Peace and Joy in Easter
Saturday, April 18th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
“It is I. Do not be afraid.”
With these words, Christ calmed the Apostles’ fearful hearts in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee. This event, which we hear in today’s Gospel, occurred during Christ’s public ministry, before His Death and Resurrection. However, this message of peace is consonant with Christ’s often-repeated greeting of peace after His Resurrection.
In writing about this Gospel passage, St. Thomas Aquinas points out that Our Lord did not appear to His Apostles when the storm first started; rather, He permitted them to row three or four miles before appearing. St. Thomas explains that “[w]e [can] see from this that our Lord allows us to be troubled for a while so our virtue may be tested; but [H]e does not desert us in the end, but comes very close to us” (Commentary on the Gospel of John).
Despite our best efforts to live in harmony with the Church’s liturgical seasons, we can sometimes struggle to feel joy as the Church celebrates the glorious Easter season. Our participation in the beautiful and joyful liturgical festivities of the season can feel hollow when we’re experiencing a time of grief or suffering in our own lives. Today’s Gospel reading reminds us that neither Our Lord nor the Church abandons us in the midst of these sufferings, even in the midst of Easter celebrations.
Just as the risen Christ greeted His Apostles with words of peace, so too He told them to not be afraid in the midst of the storm. In like manner, He tells us to not be afraid in the midst of the storms of life. This peace of which Our Lord so often spoke is partly the mental absence of anxiety, but even deeper than this, it is a spiritual peace and even joy that comes from the assurance that no matter what storms befall us in life, Christ is using all things to bring about His glory and our salvation. As St. Paul wrote, “God is faithful… [and] will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13 DRB).
This is truly cause for joy, even in the midst of suffering. When we are in the state of grace, we have the assurance that God is with us, residing in our souls, and His grace is protecting us from all suffering that is beyond our strength. As St. Padre Pio said, “Easter reminds us that God’s love is stronger than any suffering or darkness we may encounter.” God often permits us to suffer the storms of life for a time, sometimes appearing to be very far from us as He was for the first few miles of the Apostles’ treacherous journey in the boat. Nonetheless, because of the reality of His Resurrection, we have the assurance that He is stronger than the greatest suffering we could ever endure in this life. He Who triumphed over sin and death has already won the victory for us; if we remain faithful, we will merit a share in this victory after our time in this valley of tears is finished.
Like the Apostles on the Sea of Galilee, Christ does not truly leave us alone in our sufferings. Every time we receive Holy Communion in the state of grace, Our Lord comes into our hearts physically, closer even than He was to His Apostles in the boat on the sea. He comes to us with the quiet yet steadfast promise: “It is I. Do not be afraid.” As we continue this Easter season, may the peace of God fill our hearts, filling us with the supernatural joy found only in the promise of the risen Christ.
