Skip to main content

It's A Ghost!


            Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
            During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
            But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
            “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
                "Come,” he said.
            Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
                Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. (Mark 14:22-34) 
            How often have you heard (or said) something like, "Yeah, Peter, where was your faith?" When we're in our armchair, it's easy to coach the team. John Ortberg wrote a good book called, If You Want To Walk On Water, You Have To Get Out Of The Boat. He points out that at least 11 others didn't have the faith to try.
          My own question is probably worse. I want to know where Peter's mind was. They disciples were in the middle of the sea in a storm. Someone saw something. Someone identified that something as a ghost. The ghost said, "Take courage! it is I. Don't be afraid." Peter had the sense to at least say, "Lord, if it's You..." So, are ghosts generally considered trustworthy? Is it likely that a ghost has Peter's best interests at heart? If it has lied about who it was, is it likely to then say, "Oh, no, wait, Peter. I was just kidding. Stay in the boat?" 
            Peter had the faith to trust that if it was Jesus, he could walk on the water. He got out of the boat. Perhaps the first two or three steps were easy. Perhaps not. He may have had to climb a wave, or slide down the other side of the wave. I suspect that somewhere along the line, a wave rolled over his path, soaking up to the knees and drawing his attention back to the insanity of what he was doing. When his faith failed, he called to Jesus for help. That's a lesson we all need to learn.
             I tend to believe I would be like the other 11 disciples. I am afraid to get out of the boat because I don't know it's Jesus out there walking. It could be a ghost pretending to be Jesus. It could be the ghost of my own ego. I suspect I'm more like Thomas. I want proof it's Jesus, a written guarantee and an engraved invitation. With every step, I want my path to light up and, oh,  once I put my foot on that water, the winds and the waves...they're supposed to be gone. Is that too much to ask?
            Apparently, it is. That is not the way God has worked in my life. His leading by the Holy Ghost seems to always require that I climb out of my safe boat without any of that, trusting that if I'm wrong - if the ghost isn't so holy - that God will not only be able to rescue me, but willing to when I've been so foolish as to trust Him when He wasn't "him."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On The Calendar:
Paul Revere's Ride
San Francisco Earthquake (1906)

Birthday of
Clarence Darrow

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more