Walk on water!

TIBERIAS, Israel – As I look out of my hotel balcony towards the calm waters of the Sea of Galilee, I am reminded of that passage in the Bible (Matthew 14:25) when our Lord Jesus Christ walked on its waters toward the boat of his startled apostles. “Walk on water” is one of the amazing stories of the Bible. Under normal circumstances, I think of it in a business sense.

Over at ABS-CBN, “walk on water” awards are regularly given to employees who manage to achieve the impossible by doing things often beyond the call of duty. But as I contemplate the Sea of Galilee and recall how Peter tried to walk on its water too but started to sink after he noticed the wind and got afraid. Walking on water in this context is more about having faith and keeping focus in the Savior than dazzling management.

I know Holy Week was a month ago but bear with me because I have been traveling through the Holy Land the past week, tracing the Exodus route of Moses from Egypt and the places where Jesus lived and carried out his mission in towns around the Sea of Galilee. I am taking this Biblical tour with 184 others in this year’s edition of the annual activity of Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF), a fast growing born again Christian group popular with professionals, entrepreneurs and young college graduates/students.

My wife long wanted to join this tour and I have just about run out of excuses to postpone it to another year. Not even fresh reports of potential war breaking out between Israel and Iran convinced her that a postponement is in order. She has been attending CCF and thinks highly of its Pastor, UP educated entrepreneur Peter Tanchi.

So, here I am contemplating the Sea of Galilee and what walking on water really means in the context of my Christian faith. Touring around in an air conditioned tour bus may seem like fun and indeed, it is fun to see the places you have only read about in the Bible. But the Middle Eastern sun can be rather scorching and the long walks tiring.

Nevertheless, agreeing to be in this tour provided me an opportunity to see Egypt again and Israel and Jordan for the first time. I first visited Egypt as a 20-year-old reporter of ABS-CBN in February 1970 on assignment to cover the state visit of then Vice President Fernando Lopez. That visit brought us not just to Cairo but also to Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan.

Egypt can be pretty much compared to our own country then and now. Both appear to have escaped the level of progress and development that one would think 40 years should have brought. Sure, there are new buildings and new highways but by and large, the third world atmosphere prevails.

Infuriating traffic jams and obvious evidence of widespread poverty are there still. Egypt, the superpower of ancient times, can hardly put a stable government in place. Back home, we do have a stable government but the quality of governance seems only a few notches higher than it is at the land of the pharaohs and Cleopatra.

Crossing the land border in the Egyptian town of Taba on the Sinai peninsula to the Israel port city of Eilat brings an experience almost as starkly different as night and day. The bustling Eilat could be mistaken for a minor American city. With only the income from the Suez Canal and tourism to bank on, Egypt surely has big problems beyond installing a stable and acceptable replacement to Hosni Mubarak, many months after he was overthrown.

Still being temporarily run by a council of military officers, there is no doubt there is urgency in installing new civilian leaders who are able to go beyond politics and religion to make wise economic decisions. A good example of a misguided Egyptian policy is the pricing of the toll charged ships that use the canal.

We saw a large number of Japanese and Korean cars in a huge parking lot in Eilat. Our Israeli tour guide explains those cars are actually bound for Europe. It costs more to pay the Egyptians to have the ships carrying those cars from Asia to pass through the Suez Canal than to unload those cars in Eilat, put them on truck trailers for the drive to an Israeli Mediterranean port and reload in ships bound for Europe. It is difficult to see what the Egyptians are thinking in pricing their toll so that double handling through Israel is cheaper.

The handling of tourism is also a good study in contrasts. In Egypt, tourists are harassed by an army of vendors trying, sometimes to the point of violence, to sell some souvenir or service like a camel ride. Our Egyptian guide warned us to ignore the peddlers and be extra careful with the camel drivers. A tourist may be offered a cut rate camel ride of US$1 but trying to get down that camel can cost as much as a couple of hundred.

In Israel, tourists can enjoy the scenery in peace. It is clear that the Israeli government recognizes the vital importance of the tourism industry to the economy so that there are enough rules being implemented to protect tourists. The only things that may annoy tourists in Israel are the hordes of other tourists visiting the same sites, a problem Mon Jimenez will love.

Luckily for us, the CCF has somehow managed to run this “Bible Study Tour” with uncharacteristic efficiency for a local group. That’s probably because Pastor Peter is a no nonsense leader who is able to impose discipline among the members of his staff and congregation. I have been part of much smaller groups and it is amazing how four busloads of Pinoy travelers are able to get to their buses on time and absolutely no one playing prima donna, a certainty in most past groups I have traveled with.

I am really not surprised at such show of efficiency and governance, if their building project is any indication. The 28-year-old congregation is currently constructing a P3-billion building on a P1 billion lot at the corner of Ortigas and C-5 in Pasig. Pastor Peter said they did not borrow a centavo as generous members made sure they had the resources to inaugurate the building early next year.

Pastor Peter Tanchi is of the family that used to own the old Riverside Textile mills, one of the local mills that lost their competitiveness some decades ago. Now into the property development business, Pastor Tanchi saw how to successfully use the teachings of Jesus Christ in everyday life, including business.

Putting Christ first, learning to trust Him and obey His teachings is the life philosophy he shared with an initial Bible study group of businessmen and professionals.  CCF membership has risen to over 40,000 nationwide plus a few thousand more in major cities abroad where there are a lots of Pinoys. Probably the most prominent businessman who attends CCF is Henry “Big Boy” Sy Jr.

I asked Mr. Tanchi how the CCF name came about. The “commission” has nothing to do with money, as some people may think. It has reference to the “Great Commission” described in Matthew 28:19 when the disciples were commanded by Christ to “go and make disciples of all nations…” And as disciples or followers of Jesus, that is exactly what they are now doing as they share the Good News of salvation.

Well, it is difficult to argue against having more ethical businessmen who live by the commandments of God, who study and apply the teachings of Christ and who will not compromise their relationship with God with a blind pursuit of earthly power or money. Because CCF’s leadership is still composed mainly of practicing entrepreneurs rather than full time religious leaders, they are constantly put to the test.

Skeptics will scoff and that’s the challenge CCF faces. In a sense, that’s how they are always walking on water, so to speak. For so long as they keep their focus on Christ, they would do much better than Peter on that night at the Sea of Galilee.

Biblical financier

Reader Jesus Vergara sent this one.

Q: Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?

A: Pharaoh’s daughter. She went to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco