"It is I. Do not be afraid."

The disciples were truly surrounded by the threat of angry winds and waves and certainly were feeling fearful. So these assuring words of Jesus helped them to calm down and trust in Jesus' presence and His divine power over the threatening forces of nature.

These comforting words gave us a sense of hope in times of trials and difficulties. He is inviting us to live in complete trust and to abandon ourselves to Divine intervention and providence.

Do we trust God enough in our daily struggles to live as authentic disciples of Christ? This divine power over nature also reminds us of our responsibility in maintaining an ecological balance in our world. As Christians, do we show concern for our mother earth which has been destroyed massively by human beings. How do we respond to such a reality?

We are also challenged by the spirit of the first disciples as in the first reading, who committed themselves to the spreading of the Good News as well as reaching out to the poor and marginalized like the widows and orphans. As Easter people, let us continue to strive to live out our Christian responsibility in the society we live in. This presupposes we have the faith and trust in the living presence of God in our lives.