The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, by Henry Ossawa Tanner
The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1907
written by Gayla Irwin
22 Then Jesus commanded His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 When He sent the crowds away, He went up into a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening came, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was turbulent.
25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit.” And they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, bid me come to You on the water.”
29 He said, “Come.”
And when Peter got out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” ~Matthew 14:22-33
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859 – 1937) was the son of a Methodist minister. His mother, Sarah, was born into slavery in Virginia, and her father was a slave owner. Sarah's mother smuggled her children to freedom via the Underground Railroad. The family eventually settled in Pittsburgh.
Tanner was a quiet, modest person but also ambitious and hardworking. He found it challenging to work in the US as a Black man, so he moved to Paris in 1891, where racism was less of an issue. He married in Europe, had a family, and lived there the rest of his life.
According to Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt Is in the Wind, “Tanner recognized that his artistic gift was a powerful evangelistic tool. He said, ‘I rejoice in my ability to give blessings to others… I invited the Christ spirit to manifest in me.’”
As well as being a man of deep faith, Tanner was a master at helping us enter our imaginations to experience Gospel stories, as we see in this beautiful impressionist oil painting from 1907. Take a few moments to let your gaze roam across the painting. What catches your eye or stirs your curiosity?
Tanner often used light to set the scene and evoke a response. Here, we see the moon reflected on the sea at the bottom of the painting. But there isn’t much light here; mainly endless hues of blue like the ocean itself. He is helping us understand how hard it would have been to see Jesus on the water.
Here we see Peter, standing in the boat, getting ready to step out on the water. But where is Jesus? Rather than depicting him in detail, Tanner’s Jesus appears as a smear of light blue paint near the front of the boat. Why do you think he would do this, when the other disciples are painted with more clarity and detail?
Perhaps Tanner wanted us to understand that recognizing Jesus, especially when we don’t expect to see him, is deeply challenging. He connects physical sight with spiritual sight, reminding us that the two often don’t align. We, the viewers, are encouraged to develop our own spiritual sight.
Engaging our imagination as we read stories from the Gospels can be a helpful spiritual practice, drawing us into the heart of the passage. Give this a try by attuning to the story's details through your five senses. For more on this practice, see Ignatius of Loyola’s teaching on imaginative prayer.
To consider:
· The racism Tanner encountered in the US eventually led him to move to France, where he further developed his artistic gifts. Have the difficulties you have faced in your life helped develop your own gifts and skills? How?
· Like the disciples on the boat, have you recently struggled to recognize Jesus in a situation or relationship? I encourage you to take a few moments to offer those up in prayer, asking for a “spiritual sight”.
· Try reading through the passage again, engaging your five senses as if you were there in person.