August 30, 2022

Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed…

Mark 6:45-51

Devotional

So many fascinating details in this story.

First, Jesus took time to withdraw from the disciples and the crowd and went by himself to pray and have some peaceful time on his own. Even Jesus needed this. We are so focused on being “productive” and busy, but Jesus himself took time for prayer and quiet, even with all the demands on his time. We need to remember this.

Second, the Sea of Galilee (the lake mentioned here) is down in a low spot and is subject to rapid weather changes. One of these storms whipped up while the disciples were apart from Jesus. They were in trouble, pulling hard at the oars, trying to fight against wind that was blowing hard.

Third, meanwhile, Jesus finished up his time alone, and walked on the water toward them. It looked at first as though he were not going to help them, that he might have been traveling straight across the lake to Bethsaida, the town to which he had told the disciples to travel.

Fourth, Jesus had complete authority over nature. He walked on water. (There are several versions of the walking-on-water story in our Gospels, by the way). He walked on it as though it were frozen, he walked on it as though it were just terra firma. We don’t know how he did this. But all the disciples saw it.

Fifth, the poor disciples thought Jesus was a ghost. What he was doing was so far out of their reality, they though he was a supernatural being. (He is, but not a ghost!)

Sixth, Jesus turned aside to help them, and got into the boat with them. He said what heavenly beings always say in scripture: “Don’t be afraid!” Immediately, the storm quieted down and all was well.

In the early church, the symbol of the church was a boat. Blown by stormy trouble, subject to the to-and-fro of time and tides, the small boat of the early church tried to keep its members safe and protected and the church sailing along. Persecution and suspicion from Rome and family members and neighbors affected the boat of the early church. But they liked to remind themselves: “Jesus will always come to us in the storm, Jesus will always get into the boat with us, sharing the storm with us, and then calming it. Jesus is in our boat, Jesus is in our lives, Jesus has mastery over everything that happens to us. And he always tells us in a storm, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid!’”

Jesus is still able to get into our boat and calm the storm.

For Reflection

Do you have a hard time justifying taking time to rest and pray?

What does it mean to you that Jesus joins the disciples in the boat and calms the storm?

What storms are there in your life now? What does it mean to you that Jesus will join you in the storm, and calm it?

Prayer

Dear Lord, I let myself get so busy that I don’t take time to rest or pray. There are storms in my life that overwhelm me. I feel so alone and so powerless. But you always join me in the storm. I feel your presence and I know you can calm me and the storm. Thank you for coming to be with me, because with you, I am not afraid. In Jesus’ name, Amen.