Jesus Stepped Ashore
Have you wondered, like me, why in this week’s Gospel Mark 6: 30-34 and also in Mark 4: 1-40 Jesus teaches the people, who are crowded on the shore, and he is from a boat, yet later after the resurrection, in John 21: 7-11, the disciples find Jesus on the shore, while they are in the boat on the sea?
There is a distinct reversal of locations. In Jesus time the sea was the unknown, chaos, and Jesus comes ashore from the sea, to find them in chaos on the shore. Yet after His resurrection they come from the chaos of the sea to find the peace of Jesus on the land.
In Rev 21: 1 we read - ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.’ I interpret this to mean that Jesus comes to establish the new earth, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
This imagery of sea and shore, chaos and peace, beautifully illustrates the transformation brought about by Jesus' resurrection. Before the resurrection, Jesus teaching from the boat signifies His willingness to meet people in their chaos, offering guidance and wisdom even amid turmoil.
After His resurrection, however, the disciples find Jesus on the shore, symbolizing that through His triumph over death, He brings a new sense of peace and order to their lives. This shift from sea to shore, from chaos to peace, challenges us to find our own place of rest and security in Christ, trusting in His promise of a new creation.
This juxtaposition of sea and shore invites us to examine our perspective. Am I only seeing the chaos on the land? Or am I witnessing the birth of a new creation? So often, we get caught in the trap of the world's media, which portrays a narrative of everything falling apart. We fail to see the subtle yet profound growth of the Kingdom of God on earth. This growth is often quiet and understated, but it is there, unfolding in ways we might overlook if we're only focused on the turmoil.
Even in our own lives, we are apt to see only the negative, overlooking the miracles being wrought before us. In Mark 8:18, Jesus castigates His disciples, saying, ‘Do you have eyes and not see, and ears and not hear?’ This question is a call to awaken to the deeper realities at play.
Jesus is stepping ashore in our lives, bringing a sense of peace and serenity, the birth of something new. Can we not see it? Are we willing to look beyond the surface, beyond the chaos, to recognize the divine work happening in our midst? This is a call to shift our focus from despair to hope, from destruction to the promise of a new life in Christ.
NOTICE BOARD
One way of changing our perspective is by adopting the Benedictine Spirituality for Home and Work. Click on the link below to find out more