Originally published 4/3/19
The Sea of Galilee is one of the few things that historians, archeologists, theologians and tour guides can actually agree is the same Sea of Galilee mentioned in the Bible. So when you're out on a boat that looks like a small ark, you are floating on the same sea that Jesus did and where he first recruited disciples more than 2000 years ago.
Getting on the boat on a cold December morning. The water was calm, but our guides told us - and you can read about it in the Bible - storms can make the Sea of Galilee a very dangerous place to be.
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22
Can you imagine that? Just going on about your business, selling copier paper, software, ice cream, or car tires, and a friend of yours comes up to you and says, "Hey - follow me. Let's go find some more people." Capernaum was a small town, so it's likely they knew Jesus. But still. There were no terms of work, compensation, or even a business plan for this "fishing" expedition. And what did Zebedee think? Oh jeez, another crazy decision made by these boys of mine. And who's going to finish mending these nets? How am I gonna catch fish now?
I guess you could say Michael is fishing for people now, as an ordained person in the church, but it wasn't that easy, believe me. It has taken more than 7 years of deep examinations by teams of professionals, teaching and testing by experienced theologians, and rigorous oversight by field experts, and he's still waiting for the official priestly ordination. Not to mention his family - situating Olivia, Jacob and David in safe places in Greenville, enrolling Isabel in a suitable school near seminary, and managing a business that would pay the bills while Michael studied, because there was no sufficient fishing hole on the top of Monteagle Mountain. If the disciples had had to go through all that, Christianity may have stalled out.
There were nine cities along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Only one - Tiberias - remains today. The rest are archaeological sites, so the area remains remote and scarcely populated, much as I imagine it was when Jesus was there. It was a busy place in those times, though, in perspective. There was a spring that fed the sea, near Capernaum, which likely would have served as a spawning ground for fish, Shafik told us; thus, the good fishing in the area. On our trip, we saw only one fisherman, and I'm pretty sure he was a prop, for tourists' sake.
Left: Look! a fisherman! Just like Peter! That hill is the Mount of Beatitudes, where we go next.
Still, we ooed and awed and everyone rushed to the side of the boat to take his picture. I was afraid it might capsize.
The disciples feared that, too, when they got on a boat, maybe a little bigger the blue one above, but not much. We went to see the ruins of a fishing boat that came out of the Sea of Galilee in the mid-1980s, pictured below right. It's not big, but it is thought to be the ruins of a boat similar to ones that Jesus and his disciples would have used.
I would guesstimate 5-6 people could sit in this boat comfortably. So it's not that big.
Remember, Jesus had been healing people left and right. Peter's mother-in-law, and many who were possessed with demons (Matt.8:16), just that day after he left the synagogue. He was tired, and as he often did, used a boat to escape the crowds. The Sea of Galilee is 7.5 miles wide in the north, where these events took place, and about 32 miles around. So it's not exactly a sea, but a little bigger than your average lake. And, when your boat is powered by oars, that could be a significant body of water to navigate. It likely was big enough to provide an escape from the activity on land.
Jesus fell asleep immediately. Maybe he had sleep apnea; people with apnea don't get enough sleep, so they are always tired and can fall asleep anywhere. Michael has apnea, and he always sleeps best when the plane is taking off. What kind of person sleeps when the plane is taking off??? Or when the waves are crashing?
Or maybe Jesus was bone tired. Did he even have a home? Sources mention that he "moved" to Capernaum, but I've never seen mention of where his home was. Being homeless, and being called upon relentlessly by all those sick people, and then being simultaneously rejected by his family, Pharisees and other leaders can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally.
We were warned upon boarding the boat that the seemingly calm sea could erupt in a violent storm. Dr. Wilton said he'd seen it, and sometimes the trip has to be cancelled. But as we floated along the calm water, we contemplated the storms not only that Jesus faced, but that we face today.
Everyone faces storms, sometimes on several fronts at the same time. If you work with people, am married to a person, if you made some little people, or if you live in a community with people, you're likely to encounter storms. Sometimes the storms are quiet and short, and others seem to rage on for months or years.
The disciples panicked about the storm, and woke Jesus up. They thought for sure they were going to die. I know the feeling, dudes.
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. Matt. 8:26
What a chastisement. I could imagine the disciples felt small. Should they have been more patient? Aren't we always like that? Ok, I'm always like that, impatient for the resolution. I plead and plead for the storm to pass. It always does, not in my time, though, which is stressful for me. Until it passes, then I can laugh about it, and wonder why I was so stressed.
But I'm here today, in a storm that at times feels torrential, like the boat we're in is going to sink. I am human, and sometimes feel that I am of little faith because I don't want to endure this storm, because I want it to be over now, in my time, not later, in God's time. It is not comfortable for me to sit in the discomfort; I don't have the patience for it, even though I know and do have faith that God will resolve it in a way that is best for all parties involved (even though I don't believe some of the parties in this storm deserve the best - which is, again, the human in me talking...I know God will take care of it, eschatologically speaking).
Dr. Wilton reminded us as we floated on the calm sea that day that the waves will crash. Dr. Wilton is a numbers man, so he gave us 7 points to remember about storms and the sea. (I wrote them down that day, that's why I'm able to remember all of them.)
1. Get in the boat. All the way in. I think by this he meant to be in complete relationship with Jesus. Have total faith.
2. Recognize storms as storms. They have a beginning and an end - and they will seem smaller when we remember them.
3. Don't minimize some storms. Don't underestimate what can happen in a storm. We may (like me) become impatient in a storm and take steps to end it or change its path. Water, especially, will go where it wants to go, as will most people. I can never seem to say exactly the right thing to get people to do what I want them to do. Pay close attention to the storm, and be careful while in its eye.
4. God never sleeps. Yes, Jesus was sleeping, but was he really? God his Father had his eye on the boat - his son was in it, after all, and had a mission to complete. Did the disciples really think they were going to die this way? God is always in the guard tower.
5. Accept his rebuke. Jesus rebuked both the disciples and the storm. The storm calmed, and the disciples looked at him with awe because not only could he heal people, but now they understood that the wind and sea obeyed him as well. Sometimes, we need to be rebuked. Recognize that, ask forgiveness, and head a different way.
6. Watch God work. Michael is really good at this; me, not so much. My human desire to control the situation is too strong. God will do the work, either on his own, or through me, which is actually exciting, if I let it happen.
7. Celebrate your testimony. There's the Baptist call to mission work, or it could be a blog writer's source of inspiration. Whichever.
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