When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. (Mark 6: 47-50)

Jesus is - typically - unexpected. Instead of conquering king, he arrives as vulnerable child. Rather than vengeance, he brings love. We expect death. He promises eternal life.

The more we fit Jesus to our expectations, the more likely Jesus will surprise and even terrify us. We cannot fully define what is infinite.

The scriptures help us understand that this is not because Jesus is unpredictable. He has an integrity and consistency in which we can have great confidence.

The problem is with our expectations. We work to conform Jesus to our experience, rather than transform our experience through Jesus.

Expect and experience are both derived from the Latin. Expect is to look at. Experience is to try. Jesus doesn't want us to just look at life. He wants us to live boldy.

Above is a color enhancement by Tobin James Mueller of a 16th Century woodblock print.