Psalm22│Jeremiah 6.22-30│Galatians 5.16-26│John 6.16-27
Psaumes 22|Jérémie 6.22-30 |Galates 5.16-26 |Jean 6.16-27
'Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee' by Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1568-1625, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
By Jan Brueghel the Elder - Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6924424
St John is telling us about the occasion when
Jesus’ disciples found themselves in a storm on Lake Galilee, after the feeding
of the five thousand, and Jesus came to them over the water. The sea was calmed
and they completed their journey to Capernaum.
Before the disciples left in the boat, we learn
that the crowds wanted to make Jesus king, but that he withdrew to a mountain
by himself. And from St Matthew we learn that Jesus actually compelled the
disciples to get in the boat and leave. Jesus had a long-term plan, which was
incompatible with the short-term aspirations of the crowds. Jesus eschewed the
adoration of the crowds to be with God. As a metaphor, this is a powerful
message to all of us: we should not be distracted by short-term goals and
should instead have a long-term plan to follow God, whatever that may mean for
each one of us. In the case of the disciples on that night it was to get in a
boat and face the fury of the storm. Those of us who sail know how terrifying
it is to be on a small boat in heavy seas, even when one knows what to do; and
all of us face analogous situations sooner or later in life. We can also
imagine the plight of refugees who cross the seas in flimsy boats, only to face
even more hardship when they survive. But at those difficult moments, no matter
whether we find ourselves facing them through accident or through choice, we
are told that Jesus will be with us, as He was with the disciples on that
stormy night. In the English translation, Jesus says ‘It is I’, but in the
Greek text the words are ‘I am’ (‘Εγώ ειμί’),
echoing Jesus’ amazing statements about who He is.
We find the same comfort in the midst of
adversity in the wonderful words of Psalm 22. We may feel abandoned, but we
know that God is near: “But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my
strength; come quickly to help me.” “All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.” And what better way is there to remind ourselves of this
wonderful truth than Luther’s hymn, ‘Ein feste Burg is unser Gott’, and Bach’s
setting in cantata BWV 80: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6dPv7W80yk.
Nicholas
Deliyanakis
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