14 April 2018
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
After the multiplication of the loaves Jesus makes a fast exit. The crowd wants to make him king, but he has not come to earth for easy pickings. He has come to institute the kingdom of justice and truth.
To do so he combines work with prayer. So after the multiplication work, he spends the night in prayer.
What’s the lesson here? Both activities are essential. For some, like contemplative nuns, prayer takes priority over activities. For others, like wives and mothers, it is work that trumps formal prayer. What is essential is we do God’s will; the ordinary with extraordinary dedication.
When he teams up again with his apostles, Jesus finds them fighting against a strong wind on the lake. He judges them fearful; so he says, “It is I.” It is so encouraging to hear these words.
I know how often I am fearful. I think the Lord must have forgotten me and taken off. I tell him so. Then I am strengthened, reassured by his simple “It is I.” He enables me to do what he asks of me with confidence; with a deep peace to meet the challenges that await me in doing his will.