I am not responsible for the content of the above ads, which are often hilariously mis-matched.

www.flickr.com Isaac Photos

 

just gonna get my feet wet until I drown

John 6

¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. ²⁰But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." ²¹Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

I love this passage...I love that the disciples weren't frightened by the storm, they were frightened by Jesus walking toward the boat. On the water.

The disciples knew about storms; they spent a lot of time out on the water. Storms were part of normal life. Not a fun part, but a familiar one. Guys walking on water, on the other hand - that's new. Gotta get used to that. Brain...can't...deal...

There was a moment there when they had to choose between continuing through the storm, something they could probably do with reasonably good results, and pulling Jesus into their boat. Jesus told them not to be afraid, and they decided to believe him. As soon as he was in the boat, they bypassed the rest of the storm and landed safely on the shore.

Ok, so the decision was a bit easier for them because Jesus was standing right there, water lapping around his ankles. It's not so easy for me to keep pulling Jesus into the boat. I think I can do just fine on my own, thank you very much. I'm managing. Really. Thank you for your concern.

The annoying thing about this passage is that it punctures the idea that, in resisting Jesus, I'm acting from strength - I don't need no stinkin' savior! - because just by saying 'be not afraid' Jesus brings the real issue right into focus. It's fear that keeps us from moving forward in faith. We've been talking about that a lot in church lately. I wish we would stop, to tell you the truth. I have some nice little illusions about the role of fear in my faith journey and I'd like to keep them for a little while longer. Sigh. Truth is so irritating sometimes.
link | Comments []

[back to top]

current