Scripture: Mark 6:47-56
Key verses: (49-52) 49But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ 51Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Reflection: Sometimes I feel like I am rowing in the middle of the night and a storm is brewing. I am rowing with all that I am and I have a lot of questions. When will it end? Where is God in this storm?
Thank goodness the gospel does not condemn those who recognize Jesus without fully understanding him. Mark is a book about witnesses who do not know what they are seeing. The disciples didn’t understand. Jesus’ own family didn’t understand. They were drawn to him and began to have faith. The first time the disciples are out in the storm, Jesus was in the boat with them. In this passage, the disciples are in the boat by themselves. Faith lives in that boat.
Faith lives in that boat, in the middle of the night, in the storm. It may be faith without understanding, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Jesus. It is for people like you and me, who are caught in that storm that Jesus offers the bread of life and calms the storm. Even if you do not understand, hear his words. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Prayer: Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Amen.
Author: Michelle Thomas-Bush
[Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved].
