“‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” (Mark 6:50).
I have been thinking about how Christ calmed the storm for His apostles as described in the Gospel of Saint Mark (Mark 6:45-52)…
“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, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:45-52).
I can see the scene...
I can see Christ – exhausted after His day of preaching. I can see His apostles – tired as well. I can see the boat on the sea. I can see the clouds gathering and the storm brewing. I can feel the wind against their faces and the rain against their skin and I can feel the nauseous movement of the waves tossing the little boat on the surface of the sea. Most of all though – having never been on a boat in the sea during a storm – I can feel the desperation and the fear of the apostles inside that boat.
And I can feel that desperation and fear of the apostles because it is the same as mine.
For we have the same problem – the apostles and I…
You see, when I read the words in the Gospel, “They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.” I see my own weakness there – in black and white…
For I do not understand either.
You see if I did understand “about the loaves” what could I ever have to fear?
And how many loaves had God provided to me? He gave me the “loaves” of my three living children and my little saint who prays for us from Heaven. He gave me my health and the health of my children. And while I have received countless “loaves” from my Beloved, it is not possible for me to prove that I was provided such “loaves” by Him – for the knowledge is hidden deeply in my heart and cannot ever be proved by science.
And yet, if I understood anything of what I have read, learned or been told about my Beloved, why would I ever be afraid?
For He has such INFINITE condescension because He is the Prince of Peace… And this is not just a metaphor that is used to describe my Beloved. This is the reality of all interactions with Him…
When His best friends – His friends who He treated as brothers – doubted Him and misunderstood His power, when the men who were closest to Him in all the world did not trust in His power, did my Beloved give up on them? Did He neglect them? Did He roll His eyes and ignore them? Did He mock them? Did He get angry and cast them off and find Himself new apostles who would actually trust Him?
And when I doubt Him even more than the apostles did, does He do such things with me?
No.
Instead, He WALKS ON WATER and says to me – as He said to them – “‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”
And now, inside my heart, I can hear those words.
And as I listen to them, my heart fills with tears…
For my Beloved WALKS ON WATER FOR ME… every single day…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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