‘It’s a ghost’

Jesus walking on the water appears to the disciples as a ghost. The hand that is extended to them to hold are  seen as  hand of a ghost. The steps hurrying to save them are seen as feet of a ghost.  So often in life people coming to help and to save are seen as enemies. Many prefer to die beneath the waves than to hold the hands that are extended to save.

In life, we often see things not as they are, but as we are. We see what we fear. In the midst of fear, the apostles in the tossed-about boat are able to see only the waves, winds, death, and ghosts. Even the hands of God that are extended to them they fear. Peter needed extraordinary courage to step on the waves and move toward what everyone said was a ghost.

In the town of Genneserat, the man possessed, pleaded with Christ to leave his shore and go back to where he came from. The people were annoyed at the loss of their pigs and requested Christ to leave them alone. They feared the one who came to set them free. They preferred their pigs and slavery rather than their freedom.

After the miracle of the loaves, after people had eaten enough, they were enthusiastic to make Jesus a king. How our politicians would have fanned the popularity and declared an election! But not Christ. He knows that the enthusiasm is only as long as the bread  lasts in their stomach! Tomorrow it will be ‘Crucify him’. Rather than prolong their claps and appreciation, Jesus disperses the crowd. First, he packs the leaders of the crowd into a boat and puts them out to the sea. Then he makes his way to the mountaintop to settle the bill and give credit where it belongs.

In the cool of the evening, amidst the rays of the setting sun, the green mountain top is a beautiful parlour to meet his Father. Evening falls, night comes, and hours pass, yet Jesus goes on talking with his Father right into the late night. He has many things to share, many bills to settle, and many matters to discern. Unlike so many of us, who after brief success in our schemes, make our way to the beaches and the bars, Jesus spends long hours with his Father.

From the mountain top the disciples in the boat are not lost to him, he has a good view of them. He could hear them singing and clapping at the start, for they too had enough of bread.  In their excitement and joy, they failed to notice the gathering clouds on the horizon. Soon the sky grew darker, the waves became bigger, the wind stronger, and the muscles that held the row weaker. They find it more and more difficult to steady their sails, for the wind turns ‘against’ them. So long as they can manage the boat, Jesus  will not go to them. What they can do, he will not do. At the same time, he will not allow them to sink beneath the waves. He will be on time to hold them up. In their fear, they look around for their master and regret that they had forgotten to invite him in their initial excitement and joy. The beginning was so nice, but midway it’s hell.

Making a playground of the ocean and its waves, Jesus hurries to them. In their fear, their eyes are blurred, and they see the one that had just a few hours ago fed them, as a ghost. The waves and winds were bad enough and now there is a ghost too they need to handle. When things go wrong everything seems to go wrong. So like a helpless baby fallen on the ground, all they can do is cry out in desperation. Like the father who runs to the prodigal in the faraway country, Jesus hurries toward them on the waters.

The journey of life is a journey across the sea. The beginnings are all music and claps. Somewhere midway the waves and wind are sure to come. Let those who are at the beginning, not wonder why those celebrating their silver and golden Jubilees are finding it so difficult. Wait for your turn. You don’t see the turbulence and the undercurrents. It’s calm at the shore, not so in the middle. Those who are toiling the waves and the winds and terrified by ghosts, those who are at the last leg of their journey, be assured, he will come walking on the water. So long as you can manage the boat, he will not come. What you can do, he will not do.  Fear not, he will not allow you to sink beneath the waves. He will be on time to hold you and take you across.

-        Fr T.V.Georgesdb