Mark 6: 45-52 – Wednesday after Epiphany or 9th Jan. (Audio Bible, KJV, Spoken Word)
45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
Immediately following the feeding of the 5000, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, Jesus tells his disciples to get into a boat, so that they may get away from the multitude, while Jesus himself remains to disperse the multitude, and then to go alone into the hills, to a mountain, to pray.
Mark’s Gospel does not give Jesus’ reasons for acting so. John’s Gospel points out to us that the Jewish people had been expecting, as a sign, that the Messiah would repeat the miracle of Moses, feeding the multitude in the wilderness. This is a temptation to Jesus – the people might want to make him a king, according to their own preconceptions of the Kingdom. It is therefore necessary that Jesus withdraw himself, so that the Kingdom may be properly accomplished. Jesus does so, to spend time with his Father in prayer.
It seems a wonderfully symbolic moment: Jesus goes up to the mountain alone to pray, as if he is ascending into heaven, while the disciples are left in the midst of the sea, to try as they might to advance when confronted with contrary winds. It is so very late and the disciples are tired and struggling so hard. It is as if they have lost sight of Jesus in a spiritual sense, because when the disciples see Jesus walking on the water they suppose that he must be a spirit, and such a spirit as to make them very afraid.
Jesus would have walked past the disciples, but seeing their need he stops to reassure them. In doing so, he identifies himself in a similar way to that in which God the Father identified himself: it is I. We recall God’s naming himself, with a name that is also a refusal of a name: I am; I am being; I am that I am. It is I, be not afraid.
The contrary wind now ceases: Jesus is here, with us now. Still, however, the disciples do not understand what is happening. Their hearts are hardened. To read Mark’s Gospel especially is a wonderful lesson in recognition and misrecognition. So often, the disciples do not know that God is with them. It is as if the disciples, as Mark’s Gospel relates the events, are determined not to know Jesus, and instead to cling to the reality they thought they knew. This is a great lesson, when we find ourselves clinging to what we thought we knew, and so denying admittance to Jesus. We may scoff at the disciples of Mark’s Gospel, and yet the Gospel is an invitation to us to examine how readily we discover Jesus as God in our daily lives.
God our Father, light of all mankind,
make our hearts radiant with the spendour of that light
which long ago you shed on our fathers in the faith,
and give your people the joy of everlasting peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
In Jerusalem, Jesus teaches in the Temple and is tested by the Sadducees and the Pharisees. These are tests concerning Scripture, concerning the Law, and concerning Jesus’ identity, i.e. concerning Jesus being God the Son. Jesus’ response to the tests flows from two sources especially: from Jesus’ perfect knowledge of Scripture, and from Jesus’ true identity as God the Son incarnate. Ultimately, Jesus’ knowledge of Scripture, and freedom perfectly to interpret Scripture, flows from his true identity as God the Son [ … ]
Saint Basil the Great’s reflection on baptism and the Holy Spirit is grounded in the rich theological and liturgical tradition of the fourth-century Church, when the doctrine of the Holy Spirit was under fierce debate. Writing against those who denied the divinity of the Spirit (notably the Pneumatomachians), Basil’s On the Holy Spirit defends the Spirit’s full equality with the Father and the Son. In this passage, he focuses on baptism as the sacrament by which the believer enters into new life, through the cooperation of both water and Spirit [ … ]
We are called as Christians not only to love God and to offer our days to Him, but also to shine as a living example to the people we meet each day. We are called to that apostolate which is a part of being a Christian, to proclaim the truth of Christ to the world. There are all sorts of ways in which we can approach this mission. There are those who feel called to preach the Gospel aloud in busy streets, asking passers by to pause for a moment and listen to the word of God. For others, it might seem a brave act to say to a person who might not know us very well, in the course of conversation: I am a Christian [ … ]
