I don’t know about you, but anything that disturbs me enough to wake me up between 3 and 6 a.m. is bad. It could be a worry about a family member. It could be an unprocessed upset of the day, a conversation that didn’t go well that comes up in my mind, there in the dark of night. It is a tough time to be awake. No one else is awake to talk to, and it’s a long time until the sun comes up. You know you ought to be asleep and that the next day is likely to be awful, with so little sleep. The fourth watch of the night is a tough time.
Jesus’ disciples were not with him on this night during the fourth watch. It was dark and they’d had a long day, feeding the five thousand! They were out on the sea, giving him some time alone to pray and think. He sent them on ahead. But then a storm came up and their boat was battered by big waves and strong winds. They wished that the One who could multiply loaves and fishes was with them on this dangerous boat trip.
Thinking it could not get worse, suddenly they saw a figure walking on the water and waves toward them. They were terrified, and thought it must be a ghost (maybe they were already dead of this storm)! But it was their beloved Rabbi, Jesus, and he said, “Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
These stories of little boats full of fearful disciples, tossed in the storms and Jesus coming to them, to calm the storm, to reassure them—the early church used these stories to remind themselves that no matter the storm of persecution, no matter the smallness of the little battered church they were part of, Jesus was able to calm the storm, to be with them in this boat. Even when our faith is little, our Jesus is able. He has authority over nature, over the storms of life, and he is with us to rescue, to reassure, to save. We are not alone.