Saturday in the Second Week of Easter, April 29, 2022

John 6, 16-21

When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.

St. Matthew, in his Gospel, supplies many details to St. John’s summary.  According to Matthew, Jesus “obliged his disciples to go up into the boat, and to go before him over the water” (Matthew 14, 22), whereas John shows the Apostles going in their boat of their own accord.  Matthew also tells us that Jesus spent the night on prayer, whereas John simply tells us that the Lord went up the mountain to avoid the crowd which wanted to make him king.  John says that “the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing”, and Matthew comments that “the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary” (Matthew 14, 24).  And while John tells us that the Apostles saw Jesus walking on the sea, Matthew gives us the story of Peter trying to walk on the water and the Lord rescuing him when he sinks into it.  John evidently omits this event because he is leading the reader to the great discourse the Lord gives on the Bread of Life.  But by reading both accounts we are able to gain a fuller picture of what happened at that time.  We can also tie in the lack of faith shown by Peter when he sank into the sea with his profession of faith at the end of the discourse on the Bread of Life, when many of his former disciples walked away from him, as reported by John: “Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that you are the Christ, the Son of God” (John 6, 68-70).  Thus, while a large number of former disciples lost their faith, hearing this teaching of Jesus, Peter’s faith increased.

“They saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid.”  We might ask why the Lord chose to walk on the sea as he did.  He could have transported himself to Capernaum without walking, either walking on the water or the earth, if the point was getting there.  The answer seems to be that he desired his Apostles to see him doing this, to show them an aspect of his power of which they had been unaware.  We should recall that the Apostles still nourished within their bosoms the idea that Jesus was going to lead the armies of Israel against the Romans.  He was a terrestrial Messiah.  Here, before telling the crowds that they must eat his Body and drink his Blood to have eternal life, he shows his power as the Son of God.  He also shows by this display of divine power that what he is about to teach comes from God.

“It is I. Do not be afraid.”  The Lord will speak these words to the Apostles when he appears to them after rising from the dead.  This has the effect of further validating the “hard words” of his teaching regarding the need to consume his Body and Blood, and to obey all his commandments.  We can understand these words as the Lord addressing them to us whenever we find ourselves in distress, as the Apostles heard them in the rough seas.  He is closer to us in our troubles than we think.  We can say to him: Lord, as long as you are in control, whatever happens, no matter how bad it may be, I trust you to keep me safe.

“They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.”  This is where the story of Peter walking on the water would have been of John had decided to include it.  The Apostles wanted him to go into the boat with him because his presence among them would make them feel safer, but the Lord caused the boat to suddenly reach its destination, so they could disembark and have the hard ground under their feet again.  He answers their prayer, but in a way they did not anticipate.  The Lord directs us us to cross the sea of life in our boat, our mortality, and despite the dangers we encounter, he is right alongside us, and answers our earnest prayers to get us safely to the eternal