This year we are following the Gospel of Mark, but for the next few weeks we take an excursion into the Gospel of John, chapter 6. Over the coming Sundays we will enter again into the experiences of the people flocking around Jesus as they grappled with what he was teaching them about himself as true nourishment and life.  It was for them, as it often remains for us, exciting, challenging, hard to understand, and always demanding of our trust in Jesus.

We begin the journey this Sunday, with two striking signs of Jesus’ divine power: the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water.  One is a very public miracle; the other, an experience only for the disciples.  The crowd probably had many motivations for coming: wanting cures for their ailments, wanting to see this person who was stirring up such a storm of interest and debate, hoping for a leader who would set them free of Roman occupation and rule…. The disciples followed Jesus because they already knew he was someone very special and they trusted him.

For the disciples it must have been particularly challenging. Extraordinary things were happening, and they were not only in the middle of it all, but – as we have read in recent weeks – actively part of it.  It must have been exciting and exhausting and a time both of trust and uncertainty.  We find all this in the disciples’ experiences at the feeding of the 5000.

But what really stands out for me today from our Gospel passage this Sunday is Jesus’ compassion for everyone, and particularly his care for his disciples.  He had compassion for the huge and hungry crowd, but he also ensured that at the end of a long and demanding day, his disciples were sent back home.  Why did he not go with them in the boat from the start?  Was it purely that he needed to dismiss the crowds or that he needed to have time on the mountain to himself to be with God after such dramatic ministry?  I think Jesus was making sure the disciples were not swamped again by the crowds pursuing him.  I think he was giving them space to talk about everything that had happened. I think, by sending them off together, he was enabling them to reflect on everything for themselves, rather than default to expecting him give them all the answers, because he knew they needed time to learn how to trust him more deeply. By sending them away, he was caring for them.  And then, when they were struggling and were metaphorically all at sea (as well as in a literal storm), he came walking alongside them over their troubled waters.  He cared for them by joining them in the boat to continue the journey with them.  

Yet at first sight of him walking over the waves, the disciples were still terrified – even though they have already seen what extraordinary things Jesus was doing.  Does this incident speak to us today, who have the benefit of the Gospel accounts as witness of Christ and thousands of years of interpretation to rely on?  For me, it is a reminder that, however much I might think I understand, or believe I am placing my dependency wholly on Christ, there may be times when the troubled waters of life can threaten to swamp that recognition of his power and presence. Or that a sudden glimpse of God at work in the world may be deeply unsettling and disruptive.  It is good to be shocked and terrified by the greatness of God, as much as it is a comfort and encouragement to know that he walks in loving care alongside us on our journey, striding with power over whatever troubles us beneath his feet. 

Lucy G

Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash