There are probably as many explanations for the Miracle of Walking on Water as there are preachers in our churches. Some take it at face value and declare that it is an actual “miracle” … a phenomenon outside of what most people accept as natural laws. As such, this “miracle” becomes one more example of Jesus’ divinity as the son of God.
Others explain it by saying that in the storm and waves the disciples were really a lot closer to land than they thought. That Jesus was actually wading in shallow water, and when Peter jumped out of the boat he happened to jump into a deeper portion of the Sea of Galilee. To some degree this makes sense … anyone who has been to the beach at low tide knows that there is usually a sandbar about 50 to 75 yards from shore, and with the waves breaking around them people can be seen walking on the sandbar as if they are walking on water. And, between the sandbar and the beach the water is often deeper … one can easily step off the sandbar into 4 or 5 feet of water. So, maybe that is the explanation.
And then there is the joke that Jesus just knew where the stones were under the water. In West Virginia I traveled some back-country dirt roads that crossed small rivers. Knowing where the ford of the river was … the shallow crossing point … was part of the adventure. I have seen some vehicles that misgauged the crossing and got stuck in the deeper mud one side or the other of the ford. Kind of like Peter jumping out of the boat.
Others explain it by saying that in the storm and waves the disciples were really a lot closer to land than they thought. That Jesus was actually wading in shallow water, and when Peter jumped out of the boat he happened to jump into a deeper portion of the Sea of Galilee. To some degree this makes sense … anyone who has been to the beach at low tide knows that there is usually a sandbar about 50 to 75 yards from shore, and with the waves breaking around them people can be seen walking on the sandbar as if they are walking on water. And, between the sandbar and the beach the water is often deeper … one can easily step off the sandbar into 4 or 5 feet of water. So, maybe that is the explanation.
And then there is the joke that Jesus just knew where the stones were under the water. In West Virginia I traveled some back-country dirt roads that crossed small rivers. Knowing where the ford of the river was … the shallow crossing point … was part of the adventure. I have seen some vehicles that misgauged the crossing and got stuck in the deeper mud one side or the other of the ford. Kind of like Peter jumping out of the boat.
10 Pentecost
August 13, 2017
In the name of the God of all Creation,
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
August 13, 2017
In the name of the God of all Creation,
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
