JESUS WALKING UPON THE SEA. befell him. "But seeing the wind strong he was afraid, and when he began to sink he cried out, saying: Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretching forth His hand, took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?" When faith wavers miracles cease. When all is lost Jesus is not lost. When faith or hope or love has been wanting, our own weakness should at least teach us the lesson of the strength of Jesus' arm. When the Master reached the boat with Peter, and when the storm suddenly ceased, they all fell down and adored Him, "saying, Indeed Thou art the Son of God. And presently they were at the land to which they were going. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Genesareth and set to the shore." They reached land in the early hours of the morning. What followed is thus narrated by St. Mark: "And when they were gone out of the ship, immediately they [that is, the people of the neighborhood] knew Him. And running through that whole country they began to carry about in beds those that were sick where And when evening was come his disciples went down to the sea. And when they had gone up into a ship, they went over the sea to Capharnaum, and it was now dark, and Jesus was not come unto them. And the sea rose by reason of a great wind that blew. When they had rowed therefore about five-and-twenty of thirty furlongs, they saw Jesus walking upon the sea and drawing nigh to the ship, and they were afraid; and he would nave passed by them. But they seeing him walking upon the sea, thought it was an apparition, and they cried out; for they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he spoke with them and said to them: Have a good heart: it is I, fear ye not. And Peter making answer said: Lord, the wind strong, he was afraid, and when Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus, they heard Jesus was. And whither stretching forth his hand, took hold of him and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? And when they were come up into the boat the wind ceased; and they were far more astonished within themselves For they understood not concerning the loaves, for their heart was blinded. And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God. And presently the ship was at the land to which they were going. soever He entered, into towns or into villages or cities, they laid the sick in the streets and besought Him that they might touch but the hem of His garment, and as many as touched Him were made whole." CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE BREAD OF LIFE. John vi. 22-60. "THE next day the multitude, that stood on the other side of the sea, saw that there was no other ship there but one, and that Jesus had not entered into the ship with His disciples, but that His disciples were gone away alone; but other ships came in from Tiberias, nigh unto the place where they had eaten the bread, the Lord giving thanks. When therefore the multitude saw that Jesus was not there nor His disciples, they took shipping and came to Capharnaum seeking for Jesus." Whether by boats. from across the lake, or by messengers or travellers along the shore, the half-political and half-religious assemblage left by Jesus at the north-east corner of the lake soon learned that He was at or near Capharnaum. They heard of His preaching in that neighborhood and of many miracles of healing. Determined from various motives to see Him again, and annoyed at His avoiding them, they at least the leaders-came over to Him in boats. "They said to Him, Rabbi, when camest Thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Amen, Amen, I say to you. you seek Me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of Man will give you. For Him hath God the Father sealed." They had mistaken Jesus and His mission. They thought Him a wonder-worker who would feed His followers for purposes of worldly ambition, while He was only a teacher who wished to instruct them in the way of eternal happiness. The horrible business of going to war and slaying men in order to found a political empire was not the mission of Jesus; He had been sent to establish a brotherhood as peaceful as it was glorious, and which was to be the spiritual city of the children of God. Their perplexity broke out in questions, which were all good opportunities for His teaching: "What shall we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He hath sent." Not warlike ardor, but zealous love of truth was God's will with men; not that men should conquer each other, but that they should quickly believe in God's messenger. Faith is the demand of God-faith in His Son, the most necessary of all virtues, the highest act of enlightened reason. It was this intelligent but humble submission to truth and its divine exponent that God wanted from the Jews-nor has He ever asked anything else from any one as the root and foundation of all virtue and wisdom. But they were continually looking to miracles, especially as a means of re-establishing the supremacy of Israel. It is little wonder that they misunderstood Him. They were ever thinking of and talking about Israel's kingdom as a living thing in God's designs, to be planned about and fought for: Jesus knew it to be dead. The exchange of words which followed shows that they surmised that Jesus, if He only would, could renew the daily wonders of the exodus from Egypt, and lead them in triumphant wars against the idolatrous Gentiles. "They said therefore to Him, What sign therefore doest Thou? that we may see and may believe Thee: what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave Upon which our one of the most In it He teaches, soul, the food of great divine doc them bread from Heaven to eat." Saviour immediately entered upon momentous discourses of His life. first, that He is the bread of the the human mind, the fulness of a trine and thus is God and man made one in spirit. He goes on to teach, secondly, that He is the bread of both soul and body; that He is the food of the entire man; that, by some mysterious process, now plainly outlined, He will make His spiritual union a bodily one as well, uniting us not merely by our convictions and affections to His soul and divinity, but also making each of us one body with His body, filling our bodies with His flesh, and, our veins with His blood, in order that He may the better fill our minds with His thoughts and with His love:-in a word, THE EUCHARIST. And first He is the bread of faith: Amen, Amen, I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from Heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God is that which cometh down from Heaven and giveth life to the world. They said therefore unto Him: Lord give us always this bread. And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life, he that cometh to Me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst." Who but God Himself could say, I am the bread of life? But besides this, Jesus is the spokesman of God, and yet has not been hearkened to: "But I said unto you, that you also have seen Me and you believe not. All that the Father giveth to Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will not cast out. Because I came down from Heaven not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." Upon which our Saviour passes into the Doctrine of Life, life's principle, life's restoration, life related to death and herein He teaches that His doctrine gives the soul a supernatural life so abundant as to overflow upon and restore even the dying body: "Now this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again in the last day. And this is the will of My Father that sent Me, that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth in Him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up in the last day." Let any one deny, if he can, that Jesus has brought a new spiritual life among men. For nineteen centuries the inspiration of humanity in its literature, its art, its social conditions, especially in its morality and its religion, has been Jesus Christ. What is best and most beautiful in this world comes from union with Jesus Christ by entire belief in His teaching. But many of the Jews did not feel the want of a life of faith; they thought that the revelation of God through Moses and the prophets was enough. Therefore, they had no use for Jesus as a teacher, however much they desired Him as a national leader: "The Jews therefore murmured at Him because He had said, I am the living bread, which came down from Heaven. And they said: Is not this Jesus, the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then saith He, I am come down from Heaven?" Upon which our Saviour reiterates the statement of His "And him that cometh to Me I will not cast out." relation to His Father: "Murmur |