For this week’s homily please watch the video below.

Some years ago I was out on a fishing boat in Southern Maryland and I remarked to the captain  that I didn’t see any of the fancy navigational equipment on his boat that some yachts have  nowadays. “Ah”, he said, “I don’t need that. I know these waters like the palm of my hand. If there’s a storm coming up I’m back to the shore before any of those people with their expensive gadgets know what’s going on.”

I think Peter and the rest of Jesus’ disciples were like that captain. The fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were experts in what they did. They knew the waters like the palms of their hands. Historians today say the Galilean fishermen, far from being poor and ignorant, were savvy businessmen, comparatively well off; they knew their way around that part of the world. 

Probably that was why Jesus chose them. Fishermen, and a tax collector like Matthew, would  be good guides to the places he wanted to visit. They knew where to go and how to get there; the Sea of Galilee was their usual highway.

But a sudden storm like that described in our gospel today (Matthew 14,22-33) would shake anybody, even the experts. Walking on water was completely beyond their experience.

When we read about a miracle story like the calming of the sea and someone walking on water, we recognize the power of Jesus.  The wind and the sea obey him. Only God has such power. 

But we also need to recognize what this story says about us. First, like Peter and the rest of the disciples, we can easily fall into thinking that there are some things beyond God’s power–and ours– to do. These were confident men, yet their faith could be weak like ours. They believed –  up to a point. 

When told by Jesus to walk on the water, Peter believed– up to a point– then he said, “This can’t be; it’s not possible; it’s beyond my power and his.” And in fear and doubt he began to sink. 

Isn’t this what happen to us too? We believe – up to a point– and then we doubt. Our doubts about God’s power come, for example, in the major storms that seem to overwhelm our world. Like the vicious wars and threats of war today, the specter of global warming – global boiling, the president of the United Nations called it the other day. There are the political storms in our country today. How quickly we throw up our hands as if they all beyond God’s power and ours. 

The boat on the Sea of Galilee is the world on the sea of history. It’s the church in time. It’s the uncertainties of life that affect us all. Sickness, personal disappointments, failures, are all storms that affect us.

 We believe –up to a point – and then we doubt. How quickly we dismiss God.  There’s nothing God can do, there is nothing we can do and we sink into fear.  God doesn’t care; God doesn’t hear. God can do nothing. We may pray for awhile but that doesn’t help and we give up.

Life can sometimes be like being in a boat in a storm; it’s like walking on water. Life is not always easy, but when we call for help God hears. Maybe not right away, maybe not by working a miracle. But God’s hand is there reaching for ours. 

Peter saw how strong the wind and became frightened. “Beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter. Even through he believed –up to a point – Jesus stretched out out his hand and caught him.

Let’s not forget our first reading today about Elijah finding God. Where does he find God? Not in the wind, or the earthquake, or fire, but in a “tiny whispering sound.” What is the “tiny whispering sound” where we find God? Isn’t it in ordinary daily life. God is there every day, every moment. And we believe that too–up to a point.

When we bring our offerings of bread and wine to the altar, we bring our world in all its mysterious complexity to God:  its storms and its ordinariness. God come to us in Jesus Christ, our Savior, who takes us by the hand and walks with us, who believe– up to a point.