17 April 2021
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
In today’s gospel, Jesus performed two miracles. The disciples had been rowing for hours on a dark and stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. They saw Jesus coming towards them, walking on the water, and were terrified. Once Jesus identified himself, they rejoiced and invited him into the boat, “and immediately (εὐθέως, statim) the boat was at the land to which they were going” (John 6:21).
By walking on the water, Jesus demonstrated his power to rise above the forces of chaos that would normally engulf us. By bringing the boat immediately to its destination, he showed the immediacy of his message. The Christian message is immediate in the sense that Christianity is not a practice attainable only by a cultured elite. It is not an esoteric religion, whose heights are reserved for a select group of advanced devotees. An illiterate child can be a Christian just as much as a learned and holy nun. Faith, hope and love are theological virtues that are infused by God upon whomever he wills. God does not reserve his gifts as rewards for devotional accomplishment.
Ignatian spirituality is very deep, but its depth lies in its ability to simplify, to chip away at all the complex barriers that hinder us from going “immediately” where we truly want to be: with God.