hospital where he had undergone a cancer operation last week. He had become thinner and appeared weak. At one point he said: “In life, one needs to have three things – what one wants to happen, what one is capable of doing, and faith to link the two. Sorry is the condition of the person who has no faith.”
Real faith needs courage that can give composure and the surety that I am not alone in life’s journey. I need a Jesus who wants to get into my boat; I also need the willingness to welcome that Jesus who is not a ghost, but a person. Pope Francis mentioned in his letter entitled, The Joy of the Gospel:
“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.” (EG3)
- Fr. Bernard Espiritu, SVD | New Zealand
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
