"Take heart ... it is I ..."

It was not the custom of Jesus to go about walking on water. When he wanted to cross a lake or stream, he normally got into a boat, as you and I would. When he walked, he usually walked on earth, as you and I do. But in Matthew 14:22-33 we have an exception. Here the story is told of a night when Jesus walked on the storm-driven waves of Galilee. Some of his disciples were out there in a boat, fearing for their very lives, many furlongs from land, beaten by the waves, the wind against them. Along about three o'clock Jesus came to them, emerging out of the mist and shadows. Believing they were seeing a ghost, they cried out in fear. But Jesus said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

A miracle, we may say. Yes, perhaps. And surely so, in the sense that a …