Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (6: 16-21) in which the disciples were in a boat on the lake during a fierce storm when Jesus approached the boat, walking on the water. Fr Paul says the Greek ‘Ego eimi’ literally means ‘I am’ but sadly it translates in the Gospel as ‘It is I’. So, we hear today Jesus say: ‘It is I. Do not be afraid’. These words do not really give justice to the deeper meaning that John wants us to be aware of.  The term ‘I am’ is how God refers to himself in the Old Testament, especially when he makes his presence felt by us to help us overcome our fear. In John’s Gospel then Jesus makes ‘I am’ statements to give strong overtones of divinity. In this Gospel today, Jesus comes to his frightened disciples as one who has power over the strong wind. As we hear at the end of the Gospel, the disciples, therefore, have nothing to fear.The Gospel lesson Fr Paul shares today – we have nothing to fear either.