“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
The disciples have just fed the 5000, and are now in a boat in stormy seas. Jesus walks out to the boat. He notes their fear so he climbs in, calms the storm. The disciples apparently didn’t recognize him, thinking him a ghost. After he climbs in, he reveals himself as Jesus and tells them to not be afraid.
Frequently, I feel like I’m in a boat, rowing against the waves and wind. God comes to me and I don’t recognize him, and my fear increases, thinking God has not heard my cries – if I even remembered to cry out to God in my fear. Perhaps God realizes I’m oblivious to his presence, and makes himself slightly more apparent – Jesus climbs into my boat, reminds me who he is, and tells me to not be afraid.
In a larger cosmic sense that’s what happens with the nativity which we celebrate today. As a people, God is with us. God has always been with us, and yet we don’t recognize God. We float through life in our wind-tossed boat, struggling mightily to row against the big waves. Even there, God is with us, but we do not recognize or sense God’s presence.
God realizes we need a more tangible, imminent sense of God, so God sends Jesus, God in human flesh, to come to live among us. God sends Jesus to climb into our boat. It takes the mundane human form for us to recognize the imminence and power of God. With Jesus in our boat, we again remember that God is always with us.
This morning, I’m thinking about the infant God-made-man entering my life once again, about God-made-man climbing into my boat. Do not be afraid.
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