Saturday of 2nd week of Easter 9th April 2016
“The apostles, seeing Jesus walking on the sea, took fright. But he told them: ’It’s me. Don’t be afraid”
Ac.6,1-7 Ps.32 Jn.6,16-21
“When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, and getting into the boat, they made their way to the other side of the sea, to Capharnaum. It was already dark; Jesus hadn’t yet come to join them and as there was a lot of wind, the sea rose up.”
This scene of the disciples crossing the sea to get to the other side is quite startling. It is always an impressive phenomenon to see the sea unfurling under the strength of the stormy weather.
The disciples are good navigators, yet despite this they are frightened because it is dark already and Jesus isn’t there with them.
As we move forward we always go through this impression of the lack of Jesus’ presence when storms torment the world! There are so many places on our planet where the are bloody torments and where Jesus, Light of the world, appears to be absent!
And yet, He does come to save humanity when we ask Him to; despite the fact that God is Master of our life we remain fearful. These words give a very special echo in our hearts, ones with a particular strength.They are words to describe something we are presently going through. It is a call to open up our hearts to Jesus, so that with Him we may no longer be afraid of the blows struck to us by enemies of Christ, which show themselves in the storms of our own lives and in those of the world.
“They had rowed about twenty five or thirty leagues when they caught sight of Jesus walking on the sea and they drew near to the boat. They were afraid. But he said to them ’It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
The disciples gaze converges towards the Person of Jesus, in their fright they see Him walking towards them on the sea. Our Saviour Jesus is always having an effect on us. He doesn’t hesitate to have recourse on his Divine powers. The same thing at the multiplication of the loaves and fish when he feeds the
starving crowd. When the disciples see Jesus walking on the sea, they come to the understanding that he has power over created things and also over the Evil One which is represented by surging waters in the darkness of the night.
The unfurled waters are not an adversary, when we must go right to the end, they are a path by which God leads us.
Jesus guides our journey, and thanks to Him, the waters separating the two sides becomes the path that reunites and that even leads to true life. It is the New Passover being accomplished. But in this sign, Jesus reveals to us how God acts in Person, revealing his Presence and banishing all fear. Through the Apostles’ witness, we know about the victory of Jesus over the enemies of men, sin and death. He comes to dwell in our world with all the Tenderness of his Heart.
We welcome Jesus and commit ourselves with Him.We commit ourselves with Him. He has saved us from sin and death by His Cross and by his simple Presence, he brings us Peace.
“They got ready to take him into the boat and immediately it reached the shore at the place they were making for.”
Easter time manifests to us how Jesus is close to us, glorious and already close to his Father.
This is what the apostles recognise as they want to take him into their boat, in a gesture of confident co operation, whereas their boat has already reached the shore. We were expecting that Jesus would travel the road left with us, but there is no longer any road.
The presence of the Risen Lord Jesus in our lives , once we let go and let the gift of his Peace bear its fruit of confidence and surrender, puts us on firm earth and this takes the place of the unfurled sea.
Wanting to take Jesus into our boat is asking him to establish within us his reign of Peace, to be the Shepherd of our lives, and asking Him to make the journey of faith with us.
When Jesus is present, we come to the end of our lives. We are reassured with Him when faced with the fragility to lead the mission Jesus gives us as we would like to. Jesus always comes into our world in multiple ways, he brings his Love to birth once more and gives us Peace.
We ask for the grace from Jesus to be attentive to the distress in the world at this time and to be artisans of Peace.
SATURDAY, 2nd WEEK of EASTER
’That evening the disciples went down to the shore of the sea and got into a boat to make for Capharnuum on the other side of the sea. It was getting dark by now and Jesus had still not rejoined them.The wind was strong and the sea was getting rough.“Jesus the Lord disconcerts us, he is ready to take care of all human indigence, having recourse to his divine power.The multiplication of bread and fish had nourished the famished crowd and now this new miracle disconcerts us. Jesus, by walking on the sea, shows us he has refused the Devil’s temptations. He manifests to us that he has power over created things and power over the Evil One, represented by the storm in the night. There is indeed stormy weather on the Lake of Galilee and Jesus’ disciples are afraid. Jesus is absent. The world is going through great storms. It is also very tormented! In many places in the universe that are tormented by bloody tempests, Jesus, Light of the world, still comes to save humanity. Like us, the disciples are frightened of the storm, fearful and call for help. Jesus comes and by his very presence brings Peace.”They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming towards the boat; They were afraid, but he said, ’It’s me.Don’t be afraid.“When Jesus had come out Alive from the tomb, he had said to the women,”Don’t be afraid." Thanks to the Apostles’ witness, we know Christ’s victory over mankind’s enemies, sin and death.This is why today, with special strength, his words echo in our hearts for they are words of Someone Alive. It is a call for us to open up our hearts, to open up our very existence, to Jesus so that with Him we need to no longer be afraid of the enemies’ blows. Our life belongs to God, we are His.He is the Master of our lives, and yet we do remain fearful.With Jesus Our Saviour we have become a new creation for a new world. We choose Jesus and commit ourselves to him. There is no greater Love than His.He has saved us from sin and death by the Cross. Through the waters of baptism we have been sealed by his Love. Jesus truly is the divine doctor who gives Eternal Life to the world.He
comes and dwells in our world with all the Tender Love in his heart. The unction of holy oil makes us a consecrated people to the Lord, a people of kings and of prophets.
“They were ready to take him into the boat , and immediately it reached the shore at the place they were making for.”
When Jesus is present, we touch the finality of our lives."Who sees me sees the Father. ’In order to go right to the end of the mission Jesus has given to us, we receive reassurance from the Word of God as we read how Mary had heard these same words ’Don’t be afraid.’ This was before she took on the mission the Lord God had reserved for her. We learn from Mary how to welcome Jesus’ invitation every day and in every circumstance. The Church, the big family of the children of God, takes care of her poorest members, as Jesus did. The Church is at the service of the poor, the widows and of orphans. The widow has lost a husband, orphans their parents! The Church wishes to be attentive to every situation that causes distress, like Jesus. Jesus comes into our world in numerous shapes, he brings Love to be born in his Church and he gives Peace. He is in his Church, in His Word and in His Eucharist. He is in the Bread of a whole new Life.