Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Lectionary: 272

They wanted to take him into the boat,
but the boat immediately arrived at the shore
to which they were heading.

Saint John's gospel is full of brief remarks like this: 

• "It was night" when Judas left the last supper. 
• "Each departed to his home" when the meeting of the Sanhedrin had finished. 
• "From that hour the disciple took her into his home." 

It would be easy to dismiss these statements as footnotes of no consequence, and a grave mistake. How many gallons of ink have been poured into billions of Bibles printed in every language of the earth as the editors and printers faithfully retained them? There must be more than meets the casual eye. 

"They wanted to take him into the boat but..." 

It would certainly be the courteous thing to do. If you were out rowing across a stormy sea in the middle of the night and met a man walking on the water, wouldn't you scoot over a bit to make room for him to get on board? Were the disciples being courteous? 

Or were they suggesting that he should quit fooling around and get in the boat? "Gee willikers, Jesus, you scared us half out of our wits! For heaven's sake, now, get in the boat!" 

In light of the Easter Season, we might see Jesus' unexpected appearance on the water as a sign of his divinity. The disciples' urgent invitation might have been like Saint Peter's response on Mount Tabor, "Let us build three shrines here...." 

In other words, "Let's put a leash on this thing and see if we can build a religious movement around it." 

But divinity means nothing if it is not free to blow where it will and appear when it chooses. 

God's response to Peter's invitation was, "This is my beloved son. Listen to him." Don't build a shrine; don't start a church. Listen! If a shrine should be built or a church founded, God will decide when that happens. 

In the epilogue to John's Gospel, Peter wondered about the fate of the Beloved Disciple, "What about him?" he asked. Once again, Jesus replied, What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”

In today's gospel, John tells us they would have taken Jesus in the boat but, almost miraculously, they suddenly ran aground. They had been three or four miles out, pretty much in the middle of the sea. Once again, the disciples should have been amazed at their sudden deliverance from the perilous water. 

We human beings are often awe-struck by wonderful things, and just as often dismiss our amazement and try to resettle everything in its place. We may not understand something  but, by golly, we'll find an explanation, like the tour guide who said, "Ask me anything. If I don't know the answer I'll make up something."

As we ponder the Gospel of Saint John and the Acts of the Apostles during this fifty day Easter Season, let us cultivate amazement. We need not "Be afraid; be very afraid" but we should be delighted at the Mighty Works of God.