There is not fear in Love

1 Jn 4:11-18, Mk 6:45-52. Today's first reading speaks of God’s love and how we are called to reflect on the love that God has taught us, revealed to us and shown us through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the perfect manifestation of God’s eternal and enduring love. We have hope again because of Him, His love and all that He had done for us, the Love of God in the flesh, reaching out to help us be reconciled with our loving Father. John also said that if we love God and show that same love to one another, He is in us, dwelling with us, for He is our Lord and God, our Father and we are His children. If we love the Lord and our fellow men, then God’s love itself is expressed through us and our actions. Through the Holy Spirit, whom He has sent to be with us, we have known the love of God and we have been taught how to love our fellow men, in the same way that God Himself has loved us.

Today's Gospel shows the depth of the love of God in the account of the Lord’s apparition before His disciples. He worked miraculously on the water, reminding them of the love that God has for us, just as He has expressed it through His disciples and how each and every moment of our lives He has been with us and He will never abandon us. Through that moment at the Lake of Galilee, the Lord wanted to reassure us that He is always with us and we have no need to fear anything at all. The disciples were in the boat crossing the Lake ahead of the Lord when a great storm and huge waves struck against them and they were terrified, until the moment when the Lord came to them suddenly, walking on the water. Initially, the disciples were all terrified, thinking that they had seen a ghost. Yet, the Lord reassured and came to them, saying to them that they should not be afraid, for it is indeed Him who had come to them. Through that symbolic moment at the Lake, as the Lord appeared to His disciples in their darkest and most terrifying moments, it is a great reminder to us that God is always by our side, even through the worst of storms and troubles in life. The storms and waves represent the challenges, trials and difficulties facing us in our journey of life. Yet, we should not be afraid, because truly God is always there for us and He will always do everything in His own way to help us.

May the Lord bless us with His love which casts out fear that debilitates us and help us to stay focused on the loving presence of God so that we may face the challenges which confront us! Amen!! Good morning and have a glorious day!!!