It is I. Do not be afraid

“Iam” is how the Lord God refers to himself in the Old Testament, especially when he makes his presence felt by his people to help them overcome fear. When God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush, he tells him, “I am who I am… This is what you will tell the Israelites: I am has sent me to you” (Ex 3:14).

The Greek Ego eimi literally means “I am.” Here it is translated as “It is I,” for the sake of smoothness. In the context of the story, Jesus may have said to the disciples, “It is I, Jesus— your Master. There is no need to be afraid.” But these words of assurance do not do justice to the deeper sense the evangelist intends. Jesus makes Ego eimi statements with strong overtones of divinity. His revelation of himself as “light of the world” (Jn 8:12), “bread of life” (Jn 6:35), “good shepherd” (Jn 10:11), “resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25), etc., is preceded by “I am.”

Here, he comes to his frightened disciples just as God came to his people. Jesus manifests his divine power and consoles them by his presence. He is the divine presence; the disciples have nothing to fear. The stormy sea is the image of a situation that seems to be getting out of hand and threatens the lives of people. God—or Jesus—comes to the rescue of those crying for help. The psalmist sings, “Had not the Lord been with us… Then the waters would have engulfed us, the torrent overwhelmed us; then seething water would have drowned us” (Ps 124:1, 4).

First Reading • Acts 6:1-7

As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.

Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the Apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Gospel • John 6:16-21

When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.