Today’s Reading: Mark 6:30-56; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-21

The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. – Mark 6:30-31

Jesus had just learned of the death of John the Baptist and his disciples had just returned from the villages he had sent them to in groups of two. He needed time away from the crowd to grieve and to reconnect with his team. They were all in need of some food and some quiet time.

But the crowd of people who had come to see Jesus saw him get in the boat with his disciples. They ran along the shore, hopeful to be on the bank where he and his disciples would eventually land. Jesus had compassion on them because he saw they were like sheep without a shepherd. When he stepped onto the shore, he began healing those who were sick.

By now it was getting late, and everyone was hungry, including the crowd. They were quite a distance from the villages, so the disciples encouraged Jesus to send the crowds away so that they could begin their walk back to where they could buy food — This is your chance, Jesus! It’s getting late and the crowd is getting hungry. This is the perfect opportunity for us to lose this crowd and have some alone time.

But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” For there were about 5,000 men there.
Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! – Luke 9:13-17

Instead of sending the people away, Jesus invited them to sit down and allow him to supply their needs. He broke bread and they ate as much as they wanted. The great love of our Savior was displayed that day. At a time when both tradition and human reasoning gave him permission to pull inward and enter a time of grieving, Jesus had compassion on others and thought more of their needs than his own. What a great example for us today. But now that the needs of the crowds had been met, Jesus set another great example for us — he separated himself from the people in order to spend some time alone with his Father.

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” – Mark 6:45-50

Jesus took time to be alone with God but did not turn away from the needs of others. I strongly believe in taking time to grieve; I strongly believe in spending time alone in God’s presence. God calls us to this. But He also calls us to walk away from that time filled with Him in such a way that we are ready to care more about others than we do about ourselves. This is not always easy to do but the response of Jesus to the needs of those around him sets a great example for us.

Then Peter called out to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
“Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over to the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” – Matthew 14:22-31

Peter had the faith he needed to step out of the boat and begin walking on the water towards Jesus, but his struggle began when he took his eyes off of Jesus. When we are surrounded by the winds and waves, our focus on the power of Jesus is what keeps us from being overwhelmed by doubt and fear.

Lord, thank you for the compassion you daily show your people. You are a God who supplies our needs and meets us at our time of crisis with the words, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!” Only you know what lies before us this week. As we fill ourselves with Your presence, please go with us. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of others around us. May we focus on you and in doing so see others, rather than focusing on our own needs. In your power, may we experience the kind of faith that has us walking on water – believing that you will supply our needs so that we can turn our eyes off our own situation and see the opportunities around us. Amen.

After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. – Mark 6:53-56