Wednesday after Epiphany - 8 January 2025
Homily
We have just celebrated the coming of Christ into the world.
A few days ago, the celebration of Epiphany reminded us that Jesus came to bring the Good News to all nations.
In today's Gospel, Jesus takes the time to be alone and to pray. And, of course, this is particularly important for us, for whom contemplative prayer is at the very heart of our vocation. First, Jesus sends His disciples away, then He takes time to send the crowds away, caring for them until the end. After that, He goes up on the hill to pray to His Father, but He is aware that His disciples are struggling, rowing against the current and exhausted. This is an encouragement to us when we are also going through rough waters. Later, during the night, He goes down to them, walking on the water.
Apart from the story itself, there is only one sentence in this text. It is the words of Jesus: ‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid’. There are three elements to this sentence:
a) ‘Take courage’. Jesus is aware that his disciples are going through a difficult time. He does not deny their difficulty. He does not say, ‘Come, it's easy’. He knows it's not easy and that's why He gives them encouragement by saying "take courage". He says the same thing to us when we are also going through difficulties. He does not invite us to deny or ignore difficulties, but He invites us to go through them with courage.
b) ‘It's me’. This is the real reason they need to have courage. The Lord is with them.
c) ‘Do not be afraid’. This is one of the most frequent admonitions in the New Testament. To Mary, the angel Gabriel said: ‘Do not be afraid, Mary...’. To Joseph, the same angel said: ‘Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife...’. The same recommendation to the shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth. And in most of the apparitions after the Resurrection, we will hear the same words: ‘Do not be afraid’.
As soon as Jesus got into the boat, the wind died. No matter what storm we go through in life, we know that there is no reason to be afraid and that the wind will fall if we let Jesus get into our boat.
Armand VEILLEUX