Matt 14: The wisdom of Care

So in my return to my bible read, we find the son of King Herod, Herod of Antipas beheads John the Baptist in a move to save face. In response to some fabulous dance moves, Herod promises the dancer anything and she, at the urging of her mother, asks for John's head. The King James version hits more directly at the cause of John's death coming as the result of womens' acts. (Bullshit, I know.)

Anyway, when Jesus hears of his friend's death, he takes off via boat for some seclusion. Somehow word got out, though, as to where he was headed and when he made land, the crowds were waiting. Now being the pissy, self-centered beast that I am, I would soooo have shown 'em the hand and said, "Dudes! Beat it! I need some 'J' time!" But in his beautiful coolness, he totally welcomes the throngs!

By nightfall the disciples tell Jesus to send the crowds away so they can go and scrounge up some food. To which Jesus replies, "Em, don't think so--start cookin'!" And then we hear the whining, "But we've only got these 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish!"You know the rest of the story, but what I love about this tale is the infinite wisdom of Care. At every moment of my life, my needs are met. Maybe not how I want them to be, but they're met nonetheless. It was Julian of Norwich who said, "But all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner thing shall be well."

Also in this chapter we get the story of Jesus walking on water. Sending off his disciples to go sailing, Jesus then heads for the mountain for some sorely needed alone time. In neither the Life Recovery Bible or the King James version is there reference to any worry or outcry from the disciples about the stormy motion of the sea. But in the wee early hours of the morn, aware of the tough waters, Jesus heads off to meet his fellas. Of course they're freaked, who wouldn't be seeing their friend strolling through the waves (for a great water walk tale, check out The Shack).

But what struck me about tonight's reading was, again, the message of Care. The Care, the Protection, the Peace came to them. There was no asking, no pleading. The disciples weren't cowering in their vessel, scared they were goin' down. Just as the crowd of 5,000 (plus chicks and kid-lettes) was fed aplenty without even thinking about supper.

This was a good chapter with which to resume my read. Out of these two stories I've heard since childhood did I gain a deeper reminder of how futile fear really is. In the words of that beautiful Jackie Warner, "The Universe is taking care of me and the Universe is taking care of you."

Namaste~