{"id":3442,"date":"2024-03-01T09:27:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T14:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3442"},"modified":"2024-03-01T09:27:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T14:27:30","slug":"walking-on-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/01\/walking-on-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking on Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>

Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>

Anybody who watched television in the 1970s will remember the iconic ads for Chiffon margarine.\u00a0

Actress Dena Dietrich, dressed in a while robe and crowned with a garland of daisies, would dip her finger into a yellow tub, sample it, then gush, \u201cMy delicious butter!\u201d\u00a0 The narrator, however (voiced by character actor Mason Adams), would correct her:

\u201cThat\u2019s Chiffon margarine, not butter.\u00a0 Chiffon\u2019s so delicious it fooled even you, Mother Nature.\u201d\u00a0

Uh-oh<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not nice<\/em> to fool Mother Nature!\u201d Dietrich would snarl, followed by thunder and lightning, or perhaps a charging elephant, and on one occasion the sudden transformation of a beautiful forest into a barren desert.\u00a0 Things always wrapped up, however, with a happy jingle: \u201cIf you think it\u2019s butter, but it\u2019s not, it\u2019s Chiffon.\u201d

The Chiffon brand was sold and ultimately discontinued in 2002, although it can still be found here and there in the Caribbean.\u00a0

What lingers is humanity\u2019s awkward dance with Nature.\u00a0 Is Nature a storehouse to be pillaged, a Mother deserving of respect, or perhaps Gaia, the Greek goddess of the earth, who is the source of all living things and therefore worthy of heartfelt worship?\u00a0

As the influence of Christianity continues to wane in Western culture, other deities have rushed in to fill the void.\u00a0 The Gaia Hypothesis, put forward by the late English scientist James Lovelock, is that our planet is actually a complex self-regulating organism.\u00a0 A number of environmentalists currently derive more inspiration from Gaia than from the notion of a Creator.\u00a0

Which brings us to a special moment in the Jesus narratives \u2013 when the One who identifies himself as the Creator\u2019s unique representative on Earth steps out (literally) into the very teeth of Nature\u2019s fury.\u00a0

Matthew, Mark, and John all tell the story in somewhat different ways.\u00a0 Here\u2019s Matthew\u2019s account:

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.\u00a0 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.\u00a0 Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.\u00a0 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.\u00a0 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. \u201cIt\u2019s a ghost!\u201d they said, and cried out in fear.\u00a0 But Jesus immediately said to them: \u201cTake courage! I am. Don\u2019t be afraid.\u201d <\/em>(Matthew 14:22-27)

Jesus\u2019 miracles roughly fall into three categories.

There are supernatural healings \u2013 blind people who see, paralytics who walk, and dead people who are restored to life.\u00a0 There are exorcisms \u2013 physical and spiritual liberation granted to demonized men, women, and children.\u00a0 And there are so-called Nature miracles \u2013 turning water into wine, feeding crowds with just a few loaves, and providing a miraculous catch of fish.

Then there\u2019s walking on the water, which seems to fall into a sub-category all its own.\u00a0

It\u2019s easy to discern, in most cases, why Jesus might choose to exercise divine power.\u00a0 Someone afflicted with leprosy needs relief from suffering.\u00a0 The resurrection of a little girl delivers her parents from endless heartache.\u00a0 Hungry people crave food.\u00a0

But why is it necessary for Jesus to stride across the storm-tossed surface of the Sea of Galilee, when he could just as easily have hopped into the disciples\u2019 boat or awaited their return?

In her book Inside the Miracles of Jesus<\/em>, author and seminary dean Jessica LaGrone admits her own sense of puzzlement.\u00a0 Water-walking doesn\u2019t appear to serve an obvious purpose, nor to move the kingdom of God closer to reality.\u00a0 It\u2019s tempting to think that Jesus is just showing off.\u00a0 \u201cHey, guys, watch this!\u201d\u00a0

Nevertheless, LaGrone suggests there are three messages embedded in this account.

First, Jesus is providing his followers with a timeless illustration of his lordship over Nature.

Historically, the Jewish people feared the water.\u00a0 The turbulent sea (that is, the Mediterranean) symbolized the chaos of a broken world.\u00a0 The second verse of the book of Genesis reports, \u201cThe Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.\u201d\u00a0 Those primordial waters, in later centuries, even provided the pathway of invasion for Israel\u2019s enemies.

According to first-century thinking, walking on the water was like treading upon the face of evil. \u00a0Jesus was demonstrating that God\u2019s people don\u2019t have to flinch in the presence of Nature, even though its powers can seem awesome.\u00a0

Second, Jesus is reminding his friends that he is with them all the time.

Each of the three Gospel accounts reports the disciples\u2019 struggles as they try, in their own strength, to row their way to safety through the squall.\u00a0 Jesus comes to<\/em> them.\u00a0 And once again he calms the storm.\u00a0 Jesus knows exactly what his friends are facing.\u00a0 He will never abandon them.\u00a0 Nor will he ever abandon us<\/em>.\u00a0

Finally, he tells them not to be afraid by means of an unforgettable threefold word of assurance.

Walking toward them on the waves, he shouts: \u201cCourage! I am! Don\u2019t be afraid!\u201d\u00a0

The second part of that statement is particularly notable.\u00a0 Most Bible translations render it something like, \u201cIt\u2019s me!\u201d \u2013 as in, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not a ghost, I\u2019m the person you know very well.\u201d\u00a0 But that\u2019s not what the text says.\u00a0 The two Greek words here are ego eimi<\/em>, which literally means, \u201cI am.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0

Every Jew would have heard in those two words an echo of Exodus 3:14, where God introduces himself to Moses, who is trembling at the burning bush, by saying, \u201cI am who I am.\u00a0 Tell [the people] I AM has sent me to you.\u201d\u00a0

As biblical scholar Dale Bruner notes, \u201cThis is no ordinary hello on the water.\u00a0 It is the divine Lord addressing his storm-tossed church.\u201d

God is striding toward<\/em> us, right in the midst of our most challenging circumstances.

Where, then, should we go with our relationship with Mother Nature?

British essayist G.K. Chesterton probably said it best early last century.\u00a0 \u201cThe main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother.\u00a0 Nature is our sister.\u00a0 We can be proud of her beauty, since we have the same father.\u00a0 But she has no authority over us.\u00a0 We have to admire, but not to imitate.\u201d

Nature, in other words, is not a goddess who dares to make claims on our obedience. \u00a0God alone is worthy of worship and praise.\u00a0

Nor is Nature a mother in a white robe \u2013 someone who may get cranky every now and then in the dairy aisle, but who otherwise is fun to hang around.\u00a0 As mountain climbers, deep sea divers, and tourists in national parks discover every year, Nature is not something we can ever take for granted.\u00a0

Nor is Nature a never-ending pantry of natural resources that we can plunder as we see fit.\u00a0 This is our Father\u2019s world, and our call \u2013 the same call that the first couple heard in the Garden of Eden \u2013 is to be faithful stewards of everything he has made.

By walking on those wavetops, Jesus was saying, \u201cNature is a wonderful thing that can sometimes seem like a scary thing.\u00a0 But it can never separate you from the only thing you really need.\u201d

The only thing we really need is Him<\/em>.\u00a0
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Anybody who watched television in the 1970s will remember the iconic ads for Chiffon margarine.\u00a0 Actress Dena Dietrich, dressed in a while robe… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3444,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442\/revisions\/3444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}