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"The wind was squealing through the rigging," Peter said. "We'd gotten the sail down and were doing our best to row into the wind. It was tougher than we'd faced for a long time -- especially at night. Half of us rowed, half bailed. We all prayed."

Peter shifted his weight. His old bones hurt after sitting long in any position. He reclined with his students on the evening before they would leave on their preaching missions. Peter trained them as Jesus trained him. At this farewell meal he continued, "We weren't thinking much about Jesus right then, but he's the one who got us there. He healed lots of people. They glommed onto him, like they were trying to filch power from him. To get time alone we sailed to the east shore, but a large crowd kept following us. They'd seen how many people he healed.

"Boat after boat scraped onto the shore and people leaped out and splashed up to us. We looked north and saw crowds walking from there. They were all converging on Jesus. He led us up the hill and had us sit. He surveyed the crowd and said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?' "

Peter paused, leaned to the side, and said, "The Romans don't have cushions as good as we had in Galilee." His students laughed. He stretched his back and said to his students, "I've told you, haven't I, about the people on the hillside?" His students nodded.

"Well, Jesus knew what he was going to do, but we didn't understand it at the time. Philip answered him, 'Six months' wages couldn't buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.'

"My brother, Andrew, said to him, 'A boy's here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what's that for so many people?' By that time about 5,000 people were on the hillside. Jesus gave thanks for the loaves and distributed them and the fish -- as much as everybody wanted. Then he had us gather the leftovers and they filled twelve baskets. Everybody had eaten in their own group, and it wasn't until they looked around and saw how much was left over that they realized what happened. This was another miracle. Jesus fed the multitude. Surely he was the prophet. They wanted to toss Jesus onto their shoulders and take him to Jerusalem as king. But he realized what they were doing and retreated alone up the hill.

"When it was evening and he didn't return, we got in our boat, as everyone else had done, and started back to Capernaum. When Jesus wanted to be alone, we'd learned to leave him alone. However, we hadn't learned enough from the miracles he'd done, not even the one he performed that day, the miracle whose fragments we collected in twelve baskets.

"Have I told you this before?" the old man asked.

"Yes, but go on," his disciples said, "Tell us about Jesus walking on the lake."

"All right, but you must be ready to finish this story for me," Peter said. "That's when we were fighting for headway, smack in the middle of the lake. Believe me, the importance of the day's events was lost on us in the dark. We could hardly see one another. We kept yelling over the wind so that the rowers stroked together. We who were bailing encouraged the rowers, because no matter how tired they were of rowing, we couldn't stop and switch rowers. We were," he held two fingers close together, "that near to going under. We barely controlled the boat, not half a bowl of strength left among us. We talked about it afterward. We'd all lost hope, and at that moment none of us thought of Jesus and his power.

"That's when we saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat. If we thought we were frightened by the storm, we were terrified when we saw him. But he said, 'It is I; do not be afraid.' We wanted to get him into our boat, but at that moment we reached the shore at Capernaum.

"Now," the aged Peter moved slightly from his reclining position at the table. He rotated his arm to get the feeling back, "now, you finish the story."

"You just did," the youngest student said.

"No," Peter instructed him. "I told you what happened. It's not enough to remember what Jesus did, as it's insufficient merely to repeat the words of his teaching. We must understand what Jesus' words and deeds mean today. When you leave tomorrow on your missions, you'll encounter people who need more than a report about what Jesus did decades ago. Now, you finish my story."

The group was silent for some time as Peter looked at them, one by one, face by face. Finally, a young man next to Peter said haltingly, "Jesus is with us in the storm."

"True," Peter said, "go on."

From the back, an older man caught on and said, "Jesus will come to us when we don't expect him."

"At the very least, yes," Peter said, "and what else?"

Someone said quickly, "His multiplying the bread and fish is also what he does today when we remember him in this meal."

Peter nodded, "Go on."

After a pause, a student in the middle of the group said, "Jesus arrives even when we aren't thinking about him."

"Certainly," Peter said, "and what else?"


Discussion Questions

1. What immediate responses do you have to the story?

2. Do you identify with a character in the story? If yes, how and why do you identify with the person? If no, why don't you identify with anyone in the story?

3. Would you like to have a conversation with a character in the story? What would you say, ask, or suggest to the person? Why?

4. How does the story bring the biblical text into a clearer focus for you?

5. How would you improve or modify the story? Why?

6. Has a Christian teacher pushed you to a further, necessary understanding of Jesus? How?

7. What's an insight into Jesus' miracles that you have only gained after years of being a Christian?

8. What would you say that this text also leads us to believe and to expect from Jesus?

9. What further depths of meaning, symbols, connections with, or applications of the biblical faith do you find in the story?

10. Since Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and is alive among us through his Holy Spirit, what of this story would you like Christ to activate in your life?