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Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.
When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.
- Mark 6:47-56
In yesterday's reading, we read about the feeding of the five thousand men (and more women and children). Jesus had drawn His disciples away for rest and talk after their first apostolic mission. They had gone in a boat across the sea to a deserted place, but people ran on foot ahead of them and anticipated where they would land. And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat." But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish." Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.
Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. We've recently read about another incident in the middle of the sea, only that time Jesus was with the disciples. He was asleep on a pillow in the stern, while a great storm raged on the sea so that the disciples feared they were perishing. That was when they were journeying across the sea for the first time into Gentile territory. So this place between territories is an important space, a time of faith, or rather one that requires faith, and it's not the first time they've been there. This time, however, Jesus has sent them out on their own across the sea. Once again the elements battle them, or perhaps they strain against the elements -- for the wind was against them.
Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. "About the fourth watch" of the night would be about 3:00 in the morning, when the "fourth watch" began. It's a time when nothing seems to make sense and anything can happen; but we note as before their fear and difficulty against the wind. He sees them and comes walking across the sea. We can imagine their terror, supposing it was a ghost. They had no idea what was happening.
But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." My study bible says here: "It is I, literally 'I am' (Gr. ego eimi), especially used in the Gospel of John, is Jesus' own testimony to His deity. It reflects God's name as revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:14). Only God is self-existent, uncreated, the only being whose existence depends on no other but Himself; therefore, He alone can truly say, 'I am.' "
Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. A note here reads, "The knowledge of Christ is a matter of the heart. When our hearts are illumined by God, they become the seat of divine presence, grace and knowledge. In all the ascetic writings of the Orthodox Church, the heart is known as the 'seat of knowledge.' "
When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well. My study bible tells us that Gennesaret is a region of Gentiles, "where many respond to Jesus and are healed." So faith, once again, makes the connection for the release of grace, of Godly power, God's energies. Whether in Jewish territory or Gentile, it is faith that makes the difference, the connection to the divine.
It is this place on the sea that is so striking, this unknown place between territories where anything can happen, where the disciples are repeatedly subject to the winds and the waves and the elements of nature that may rise up to challenge them. It is a kind of territory of the unknown, where chaos can happen. But now, twice, it is Jesus who has calmed the elements of this "in between" place. It's like that great place of our faith that may be challenged at any time by the elements outside of our control that are around us, and it is a lesson for us in all ways. The American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote: "In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning." I am assuming that he had this passage in mind, where they are on the water and it is about the fourth watch and the wind blows against them. Christ appears and they do not know it is Him, they take Him for a ghost, they are terrified as they strain against the wind in the middle of the sea and in the middle of the night. This "dark night" in between times and places is a time of the test of faith, the time of great unknowing and fear, where we may not be in control at all of what is going on around us or even in our lives. We search for God but we may not even know God is near when God's presence is right there. It's a terribly powerful symbolism of how at times, even in our faith journey, we can feel completely lost, abandoned, at a lonely terrifying place without help. But Jesus' presence is stunningly symbolic as well: God is there, we just might not be able to recognize God's presence. We may not have the "knowing" to do so; our hearts may need softening, illumination, to learn something we don't know. And that's a "dark night of the soul." I can't say I'm an expert in what constitutes a "dark night" in the literature of all theologians and mystics, but I can say that setting out in the ways God may call us may often find us in this place where our faith needs to be stretched, where God is calling us in ways we might find frightful, out of the familiar and into the unknown, into places where we haven't the least idea what will happen. As apostles, these disciples will be sent out to all kinds of places, to the ends of the earth, to where they know not what they will find as they enter upon mission, to create community in faith, in Christ. Let us remember we will perhaps all go through such times in faith, those in-between places of fear, and God calls us just as God is as close as a shoulder; even in our fear Christ watches us and is there. As in this story, Christ bridges everything.
