THE VOYAGE TO GENNESARET
A Meditation by Emmanuel Rose
Ó Emmanuel Rose
In the 14th Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew is the story of the Apostle Peter's walk upon the water. This episode is usually interpreted as a parable about faith and facing the hardships of life. This is certainly true; for the story works on this level; but, like most things involving Jesus of Nazareth, it resonates on many levels. In the larger account of this episode, there is a paradigm for the spiritual pilgrim. Let us take this voyage meditatively and listen for three calls.
First, there is the call into the boat.
14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained
his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent
the multitudes away.
14:23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to
pray; and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
14:24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind
was contrary.
The boat here is a vehicle for travel, the journey to Gennesaret being the spiritual journey of mankind. The analogy between navis or boat and the nave of a church is apropos, its occupants the followers of a path. The ship here is the formalized structure of a spiritual tradition. Of the three calls, this first is the least optional. We are constrained to enter a tradition and become involved in it.
Although not pictured in our text, there are many boats; and even though the passengers may not believe it, they are all more or less traveling in the same direction. Different spiritual traditions deal with different cosmic forces or emphasize these forces in a different manner. The forms that have evolved in the traditions provide channels for these forces, some of which can be quite destructive in raw form. A boat is vital, especially for one who seeks the magical core in every tradition. One of the dangers of much that is currently labeled New Age is that it tends to eschew established traditions, but has not yet evolved sufficient bracing and struts of its own to make a good boat, to protect the questing soul.
The second call is the call from the waters.
14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night
Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying,
It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be
not afraid.
14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on
the water.
14:29 And he said, Come.
The experience in a spiritual tradition can be seen as a time of preparation, but there will come a point when the experience in the boat fails to satisfy. Often the hungry soul looks to the boat, its struts and structure for sustenance, but in vain. To contact the heart of any tradition, one must leave the boat and seek a personal experience. This is the place at which belief must give way to knowledge.
Many pilgrims involved in established religions or formalized spiritual traditions realize that there is a lack of power in what they are practicing. Often they think, perhaps, to return to the primitive conditions of the tradition, for that seemed to have been a time of power. One frequently hears the call in orthodoxy to revive the practices of the primitive church. However, atavism is not the answer. The Master is no longer back on the shore. To look to the past is no more an answer than to continue in the fossilization of the present.
The answer, of course, is to heed the call from the waters and to leave the boat. The experience outside the boat, in the raging sea, involves contact with the forces of nature and the unconscious. Herein dwells the Founder or Contact of the tradition.
Note that there is a grace aspect to this call. There is a dangerous world out there, and such a journey is not for everyone. And the second call is issued only to one in the boat. The experience in the boat has transferred the matrix of the tradition to the consciousness of the pilgrim. Many try to bypass the navis experience and are unprepared.
Others are not willing to accept sinking, which is a part of the call. But the only way the heart of a tradition can be contacted is to withdraw somewhat from the group and go seeking.
A corollary point to note here is that the Master or Contact of the tradition is traveling, just as are the passengers in the boat. It is often said of neopagan traditions, as if in criticism, that their practices differ a great deal from those which existed millennia in the past. This is actually appropriate, for not only do traditions and humankind evolve, but so also do contacts.
The third call is back to the boat.
14:32 And when they were come into the ship,
the wind ceased.
14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth
thou art the Son of God.
This closes the loop. After entering the cthonic world of nature or the subconscious, sinking, and touching the heart of one's spiritual tradition, the challenge is to bring this back to the boat. This thereby enriches the tradition. The empowering of a tradition comes from the returning walkers on the water, not from the beliefs of the passengers or even what happened at the point of origin.
This is the trip to Gennesaret. Shall we heed the call?