John 6:16-27

“Do not be afraid.”

Those words, or words to that effect, are attributed to Jesus some 365 times in the four Gospels.

Do not be afraid. Much easier to say than to accomplish.

In today’s selection from the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus speaks this message to his disciples when their boat is endangered by a fierce storm. Many of us may face death-dealing storms, and I am sure that most of us, if not all of us, know what it is like to be afraid.

We’re living in a world very different from the one of my childhood. I grew up in post-World War II U.S. America. Southern California, at that.

We lived in the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles. We were considered middle class. Home of our own. Stay-at-home Mom, Dad worked. As children, my brother and I were free to be the imaginative little beings that we were. Free of fear.

Except. No matter how sweet the life, there are always things to fear.

One night, tossing and turning while trying to fall asleep, I saw a monster. At the foot of my bed.

My shrieking awakened the household.

Mother entered the room to calm my fears. But I was in no mood for a “do not be afraid” while an agent of Satan was perched on my bed post.

Mother flipped the switch, bathing the room in light that showed the “monster” to be nothing more than a coat hung on the post.

It’s human to be afraid, but it is reassuring to know that once in a while someone can flip a switch and banish our fears.

Sometimes the switch-flipper is God.