At the very beginning of my formation in the seminary, I was asked to spend three weeks of immersion in a Muslim family in Jakarta, Indonesia. The family where I stayed was a fisherman, and every night, we went to fish. This for me, was a big challenge, not only because I cannot swim but also because I had some bad experiences with water in my childhood. But that was an exercise, so-called agere contra, to overcome my fear and to be free.

I vividly remember, one night while we were in the middle of the sea, the weather was extremely bad with heavy rain, our boat was tossed right and left due to strong waves. I was sitting, looking down, covering my head with the raincoat, trying my best to take the water out of the boat because of the small leak at the bottom of the boat. I was totally desperate and clothed with fear. At that very moment, while I was struggling to cope with the situation and scared by the water, this fisherman shouted, “Justin, do not be afraid, let us go home.” Suddenly, I felt at ease and calm, knowing that we are heading home.

In the midst of anxiety, fear or worries, we need a home where we feel at eased and secured. A home is a place where we hear the voice of love. From the house of love, we hear, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” This is the voice of Jesus that the disciples need in the middle of the sea, in the time of danger, worries and fear.

“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” How can we hear this voice in the time of crisis, difficulties? We have many reasons to be afraid of, worry about. The questions such as “What will happen to me? Who will take care of me when I grow old? What will happen to my family? These are valid questions that comes from our real experience in life. And Jesus understands us because he is also human like us. But Jesus knows the answer to his own and our questions. His answer is Trust in God. How? How to trust in God?

Prayer. At the very beginning of our gospel’s passage today, Jesus asked his disciples to leave and cross to another place, then he dismissed the crowds. After sending them away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. This spending time in prayer is extremely necessary for Jesus. He was busy in mission, teaching, curing the sick, driving out demons, listening to the people, doing miracles. But he was also tired, sad, worried about his own life especially when he heard that his cousin John the Baptist was killed. Perhaps in prayer at the mountain, he offers all these experiences to his Abba, Father. In this lonely place, he finds a home and from that place he hears the voice, “Take heart, It is I; do not be afraid my son.” That voice enables Jesus to trust his mission and his future in God. That same voice he used to console his disciples who were in a dangerous situation, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” “Trust Me, you will be safe.”

Trust. Trust is the basis of life but it is not easy to trust. We found this doubt in Peter. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Like Peter we have some doubt, lack of faith and difficult to trust. When Peter focused his attention to the strong wind, he became frightened and beginning to sink. Let us not fix our eyes on strong wind, but focus on Jesus who overcome the wind. Only those who fix their eyes on Jesus will be able to hear the voice that comes from the house of love, “Come. It is I. Do not be afraid. Let us go home…” Then with Him we walk on water. “Perhaps this walking was symbolic of the trust he had come to in his night of prayer. Maybe trust feels like walking on water.” Let us trust God while we cross the sea until we arrive home safety. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and not in the strong winds.