30 December 2026 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”” John 6:20
Paul, burdened by a “thorn in the flesh”, begs the Lord three times to remove it and hears: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” He learns to boast of his weakness, “so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
The disciples row against the wind at night; Jesus comes to them walking on the sea and says, “It is I; do not be afraid.” As the year ends, many of us look back on storms and weaknesses. The Child of Bethlehem is the Lord of the storm; he comes to us in the dark and says the same words.
Theme: “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Grace in weakness; Jesus walking on the sea.
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.” Exodus 14:21
“When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified.” John 6:19
Apply: Name one storm and give it to Jesus.
“He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” Psalm 107:29
“But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”” John 6:20
Apply: Pray “Jesus, I trust in you” when anxious.
“But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:31
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Apply: Offer one weakness to God.
The Lord of the storm is with us.
His grace is enough for the new year.
Take-home resolution: Enter the new year with an act of trust.
Dear friends, St Paul speaks of a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment him. Three times he begged the Lord to take it away. But the Lord said: my grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7–9).
We do not know what Paul's thorn was: an illness, a persecution, a temptation. What we know is that God did not remove it. Instead he gave grace. Paul concludes: so I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me; whenever I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).
At the end of the year, many of us carry thorns: illness that did not heal, a problem that was not solved, a prayer that was not answered as we wished. God's answer to Paul is also for us: my grace is sufficient for you.
In the Gospel the disciples are rowing across the lake at night in a strong wind. Then they see Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they are terrified. But he says: it is I; do not be afraid (John 6:19–20).
Jesus comes to us across the storms, not always by stopping them, but by being with us in them. The Child of Bethlehem is the Lord of the waters. His words are the same tonight: it is I; do not be afraid.
As this year ends, let us bring our thorns and our storms to him. Let us thank him for the grace that carried us this year, and enter the new year not with fear, but with trust: his grace is sufficient. Amen.
Children, when you are scared, remember Jesus says: it is I, do not be afraid. He is always near you!
Lord Jesus, you came to your disciples in the storm and said, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Let your grace be sufficient for me, and your strength work in my weakness. Amen.
As the year runs out, both readings meet people who have reached the limit of their strength. Paul has pleaded three times for relief, and hears that grace is enough. The disciples row at night against the wind, and hear “It is I; do not be afraid.” The Child of Bethlehem is the Lord who comes to us in our weakness and in our dark.
Setting.
Rival preachers at Corinth, whom Paul calls “super-apostles” (11:5), were boasting of their gifts and looking down on him. Against his will he plays the “fool” and boasts in his turn (11:1–12:13): first of his sufferings, then of a vision in which he was taken up to the third heaven (12:1–5). He stops short at the point he most wants to make: what he has learned is weakness.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.” (12:7)
The same thing is both Satan’s attack and a gift within God’s plan. God can use even what he did not will as good.
“Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,” (12:8)
Paul prays as Jesus did in Gethsemane, three times (Matthew 26:44). Asking God for relief is not a lack of faith.
“but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”” (12:9)
An answer that is not the answer he asked for. Yet it is an answer, and the Lord speaks to him in person.
“for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (12:10)
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that even the most intense prayers do not always obtain healing, and that Paul had to learn from the Lord that grace is sufficient, and that suffering can mean “completing” what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions (CCC 1508). It also says that faith “glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ’s power” (CCC 273), as Mary did, the supreme model of such faith.
Setting.
John places this short story between the feeding of the five thousand (6:1–15) and the discourse on the Bread of Life (6:25–59), at the time of Passover (6:4). After the crowd tries to make him king, Jesus withdraws to the mountain alone, and the disciples leave without him. The Sea of Galilee is a lake set low among hills, and sudden strong winds are known there.
Matthew and Mark tell the same event (Matthew 14:22–33; Mark 6:45–52). John’s account is the shortest, and it has its own way of pointing to who Jesus is.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.” (6:18)
“they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified.” (6:19)
In the Old Testament, God alone tramples the waves of the sea (Job 9:8) and makes a path through the great waters (Psalm 77:19). The disciples see divine power, and they are afraid.
“But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”” (6:20)
He comes before they call. He does not first calm the sea: the first thing that is changed is their fear.
“Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.” (6:21)
The Psalm says that God “brought them to their desired haven” (107:30). Once he is welcome in the boat, the journey is completed.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism says that by giving his life Jesus reveals that he himself bears the divine name “I AM” (CCC 211). The early Christian writer Tertullian saw the little ship as a figure of the Church, tossed by the waves of persecution and temptation, while the Lord patiently seems to sleep or stay away, and then comes to her (in substance; On Baptism 12). This reading is a good one to pray at the close of a year, while we look back over the storms it has held.
Why does God not always answer prayers for healing?
We do not always know. Paul’s experience shows that a prayer may be answered by a gift other than the one requested. The Church continues to pray for the sick with confidence, and it knows that the Lord is present with us even where healing does not come (CCC 1508). His presence in suffering is itself grace.