When Jesus sees his disciples frightened, he encourages them saying, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” That is the good news for us all these centuries later. No matter how often our lives feel we are being battered by overwhelming waves of fear and insecurity, we can trust that Christ Jesus is in the boat with us in the here and now. We can take heart.

The wind and the waves of life show up in different ways for each of us, at different times in our lives, at different phases of our spiritual journey. Sometimes the wind and waves, far from being dangerous threats, push us to the safe haven that God has prepared for us far sooner than we could have managed on our own. When we look back over our lives, we can see the many times the Holy One has used the wind and the waves of negative circumstances to bless us. We can discover for ourselves the truth of the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Romans: “ . . . all things work together for good for those who love God . . . “(8:28), the truth of Job’s discerned wisdom: “ . . . no purpose of [God’s] can be thwarted.” (42:2b). We can take heart.

In Paul’s quote from the Torah today, “The Word is very near you, on your lips and in your heart,” (Dt.30:14), note that, by my capitalization, I have taken a leaf from John’s gospel and claim for us that Christ Jesus, the Word of God, is very near us, without and within. As we recognize Christ’s presence, our perception changes, fear disappears, and our hearts are filled with joy, with strength and courage to face whatever comes our way. We can take heart, trusting in God’s steadfast love and mercy to bring us home, to our divine destination.