Do Not Fear

And when evening was come, his disciples went down to the sea. And when they had gone up into a ship, they went over the sea to Capharnaum; and it was now dark, and Jesus was not come unto them. And the sea arose, by reason of a great wind that blew. When they had rowed therefore about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking upon the sea, and drawing nigh to the ship, and they were afraid. But he saith to them: It is I; be not afraid. They were willing therefore to take him into the ship; and presently the ship was at the land to which they were going.
John 6:16-21 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father in my thoughts I have placed myself where the apostles were on this night in the very boat with them. We've rowed out away from the shore and now the winds have risen up. My thoughts have circulated on Jesus and how he suffered on the cross and died a horrendous death. But as I recalled this with the others in the boat, we also had seen his risen presence. How truly fortunate for us he is still with us. My goodness these winds are beginning to truly rock the boat. It's dark out too and I am beginning to fear the water. I look out toward the shore, and I see, a man walking toward us and I truly become frightened, out of fear he may drown, without thought of his divine nature in this instant. He calls out and tells us to not be afraid, it is I he says. We really were frightened of the sea in the dark and seeing this man come to us. A man who we have known that died and came back to life. He's here, amazing but we are also back at shore, so fast too. He's here, he's really here with us, how can I be afraid then when he just did something extraordinary. My pulse quickens with the realization that he's really here with us.

One had to be there in person with them that night to know, and yet for us we can only imagine with God's grace to understand the truth. But more importantly, how does God's Word affect us in our life? Are we just as afraid as these men in the boat when we hear God's Word spoken. Jesus tells us to not be afraid, so why are we then?

Peter's Faith

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.
Matthew 14:22-36

Prayer

Dear Father are we sometimes like Peter where our faith is not 100 percent, where doubt clouds our faith. Could we do as Peter did, attempt to walk on water when Jesus calls without sinking. It is hard for sure, but we can do it with trust. But when we falter in our faith and our trust in you is lacking we begin to sink and also call out to you as Peter did to save us. How often we do do this and yet we haven't learned to trust completely. When we witness countless miracles in our everyday life what more do we need. A knock on the noggin to wake us up to God's presence in our lives and trust with certainty. Jesus shows us that even his apostles struggled with their faith, but he teaches them how to trust and gain the faith that will change the history of time. A church that is built on faith and trust in God. Where Jesus says, Come.