Immediately [Jesus] made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side [of the sea of Galilee], while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Matthew 14:22-33
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
My sermon from the 11th Sunday after Pentecost Sunday (July 26, 2026) on Matthew 14:22-33.
One of my summer traditions is going through all the crafts, handouts, and pieces of paper my kids brought home during the school year. When summer break finally begins, the handful of pieces I’ve curated over the last seven months are overwhelmed by the overstuffed bags coming through the door. It takes me a bit of time to go through it since the total number of items is overwhelming. I’ve noticed, however, that with two of my kids getting older, the piles of stuff have started to shrink. The documentation of the learning they’ve done is primarily living in an online space. And rather than seeing their growth in pages covered in various colored pens, the results in the form of a grade are mostly what I see. Sometimes those results are actually all I really do need since the education they’re receiving in their public school is amazing. Those grades, though, aren’t necessarily the foundation for what their learning is all about. The work of learning – all that paying attention, developing drafts, editing, understanding, thinking, and noticing how other voices enhance our own – is the foundation they’ll carry wherever life takes them. The results of their work should be celebrated. But what will hold them through all the future experiences that will change their thoughts and points of view is the practice of learning itself. Being mindful of what serves as the foundation for life isn’t always very easy to see. And I wonder if Jesus, in today’s reading from the gospel according to Matthew, was inviting Peter and all the disciples to pay attention to the foundation at the heart of our lives too.
Now it’s important to remember where we are in this version of Jesus’ life. Jesus, after learning about the execution of John the Baptist, got into a boat, pushed out into the Sea of Galilee, and headed towards a deserted place alone. People, however, heard what Jesus was up to and a crowd formed near the place where Jesus wanted to land. The folks in that crowd needed help and so Jesus, filled with compassion, got out of the boat to meet them. When evening came, the disciples were worried these fragile people would be hungry and defenseless once night finally arrived. Jesus, though, wasn’t done making a difference. Using a few loaves of bread and some fish, he created a feast the disciples dished out. This wasn’t the first time Jesus’ friends had been empowered to be like Jesus. They had, in Matthew 10, been sent out by Jesus to heal the sick, cast out demons, and show what it’s like when God’s kingdom comes near. The disciples didn’t always understand what they were doing when they experienced that power. But I wouldn’t be surprised if those moments made them feel as if their faith was truly paying off. Jesus’ work was their work and it was only a matter of time, they imagined, before the results of Jesus’ ministry would become their own. They had not only experienced God’s mercy and grace for themselves; they had also been God’s power and joy. And so, after feeding and healing thousands, Jesus invited his friends to get on that same boat and leave him alone so he could pray, recharge, and ponder what his next steps might be.
It’s during that journey, however, when the disciples’ situation changed. The longer they were out at sea, the faster the wind began to blow. Quite a few of Jesus’ friends were fishermen or had grown up by the sea so they probably weren’t that scared at first. But as the waves grew bigger, they knew trouble had come. They spent most of that night doing whatever they could to stay afloat. I imagine some of the disciples were pretty annoyed by what they were currently going through. If Jesus had kept them by his side for one more day, they wouldn’t be shoveling water out of the bottom of a small fishing boat. Some might have also questioned why they were going through this storm in the first place. Jesus, a few chapters before, had stopped a storm with simply a word. After expressing Jesus’ own power several times in their own ministry, it wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable for them to assume they could tame the wind too. This power was, to them, the result of the faith they already exhibited. The wind, however, kept blowing and when dawn broke, they saw Jesus walking towards them on the water.
There’s a tendency, I think, to read Jesus’ words to Peter as some kind of criticism. If he simply had more faith, Peter could have stayed above the waters. But what we mean by “more faith” isn’t entirely clear. And that’s because we don’t really have a good way to measure faith so we act as if the results from faith define what a life of faith actually looks like. Having faith should involve asking fewer questions, experiencing less fear, and rarely having any kind of doubt. Faith, we believe, means we’re at peace and all those things that make us incredibly uncomfortable should simply go away. If we had enough faith, that doesn’t mean life would be easier. But it would, at least, feel easier since we’d have the answers we needed to face all the struggles that come our way. Faith, as it sometimes appears in the Bible, includes a lot of healing, wholeness, comfort, and a sense we’re part of the new future that is already on its way. A life with enough faith should result in something other than what we often experience right now. And that result ends up being that faithful foundation for how we live our life today. I wonder, though, if Jesus wasn’t inviting Peter and those who followed him to see the results of their faith as the foundation for what it means to live with their God. Rather, faith itself, is that foundation that will hold us through everything that comes our way. A life with faith doesn’t mean storms won’t come. Rather, a life with faith knows that because of God, there’s always a way through it. Those storms won’t always be something we can defeat or avoid through the many choices we have to make everyday. But during those moments when we’re above the water or when we sink far below, we aren’t going through this life alone. Our best days and our worst days aren’t the only things that define us. Jesus promised to Peter – and he promises to us – that God already has a hold on you. Faith doesn’t mean we won’t ask questions or have doubts or need signs that grace, goodness, and hope really do exist in our world. Faith, however, trusts that all our sadness and grief and anxiety and happiness and fear are things God has experienced too. Life is what happens when we’re experiencing joy and sorrow all at the same time. And if faith was only about the result, then Jesus’ initial presence on the water should have been enough to still that storm. That storm, though, kept raging until Jesus reached out, caught Peter, and they both fell back into the boat. Jesus doesn’t want Peter to trust the results of faith – results that will never meet his expectations since our human assumptions and points are way too small and narrow. Rather Jesus wants those who follow him to recognize the foundational promise they already have. Because of the Cross, through your baptism, and because Jesus has already chosen you – we know and can trust that God will never let you go.
Amen.