When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.
REFLECTION: But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Happy Easter! We have recently celebrated the risen Lord, followed by his promise of mercy to those who pray the Divine Mercy chaplet. Suddenly, the Gospel falls back on the miracle of Jesus walking on water, which happened right after the multiplication of the fish and loaves of bread. What was the importance of these miracles?
Put yourself in the boat with the apostles. Not only was this sudden storm, in the dark of the night, unnerving, but to have a vision of a person walking in the crashing waves must have tested the sanity of all aboard. In a few hours, they went from witnessing amazing miracles from their Master to being in imminent danger and questioning their vision. I believe their troubled hearts and minds needed to see the Lord reveal his authority over creation. They needed to understand the power of God and his unwavering faithfulness in order to release the fears instilled by the storm.
We can learn from this lesson given to the apostles about the mighty power of God. When we pray, he will meet us, especially in the storms of our lives and overcome the forces of nature if necessary. Let us remember Jesus’s words as we call out to him and face the unexpected, “It is I. Do not be afraid”.
