A love that does not falter

 But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ (Matthew 14:26-27)

I play with the words, seeking just the right pitch and timbre: ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’

More than meaning, I want to hear the tone of Jesus’ voice and the feeling in his heart. I want to know him, so I repeat his words until they resonate deep and warm in my soul, waking a love that does not falter, a kindness that does not alter.

Only then do I truly know him, for Jesus comes as the eternal love of the Unseen Mystery the human heart seeks from our borning cry through every journey of life.

Immediately, in this story, he speaks these words of assurance to his terrified disciples, thinking that they were haunted by a ghost hovering over the wild waves that rocked their boat.

With that one word, we know much more, not as the mind knows but as the heart, alone, can know. Immediately, he speaks, and with this the urgency of the divine heart is unveiled.

We are not meant to be creatures of fear, cut-off and cowering before the things that haunt and threaten us. For he is present in the immediacy of our lives to quell our fears and awaken the joy of free hearts, who know there is nothing to fear because the One who is life and love is ever near.

But not just near. The living Christ breathes at the unreachable center of our souls, whispering, ‘You are meant for more,’ yearning for us to take a deep breath and listen that we may know the One who is life unending and love unchanging is already there, calling us to trust the love who never ceases to say, ‘Take heart, it is I.’

‘Come,’ Jesus said to Peter in this story, inviting him to walk to him on the waves. Whatever you make of this story, and even if you believe it is more of a parable than literal truth, the invitation is the same:

Come into your life as it is, whatever it is. Enter today and tomorrow and the rest with all their uncertainty and with the certainty that sooner or later life will hurt you, badly. But don’t be afraid. Listen. The Love who does not falter whispers within, ‘Take heart. I am here.’