Note: On Saturdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
When they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” (John 6:19-20 NRSVCE)
“It is I. Do not be afraid.”
The disciples knew about strong winds and storms, and how to
navigate them. They knew well, full well, that people did not walk on water. And yet, there Jesus was.
Perhaps they should have been more concerned than they were about the brewing bad weather. Surely, they’d lost family members and friends to the forces of nature, those times that storms had come up without warning. But what frightened them? Jesus, their friend and protector, walking on water and coming close to the boat.
Strong winds and storms don’t have to be experienced on a boat. They can snatch away our health, our livelihood, those we hold dearer than life itself. Generally, we figure out how to navigate them, sometimes in less than physically, mentally, or spiritually healthy ways. We drink more. We eat more. We grow bitter and cynical. We close our eyes to the miracle that is right in front of us, walking on water and coming close to our leaking boat.
“It is I. Do not be afraid.”
But it’s scary to accept Jesus’s help, to relinquish that bit of control we delude ourselves that we have. We push aside that small still voice or the offers of assistance from those acting in His name.
“It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Believe it. Embrace it.
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