Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 30th April
Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 30th April 2022
After yesterday’s feast we return to John’s Gospel today, (Jn 6: 16-21). In the Gospel passage we would have read yesterday had it not been the feast of St Catherine of Siena, Jesus fed the five thousand who had been following him and listening to his teaching, having prayed over the five barley loaves and two fish brought to him by a small boy. This had taken place on the other side of the Sea of Tiberius, where the crowds had gone after him up the mountain. We pick up the story as Jesus and his disciples decide to return to Capernaum by crossing the lake.
“In the evening the disciples went down to the shore of the lake and got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the lake. It was getting dark by now and Jesus had still not come to them. The wind was strong, and the sea was getting rough.” It’s evening and getting dark. The disciples are on the boat ready to leave, but there’s no sign of Jesus. Why was he late? Perhaps they thought that Jesus had decided to return to Capernaum walking with the crowd. Conditions on the lake are not ideal and a storm is brewing, so they decide to set off without him.
John recounts what happened next. “They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming towards the boat. This frightened them, but he said, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’ They were for taking him into the boat, but in no time, it reached the shore at the place they were making for.” It’s no mean task to row three or four miles by night in a storm on Lake Tiberius, so it must be pitch dark when they see Jesus in the distance, walking towards them on the surface of the water. Their reaction is one of fear, but how is it they can see him in the dark? They weren’t afraid of the storm, but the sight of Jesus walking towards them is more than frightening. He has to reassure them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Does a second miracle take place, for in no time they reach their destination? The scene is now set for Jesus to preach his discourse on the Bread of Life, when he will tell the crowds that He is himself the Bread of Life come down from heaven, so that those who eat of it many never die but enjoy the gift of eternal life. By walking on the water in the midst of a storm Jesus teaches us that we need never be afraid, for he is always with us to guide and protect us. He will never abandon us, even when the night of life is dark, stormy and cold. He will see us through to our destination, not just Capernaum or wherever it is we live, but our ultimate destination and home, God’s kingdom of love, peace and blessing.
