Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid

 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

Yesterday we read that, following their first mission, the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  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.  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.   Our reading picks up from where yesterday's left off:  after feeding the five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness, Jesus had sent the disciples to go in a boat before Him across the Sea of Galilee yet again, towards Bethsaida.  Jesus Himself went to the mountain to pray.  So at this time, the disciples are by themselves in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, which is really a very large lake, approximately thirteen miles long and eight miles wide.   The disciples, several of whom are experienced fishermen, are straining at rowing as the wind was against them.  The text tells us that Jesus, alone on the land, saw them.  The fourth watch of the night is about three o'clock in the morning.  This is the second time that Christ has allowed them to be caught in a storm (see also this reading).  My study bible notes that the first time, He was with them (He slept in the stern of the boat); this second time He has left them alone.  In this way, my study bible says, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.   Jesus tells the disciples, "It is I," which is literally translated from the Greek, "I Am," and is the divine Name of God (see John 8:58).  My study bible tells us that Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  Interestingly the text notes that the disciples had not understood about the multiplication of the loaves (see yesterday's reading, above), because their heart was hardened, meaning they did not perceive the miraculous nature of the feeding, Jesus' divine power at work.  Even the disciples were blinded to the nature of what was happening, despite the things -- such as divine healing -- which they had already seen.  My study bible comments that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not simply the intellect.  It says that when our hearts are illumined by faith in God, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is called "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.  We note again Jesus' fame for healing.  He is the hope of the hopeless.  Again, even the hem of His garment is now recognized as healing (see 5:25-29).  My study bible says that Christ allows miracles through touch to show that His very body is life-giving.

What do we make of the phenomenon of Jesus' healing by touch, that even the hem of His garment is life-giving?  My study bible gives us a fundamental understanding of our faith, that His very body is life-giving.  This is a foundational treatment in the understanding of the Eucharist and its benefits for us.  There are many dimensions to the understanding of the Eucharist, and this is one of them.  As we "do this in remembrance" of Him (Luke 22:19), so we accept that this is His body and His blood  (14:22-26).  We accept, and I also ascribe to this aspect of our faith, that Christ is mystically present.  "Mystically present," as I understand it, does not entail some deep detailed explanation of how exactly that happens physically or microscopically or any such thing.  It is what it implies:  an article of faith, a mystical reality that involves far more than we understand or know.  In the sacrament of the Eucharist, as instituted by Christ, He is mystically present, His body and blood.  This is the body and blood which was capable of giving healing by faith and through touch.  It is that which was prefigured in the feeding of five thousand, which we read in yesterday's lectionary reading (above).  Today, in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic, debate rages in the Churches over questions of protection of the population and the distribution of the Eucharist.  State bodies have intervened, and at this present moment, churches are not congregating.  Instead, many are having services without a full congregation present, in which priests do as they have done since the institution of the Church:  they consecrate the sacrament on behalf of all of their flock.  They pray for us.  They are mediators in this sense of acting on our behalf in worship.  And the sacrament goes on, the Eucharist remains for all.  This does not stop.  In some churches (such as the Armenian Apostolic Church), Lent is a time when the sacrament is not taken as the normal practice in the Church.  But we can all look to the story of the disciples as they row their boat against strong headwinds, alone in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, for some guidance and enlightenment in our present circumstances at this time.  Although they are far away from Christ, and feel terribly threatened and afraid in the storm and in the darkest part of the night, they really are not alone.  Christ, alone on the land, still sees them straining at rowing.  He knows about them, although they are not aware that He knows and He sees.  For them, He is far away, and so when He approaches, walking on the water, they suppose that He is a ghost.  But He is not a ghost; He is instead mystically present.  That is, we don't know how His divine power works, we cannot explain it, and we don't have rational explanations based on laws of physics that we know.  But then again, Christ -- although fully human -- is not an average human being.  He is also divine, and therefore spans dimensions of existence in ways we can't know nor understand.  Whether we are first century fishermen, or PhD candidates in modern science, the cosmos, in its entire existence and its fullness, still holds mysteries we can't explain and don't know about.  Let us consider ourselves then, like the apostles, straining at rowing with headwinds against us, in the middle of a giant lake, at three o'clock in the morning.  We don't know that Christ is aware of us, and we certainly can't necessarily perceive Him.  But He knows and He comes to us.  His life-giving Eucharist is served in our churches on our behalf whether we are present there or not.  Let us remember His words to the disciples, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."   Through all things, this divine "I Am" is present with us.   He sees our struggle; He asks our faith, and that we call on Him through prayer, mystical dialogue.  Let us remember that our emphasis now should be on our faith, and how we get through uncertain circumstances.  Keep in mind always that the "mystical" part of our faith is indispensable, and that without it, we don't have a complete grasp of what to be a Christian is all about.  We accept in trust that there are realities we don't yet understand, and we look to a future when possibly we will come to know what we don't see now.  What we do know, however, is that love transcends all realities, from the divine to the deeply worldly.  There is nothing that can stop it, save the hardness of our hearts to turn against its understanding and perception.  Let us read once again from the words of St. Paul:  "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).  It is love through which Christ is sent ("For God so loved the world" - John 3:16).  Jesus tells the disciples, "Do not be afraid."  St. John writes that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18).  We put our trust in that love, through all things, even when the winds blow against us, for that is where our faith belongs.  In this time of difficulty, call on that love, count on it, live it, share it as we are motivated to do, and let it give us strength to ride out the storm.   His love is always mystically present.