Sunday, August 18, 2024  

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Today's Scripture
John 6:16–27

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” (NRSV)

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Reflection

OMG! Not only did Jesus walk on water, Jesus walked on rough waters and three or four miles at that! That’s equal to walking from Fourth Presbyterian Church to Navy Pier and back twice! On water!

Jesus did this to show that he, as God incarnate, has full dominion over all things.

So, then, with Jesus at the wheel and us as the willing passengers, what can go wrong? With Jesus at our side, what is there to fear? I believe the operative phrase here is “willing passengers.” Can we willingly hand over control of our lives to Jesus? “Jesus, take the wheel” is often uttered in exasperation, excitement, anger, or resignation. Most likely when we feel helpless or lost. A request for divine intervention once and when we’ve tried on our own and failed.

I don’t know about you, but as for me, I seem to be programmed to seek control and order, to strive for a clear goal with a clear vision as to how to get there. So, willingly handing the wheel over to Jesus does not feel so natural. But isn’t that what faith requires of us? Having faith calls for us to trust Jesus through the storms as we follow him.

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Prayer
Gracious and loving God, help me to learn to trust Jesus through the storms rather than being grateful after the fact, as I look in the rearview mirror of my life after I have safely sailed out of a storm because you held me up. Amen.

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Written by Toni Yang, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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