19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes
“After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.” Jesus “made” the apostles get into the boat and depart. In the Greek, Jesus “made them / compelled them / constrained them” to go. Why were they so reluctant to leave? It could simply be that they did not want to be apart from Jesus, but there may be another reason for their hesitation.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John were experienced fishermen who had worked many nights on those Sea of Galilee waters. Jesus was asking them to sail a few miles west across the sea toward Capernaum. When they felt the evening air and looked at the western sky, perhaps they foresaw that the wind and the waves could be strong that night. Besides leaving Jesus behind, the apostles might have been reluctant to be out on the water. Nevertheless, he commanded and they went.
“After doing so, [Jesus] went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a considerable distance offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.”
When I visited Israel ten years ago this fall, it was great to gain a truer sense of sites I had read about in Scripture, like the compactness of the Old City of Jerusalem or the relative smallness of the Sea of Galilee. When you envision “the Sea of Galilee,” perhaps you imagine the view across an ocean or one of our Great Lakes where the opposite shores are out of sight beyond the horizon. But in comparison to them, the Sea of Galilee is tiny. Even Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago is 30 miles in length while the Sea of Galilee, north to south, is just 13 miles. When you stand on its rocky shores you can see the various low mountains surrounding it. Sitting on one of those hillsides a person could watch a boat as it sailed across the sea to the opposite shore.
Jesus was praying alone on a mountainside. The apostles did not see Jesus with them but he was watching them and prayed for them as they were tossed about by waves and sailed against the wind. Likewise, even when we are struggling in the dark, Jesus sees us and intercedes for us.
“During the fourth watch of the night, [between 3 and 6 AM,] Jesus came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’”
In the Gospels, Jesus arguably says variations of “Fear not / Be not afraid” more frequently than he says anything else. And notice how that is not merely his suggestion; it’s a command. Jesus does not want fears preventing us from having peace and doing his will. Peter acted boldly, at least at first. He asked and was invited to walk with Jesus on the water. “But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ After [Peter and Jesus] got into the boat, the wind died down.”
Now here is what struck me most when I read this story this time around. Jesus did not have to send his disciples out across that chaotic sea; he chose to. And as he watched them struggle against the wind and waves, Jesus could have commanded the forces of nature to be still as he did on another occasion with the sea; but this time he chose not to. Jesus is able to walk on water and he welcomes Peter to join him, giving his disciple an opportunity to exercise his trust and virtues. When Peter falters, Jesus pulls him up, and once they reboard the boat together, the wind dies down; for it had served its providential purpose.
Jesus Christ’s will for us in this life is not endless ease. Rather, he desires our greatness. For that purpose, he sends us and calls us to places we might not wish to go; permitting challenges for our greater good and glory. Truly, as his disciples said, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He sees us, he’s almighty, and he loves us. So why ever be afraid?
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