Sermon Text: 

Sermon for August 9, 2026  

11th Sunday After Pentecost Proper 14 Year A  

I have always been afraid of heights. Whenever I am with a group of  people at the top of a mountain, I am the one who stays 5 feet away from  the edge of the drop-off. I still go to high places. But I am always nervous  when I do..  

I remember a time when I dealt with my fear of heights by just taking the  plunge, no not jumping off. We were staying at a beach in Mexico with  Jan’s sister and husband. They wanted to go parasailing. As we walked  to the beach, I decided that I needed to go parasailing as well. When we  

arrived, I said I am going. Then I said, I need to go first because I don’t  want to get nervous watching the others do it and perhaps decide to back  out. So, I did go parasailing. I had a wonderful time, despite my fears.  

This morning we have the well known gospel reading about Peter walking  on water. Peter has always been someone that I could relate to. He tried  so hard. Sometimes, he spoke before he thought things through Do you  remember the time when Jesus asked the apostles. “Who do people say  that the Son of Man is?” Peter eventually answers, “You are the Messiah”.  And Jesus recognized Peter, telling him he is blessed. Soon after that,  Jesus tells his followers that he is going to Jerusalem and there he will be  killed. Peter takes Jesus aside and tells him you must not do that. Jesus  turns and tells Peter, Get behind me Satan. Several times Peter went from  being the hero to being told you are a problem. I relate to Peter in that  way. 

I do not want to suggest that my efforts to overcome my fear of heights is  in any way comparable to Peter being given the ability to walk on water.  But just as I decided to go on that parasailing adventure before I thought  any more about it, I do appreciate how Peter responded immediately. He  heard Jesus say get out of the boat and walk on the water with me. Peter  just jumped out of the boat, without thinking much about it. He trusted in  Jesus. He wanted to show Jesus how much he believed in him. Have you  ever had a time when you responded just as Peter did. Has your faith,  your trust in Jesus ever been so strong that you just jumped into action,  knowing that Jesus would be with you, that Jesus would help you  succeed? This morning, let us pray that we may be a little more like the  

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impetuous Peter, that we may respond when we hear Jesus calling to us  and that we might just jump out of the boat and live as God has asked us  to do.  

I think Jesus went to some effort to create the scene for today. In the first  verse, we read that Jesus made the disciples get in the boat and go ahead  of him. It was a command, not a choice. This experience is not like the  other time a storm came up on the Sea of Galilee threatening the disciples.  In that case, Jesus simply calmed the waters. Here, he chooses to come  to them, walking on water in the midst of the storm. They are afraid. In  our translation, Jesus responded, “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.” But  in a more correct translation, instead of saying it is I, we learn that Jesus  said, I am. Those are the same words God spoke to Abraham from the  burning bush. Jesus declares in this lesson, that he is God, the ruler of all  creation. Later the disciples proclaim Jesus to be the Son of God. His  invitation to Peter allows him to show that all things are possible with God.  

While Peter’s initial response to jump in the water may be a good lesson  for us, what happened next may be even more important. It wasn’t until  Peter was walking on the water that his mind started to create questions.  What am I doing here? Can I really do this? 

I believe that we have times of uncertainty just as Peter did. It could  happen when we go through an especially difficult time. Maybe we  questioned why God did not do something to heal a loved one or we might  ask why God didn’t help us fix a broken relationship. Our faith might  waver when our brains try to understand the mysteries of God. We try to  come up with a logical explanation for God and we cannot find an answer.  It can cause our faith, our trust in God to fall, just as Peter fell into the  water.  

Our trust in God might be challenged when we consider what is going on  in the world, how so many people struggle to live. It can cause us to ask,  where is God in all of this. It is normal to have times when we question  where God is in our lives.  

The good news is that God is always there waiting for us to reach out.  Page 2 of 4

Jesus was there for Peter when Peter struggled, when his faith wavered.  He reached out and lifted Peter up when he fell. Let us not be afraid to  call out to Jesus in our distress just as Peter did, “Lord, save me.” Jesus  often referred to the faith of the disciples when he said O ye of little faith.  Jesus knows that we struggle and is there to lift us up.  

Many wait until they feel they have no where else to turn to ask God for  help. It is easy to call our for God when we are desperate, when we realize  that only God can help us.  

But we can turn to God and ask for faith anytime and we can find help  from others who have had similar challenges to their faith.  

We are fortunate this week to have our daughter’s friend Ellie with us who  is visiting from England. Her visit reminds me of a time when Ellie’s  parents, who live in England, asked me if I would help them celebrate their  40th wedding anniversary. We were living in Arizona at that time and they  asked if we could do the renewal of vows at the Grand Canyon. We chose  a place called Shoshone Point for the ceremony. It is a beautiful spot  where the canyon surrounds you on three sides. It is not visited by many  people so it is a quiet place. The challenge for me is that to get out on the  point, you must walk along a narrow path, maybe three feet wide with a  drop off of 1500 feet on the one side. My wife Jan was nice enough to  help me get out on the point by walking beside me, keeping her body  between me and the edge. We had a lovely ceremony on the point.  

Just as Jan helped me overcome my fear, others can help us when we  have little faith. I know people who have found God when they called for  help, they knew that God was present in their lives. I know people who  have prayed for God’s help and someone they did not know came to their  aide. I man once told me about a time he was desperate when his  daughter was very ill. He prayed to God that God would take care of his  daughter. He went so far as to promise that if God saved his daughter, he  would stop hunting which was a very hobby of his and he would spend  more time being with his family. His daughter survived and the man  followed through on his promise. I don’t think we need to barter with God,  but I am happy his prayers were answered.  

I am certain that there are people in this congregation who have struggled  in their faith and whose faith has been strengthened by an experience of  

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finding God, by a special blessing or by another person who helped them.  My wish is that you would share your experiences so that you can help  each other in your faith journey.  

In the Gospel of Mark, a man brought his son for healing from a demon.  The apostles were unable to help him. Then Jesus appeared and told him,  “All things can be done for the one who believes.” The man’s honest  response was “I believe, help my unbelief.” Jesus healed his child. Even a  little faith makes a difference. There have been times in my life when I felt  my faith slipping. Then I had an experience which changed my life.  

This morning, Gabe selected hymn 209 as our opening hymn. Verse 3 of  that hymn was taken directly from that story in the Gospel of Mark. May  we all pray using the words of the third verse from our opening hymn.  

“Help then, O Lord, our unbelief; 

And may our faith abound, 

To call on you when you are near, 

And seek where you are found.” 

Let us all seek to answer God’s call without hesitation, let’s try to jump out  of the boat and do something when God reaches out to us. And when we  do so, let us trust that Jesus will be there with us every step of the way  and know that Jesus will lift us up when we fall.  

Amen.