AT THE SEA OF GALILEE

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caperna-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, but he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. (John 6:16-21)

Saints Matthew, Mark, and John all mention the Sea of Galilee, although St. John also calls it the Sea of Tiberias. St. Luke refers to the Lake Genesaret. It lies 660 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea, and is approximately fifteen miles long by eight miles wide. Its maximum depth is 165 feet. Most of Jesus’ lakeside ministry was confined to the north half (Magdala, Tabgha, Chorazin, Sower’s Bay, Capernaum, Bethsaida, Kursi). In those days, the area was densely populated and ran a thriving fishing industry.

Early this morning at about fourth watch of the night (between 3 and 6am) I noticed a boat with a fisherman casting out nets for fish in the Sea of Galilee. Despite heavy rain and dark sky, he did not give up. After a few minutes he went into the deep. Looking at him, I recalled the passage from the Gospel of John cited above.

Sunrise at the Sea of Galilee

Jesus sends us into very challenging mission. Our life is a mission, thus each one of us is a missionary in this sense. This mission can be quite dark, with strong wind, and the water rising high. When danger comes and we have no control over the boat, we start to panic, lose hope and faith because it seems that God is absent, and there is no one out there to rescue us. The only feeling that we experience is fear. Let us recall troubling waves that we encounter almost every single day. By the troubling waves I mean disordered feelings, and sensual desires hitting into the boat of our life: anger, loneliness, sadness, injustice, rejection; etc. What they show is that we are weak, and without God we can do nothing but drown, go down. These troubling waves show us the truth about ourselves. If we live in fear and surrender to fear, we start to be blind and falsely perceive people and everything around us including God Himself. “When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat."  

In dangerous situations, it often seems that “God is absent”, but He is present all the time, even though we might not feel His presence. Interestingly, when the disciples saw Jesus present physically in their boat again, “immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going”. In other words, we need to put our trust in God, and have faith that He is closer to us than we are to ourselves, especially when we are being flooded with high waves of water. He is present in the boat of our body – the soul. If we have difficulty believing that God is in us, let us at least believe that He is near the boat of our life and always keeps a loving eye on us: “they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat”. Jesus comes to His disciples in order to disperse the dark clouds of anxiety and fear. "It is I; do not be afraid."  God casts away all fear transforming it into peaceful water.