Most people enjoy watching a “who-dunnit” mystery. As the story unfolds, a jumble of clues, suspicions, and coincidences are presented, which make us wonder “what’s going on here?” At the end, however, when the mystery is solved, we say “aha,” everything has fallen into place.
The story of humanity parallels a “who-dunnit” mystery. At times nothing makes sense as we encounter a seemingly unconnected chain of experiences. We wonder if there is a “key” that makes everything fall into place. As Christians, we know that this key exists.
Today we see an illustration of this (Matthew 14:22-36).
“Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowd…Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.”
Here we go again with the disciples in a boat struggling against the opposition of nature. They had a clear goal—to reach the other side—and they had a means to get there—a boat—and the navigational skills required. Despite this, however, they were dealing with a wind that kept them from moving forward. This is a paradigm of life, isn’t it? We journey across the sea toward our homeland, and then we face “winds” of one kind or another.
“During the fourth watch of the night, (Jesus) came toward them, walking on the sea.”
The disciples were stuck in the turbulent waters and saw no way out of their predicament. Jesus was still about six hours behind them; he was not available for help. Then, the impossible happened. Jesus caught up with them, not with the help of a speed boat, but with feet that were capable of walking on water. They, of course, were terrified by what they saw, thinking Jesus was a ghost. He couldn’t have been the real Jesus because the real Jesus was back on the shore. As they were going through another panic attack, “brave” Peter asked Jesus to prove himself real by allowing him to walk on the water.
We know what happened next, how Peter walked for a while, then thought about what he was doing, began to sink, screamed out “Lord save me!” and Jesus grabbed his arm to save him from drowning.
“After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’”
When Jesus showed up, everything fell into place. The disciples realized that Jesus was truly the Son of God, not just because he walked on water, but because his presence brought peace to them and to the sea. Jesus was the answer they were looking for: he was the “key” to life, the solution to its mystery. Every time Jesus showed up, the presence of God took over and that piece of creation, at least momentarily, was returned to what it was prior to Adam’s sin.
We’ve seen the poster that reads: “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.” Jesus is the obedient Adam in whom the Father is well pleased. When anyone or any place comes under his Lordship, chaos is turned into peace, and the puzzle of life begins to fall into place.
As we continue crossing the sea of life, we face many winds and storms. These are a reminder to us that we need Jesus in our boats. Wherever he is, everything begins to fall into place. Without him, however, we will never make it across the sea.
