In the Gospel traditions, the event of Jesus walking on the water occurs in close connection with the multiplication of loaves and fishes (see also Mk 6:34-52 and Jn 6:1-24). This is one of the few instances where John’s Gospel parallels and account in the Synoptics.

In understanding these miracles, it is important to see them not merely as displays of power, but as richly symbolic actions. The multiplication of loaves was done not just to satisfy human hunger, but to identify Jesus with the God who gives and sustains life, echoing God’s providing manna for his people in the desert (Ex 16).

Water symbolizes the untamed forces of evil — the chaos — out of which God the Creator victoriously brought forth the universe (Gn 1:2). Thus Jesus’ victory over water identifies his work as Messiah — to overcome the forces of evil and to bring creation to its fulfillment.

This event is part of Jesus’ intensive training of his disciples, in which he strives to convince them of the nature of his power, and that they are called to share in it. To this end, he invites Peter to come across the water as a sign that the disciple, in union with Jesus, also possesses power over the forces of evil — and the only reason for faltering is lack of faith.

Elijah had been concerned to purify the worship of God from false nature-worship, but now, fleeing for his life and discouraged at his apparent failure, he looks for God. In the past, God had genuinely revealed himself in the powerful forces of nature (see especially Ex 19 — see the Mass for the Vigil of Pentecost). Now, however, God shows himself veiled in the gentle breeze, perceptible only to the attentive listener. His message, however, is anything but gentle (vv 15-17).

This passage is a warning for us to seek God as he is, not as we would like to make him. God is gentle, but he is also violent. God is present within us, yet he is also transcendent. God’s silence requires faith and solitude to be heard and understood, yet he is also found in community with others.

This psalm comes from the time the Jews had returned from exile (about 450 BC) and undertook to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. The theme of thanksgiving for forgiveness and restoration (vv 2-4) leads to petition for help to rebuild the kingdom (vv 5-8) and confidence that God will restore his people fully (vv 9-14). Response: "Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation."

Privilege can cause problems. Although the Israelites were privileged in the flesh so that Christ might come from them, this very privilege prevented them from receiving him — they refused to believe that their own heritage (flesh) could embody divinity. Paul’s own expression of concern for his brother Jews (v 3) echoes Moses’ desire to sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of the Israelites (Ex 32:32).

In these chapters (9-11), Paul struggles to find meaning in the overall resistance of the Jewish people to the message of Christ. The point here is not that Jesus was handed over to crucifixion by the Jewish leaders, but that Paul had continually experienced rejection of his own preaching of the Christian way by Jews wherever he went. Paul here reveals a deep personal hurt at the hardness of his own people against what had become the consuming passion of his life.

The major portion of these reflections in chapters 9-11 is omitted from the liturgical readings, but 10:8-13, emphasizing the unity of all peoples based on the call to faith in Christ, is read on the First Sunday of Lent, Year C.

1. What does walking on the water say to you? How does one share in the power of Jesus to overcome the forces symbolized by water?

2. What does the first reading say about where to find God in your own life?