Let Us Go to the Other Side: A Gospel Reflection on Courage, Love, and Crossing Comfort Zones
Praise be to Jesus Christ
When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He did something unexpected. He didn’t stay and preach anymore. He didn’t call for more healing. He simply gave an order — “Let us go over to the other side.” That line may sound ordinary. But the “other side” is where the storm was waiting. The “other side” was unfamiliar territory — where people were different, even hostile. And yet, Jesus wanted His disciples to cross over.
The call to follow Jesus is often a call to cross to the other side, need not always physically, but spiritually, emotionally, even within our homes. It may mean going beyond what is comfortable, beyond our circle, beyond our fears.
A mother once shared this simple story. She said, “My teenage daughter stopped talking to me. Everything I said irritated her. I wanted to control her, correct her, and protect her. One night, after a long silence, I sat before the Lord and cried. Then a gentle thought came to me: Maybe I should stop waiting for her to change. Maybe I should cross to her side.” The next morning, she went to her daughter and simply said, “I may not understand everything you feel, but I want to listen. Can you teach me how to love you better?” That one act changed their home. That mother had crossed to the other side.
And in the life of a married couple, this crossing happens often, or it should. A husband came home from work one evening, tired and burdened. His wife had spent the day with sick children and housework. Both were exhausted and neither wanted to speak. For days, they barely exchanged words. Then one night, the husband sat beside her and softly said, “I know we’re both tired, but I miss you. I want to understand you better.” His wife looked at him and said, “I thought you didn’t care.” That moment became a bridge. He had crossed to her side. In marriage, the “other side” is often just one small step of humility and tenderness.
In the Old Testament, Moses crossed to the other side of the Red Sea, but not before facing Pharaoh, fear, and uncertainty. That crossing became the mark of a new beginning. God always calls His people to move, from safety to trust, from comfort to faith.
Many saints crossed this other side in life , Saint Francis of Assisi, for example, crossed to the other side, from wealth to poverty, from admiration to ridicule, from a life of pleasure to the suffering Christ.
The Gospel isn’t just about big decisions. It’s about those daily invitations to cross over — from pride to humility, from anger to forgiveness, from noise to silence, from my way to God’s way. Are we ready?
Sometimes the “other side” may be simply sitting quietly with a hurting family member or reaching out to someone we haven’t spoken to in years, or giving up our need to always be right. That’s where Christ leads us, not where life is easy, but where love is waiting.
In our churches, families and communities, we may be good at staying on our own side — with our own views, traditions, and comfort zones. But today Jesus says, “Let us go to the other side.” Are you ready but remember that He does not send us there alone , but He comes with us, Let us go to the other side.”
Let us not fear the crossing. It may bring storms, yes. But it also brings healing, growth, and grace.
Lord Jesus, give me the courage to go with You to the other side — wherever love calls me to be. Amen.
