| READER 1: |
I wonder what it feels like to sit in a space capsule just before take-off. I think, I KNOW, I would be terrified but I would also be thrilled at the same time. I would be going off into deep space. I would hope and expect to come back but, as we know, tragedies can happen so there would always be that sense of anxiety.
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| READER 2: |
I think the experience of going down into the deep sea would be my greatest feeling of fear and excitement. I know people go down on submarines all the time but some go down even further in specially designed capsules. I think you might see all sorts of strange fish that we never see otherwise. It would be like going down into another world looking for creatures of the deep.
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| READER 3: |
It must have been like that for the great explorers like Columbus and Magellan. They sailed off without really knowing what to expect. They and their crews must have been just as frightened and yet expectant as the great explorers of today. Imagine making that marvellous step forward but not knowing if you would be coming home to see your friends and family.
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| READER 4: |
We all have challenges of some sort though. They may not be as great and adventurous as going into space, or making voyages of discovery above and below the waves but we all have our own voyages. These are the voyages we make into discovering what and how we think and what goes on in our own lives, our hearts and minds.
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| READER 1: |
One of Jesus' disciples was called Peter. He was the one Jesus was to choose to be the person who would lead the disciples after Jesus' death. In the Gospel of St. Matthew we can read this story about Jesus and Peter:
Jesus had left the disciples so that he could be alone and pray. The disciples had got into their boat and were sailing across the Sea of Galilee. A storm blew up and it became very rough. Very early in the morning the disciples were amazed to see Jesus walking on the water drawing near to the boat. They were terrified and cried out in fear 'It is a ghost!'
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| READER 2: |
'Do not be afraid,' said Jesus. 'Take heart! It is I.' Peter called to him: 'Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you over the water'. 'Come', said Jesus. Peter stepped down from the boat and walked over the water towards Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the gale he was seized with fear.
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| READER 3: |
Beginning to sink, he cried, 'Save me, Lord'. Jesus caught hold of him and said, 'Why did you hesitate? How little faith you have!' Then they climbed into the boat and the wind dropped. And the men fell at his feet and said, 'Truly you are the Son of God'.
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| READER 4: |
Some of us will believe that really happened and some of us will doubt it. But the story is really about taking the risk and having faith in those whom you should and do trust. Peter did have faith in Jesus but he just needed to know how deep his faith was. Perhaps it wasn't as deep as he thought it was. Maybe we are tested sometimes, not just about our faith but about how much we love and trust our family and friends and how deep that love and trust is.
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| READER 1: |
We don't always have to go to faraway places or on great expeditions to explore the deep within ourselves. At the heart of us all is our depth of feeling - for ourselves and those whom we love. Christians believe that the love of God for all people is the deepest love of all and in loving God they really do put out into the deep, into the unknown. |
