waves almost filled the boat with water. The boat was tossed by the sea and the
disciples were terrified, but Jesus was sleeping peacefully. How much we would
like to know the inner processes and the powers whereby His word quieted the
raging sea waters! However, this happened only after the disciples came to Him and
awoke Him, shouting desperately: “Lord, save us, we perish!” Jesus scolded His
disciples by asking them: “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?” The people in
the boats that went with them at sea and those who were with the disciples in the
boat were amazed and said “what man is this, whose command calmed and obeyed
the winds and the sea?” (The Bible, The New Testament, “The Gospel of Luke”,
ch. 8, verse 23–27). The peace, the silence took over the world after the storm; the
sea waters, tamed and docile, were carressing the shore.
I look now to the distant past of my childhood, when at the age of 7–8 years I was
rescued from drowning by a strong arm. Then, like the disciples, I cried desperately
to people to save me. And I was saved (as I would find out later) by God’s strong
arm. If I were to go through the storms of life, no matter how powerful they may be,
I would no longer be afraid. The Lord is with me and, if I am in danger, I will call
Him with faith and I will certainly be saved. He is faithful and, as He promised us,
“I will never not leave you” (The Bible, The New Testament, “Apostle Paul’s epistle
to the Hebrew”), as He is the beginning and the end, at the crossroads of our history
(Giovanni Papini 2012).
28
(C) The miracle of the multiplication of bread shows us that the disciples needed a
harsher lesson of faith, but full of wisdom.
Jesus was near the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee,
29 not far from where the
Jordan River flows into the sea. The Hebrew Easter was approaching, the crowds
went up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the temple. This time, Jesus did not go to
the “Holy City”. He celebrated the Easter by performing two of His greatest
wonders, closely connected to each other; therefore, we will describe them together.
When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw that he was greeted by a large crowd. He
was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd, and He began to teach them many things again. The day was almost over
and the disciples came to Jesus and told Him that the place was desert. They asked Him
to send the people away, to go into the country and to the surrounding villages to buy
bread because they had nothing to eat. Jesus watched them, we think, with love and
curiosity, as one watches his/her children, and He told them, as if smiling: “You give
them something to eat”. How surprising was the disciples’ response and how similar,
under those circumstances, with ours: “Shall we go and buy bread for two hundred lei
and give them to eat?” (The Bible, The New Testament, “The Gospel of Mark”,
28 “Let your manners be without covetousness, contented with such things as you have. For he hath
said: I will not leave thee: neither will I forsake thee” (The Bible, The New Testament, “Apostle
Paul’s epistle to the Hebrew”, ch. 13, verse 5).
29 The Sea of Galilee has a length of 25 km and a width of 11–12 km. It is 207 m below the sea
level. Its lively shores knew a particular trade and economic development. There were ten cities on
its shores, with a population of almost 15,000 each.
1 The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
21
disciples were terrified, but Jesus was sleeping peacefully. How much we would
like to know the inner processes and the powers whereby His word quieted the
raging sea waters! However, this happened only after the disciples came to Him and
awoke Him, shouting desperately: “Lord, save us, we perish!” Jesus scolded His
disciples by asking them: “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?” The people in
the boats that went with them at sea and those who were with the disciples in the
boat were amazed and said “what man is this, whose command calmed and obeyed
the winds and the sea?” (The Bible, The New Testament, “The Gospel of Luke”,
ch. 8, verse 23–27). The peace, the silence took over the world after the storm; the
sea waters, tamed and docile, were carressing the shore.
I look now to the distant past of my childhood, when at the age of 7–8 years I was
rescued from drowning by a strong arm. Then, like the disciples, I cried desperately
to people to save me. And I was saved (as I would find out later) by God’s strong
arm. If I were to go through the storms of life, no matter how powerful they may be,
I would no longer be afraid. The Lord is with me and, if I am in danger, I will call
Him with faith and I will certainly be saved. He is faithful and, as He promised us,
“I will never not leave you” (The Bible, The New Testament, “Apostle Paul’s epistle
to the Hebrew”), as He is the beginning and the end, at the crossroads of our history
(Giovanni Papini 2012).
28
(C) The miracle of the multiplication of bread shows us that the disciples needed a
harsher lesson of faith, but full of wisdom.
Jesus was near the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee,
29 not far from where the
Jordan River flows into the sea. The Hebrew Easter was approaching, the crowds
went up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the temple. This time, Jesus did not go to
the “Holy City”. He celebrated the Easter by performing two of His greatest
wonders, closely connected to each other; therefore, we will describe them together.
When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw that he was greeted by a large crowd. He
was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd, and He began to teach them many things again. The day was almost over
and the disciples came to Jesus and told Him that the place was desert. They asked Him
to send the people away, to go into the country and to the surrounding villages to buy
bread because they had nothing to eat. Jesus watched them, we think, with love and
curiosity, as one watches his/her children, and He told them, as if smiling: “You give
them something to eat”. How surprising was the disciples’ response and how similar,
under those circumstances, with ours: “Shall we go and buy bread for two hundred lei
and give them to eat?” (The Bible, The New Testament, “The Gospel of Mark”,
28 “Let your manners be without covetousness, contented with such things as you have. For he hath
said: I will not leave thee: neither will I forsake thee” (The Bible, The New Testament, “Apostle
Paul’s epistle to the Hebrew”, ch. 13, verse 5).
29 The Sea of Galilee has a length of 25 km and a width of 11–12 km. It is 207 m below the sea
level. Its lively shores knew a particular trade and economic development. There were ten cities on
its shores, with a population of almost 15,000 each.
1 The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
21