Wednesday January 6

Wednesday After Epiphany

 

LOVE AND FEAR

 

Introduction

The weekdays of the Christmas-Epiphany season continue day after day to confront us with the person of Jesus. This child and our brother is God, and yet, this Son of God is fully human. This man Jesus manifests his divine power – in today’s gospel, by walking on the waters of the lake, with water a figure of death and the power of evil, which he overcame. His coming among people is God’s work of love; hence, the readings in this season are taken from John’s first letter, the core theme of which is love.

Both today’s readings bring out another contrast: love and fear. We have nothing to fear, not because we are without sin but because God loves us as we are, on account of Jesus. The apostles are still afraid, because they do not really know yet who Jesus is, the one who overcame evil and death, and therefore all fears.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord God, loving Father,
fear runs in our blood.
We are often afraid of facing the future,
of committing ourselves to one another,
even of trusting ourselves, our emotions,
and the forces slumbering within us.
Convince us that there is nothing to fear
and that you love us as we are,
for you are our Father
and you have given us your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: 1 Jn 4:11-18

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 72:1-2, 10, 12-13

(see 11)  Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

 

Alleluia: 1 Tm 3:16

Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the Gentiles.
Glory to you, O Christ, believed in throughout the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Mk 6:45-52

After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

 

Intercessions

–         For the Church of Jesus Christ, that its faith and love may not waver in the difficulties and storms of our time, we pray:

–         For those who doubt their faith and are afraid of facing the future, that God may give them courage and that we may refresh their hope, we pray:

–         For our Christian communities, that we may all grow together in trusting faith in Jesus our Lord, and that his love may move us to live for one another, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, loving Father,
in this bread and this wine
we place all our trust in you.
Give us your Son to brave with us
the waves and the storms of life.
We are sure that with him we are capable of more
than we dare imagine or hope for.
Help us to grow day after day in trusting faith in you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, loving Father,
you have shown us your power and love
in Jesus Christ, your Son
and the Son of Mary, one of ours.
In him you have given us a sample
of what we and the world could become
if we took the risk of entrusting ourselves to him
and of living as he lived.
God, let your Son stay with us,
that we may become like him
and that no fear may mar our trust and love,
for we know that you love us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” That is what Jesus tells each of us when we are facing difficulties. He is with us. May God give us strength and trust and bless us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

 

The Boat of the Christ cannot be sunk

The Gospel today presents the story of the disciples of Jesus on a boat facing the turbulent sea while Jesus walks towards them on the waters. The easiest explanation we have is of the image of the boat symbolising the Church, and the sea represents the world. Facing the scandals, hatred and persecutions in the world, the Church is worried. At a point of losing hope, they have the consoling presence of Jesus and with his words reassuring them, “It is I, do not be afraid.”

Mark uses a lot of symbolisms while narrating this episode. He was writing this text for the Catechumens of Rome, at a time when the Church was facing persecutions and was threatened of extinction under the hostile Roman emperors. Mark wants to instil hope in to the community of believers by telling them that in spite of the turbulence of the sea in the dark night, the boat of the Church cannot be sunk, because, it is accompanied and protected by Jesus who can walk on the waters. The sea was considered the abode of the evil and the tempests were interpreted as the work of the devil. Hence, Jesus walking on the waters meant his victory over the powers of the evil.

Yesterday the gospel spoke of Jesus feeding the 5000 in a secluded area. Today, he climbs a mountain alone while the disciples are asked to get on the boat, without Jesus. The whole episode of feeding the multitude and then Jesus moving alone up the mountain and the disciples left on the boat in the dark can be explained as the state of the Church after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Through his sacrifice on the Cross, he feeds the multitude with his body and blood.

After his resurrection and ascension, Jesus is no more physically present with the disciples. He climbs up the mountain – mountain in the bible always referred to the abode of God’s presence. The disciples, strengthened with the meal they had with Jesus, are now left alone to cross over the sea, braving the storms and turbulence of life. Yet, he does not leave them alone. He who has defeated the powers of the evil, walks on the turbulence of the sea to reassure his frightened disciples: “Courage, It’s I, Do not be afraid.”
When the scandals, persecutions and pains of daily life choke us up, the voice of the Lord reassures us: Do not be afraid. I am with you.