Sunday the 9th of August 2026 - The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a/ Ps 85(84)/ Romans 9:1-5/ Matthew 14:22-33

Consider the parent in the swimming pool, arms outstretched towards the little child standing hesitantly on the edge. The parent calls out for the child to jump in assuring them they will catch them. The child is keen but looking down at the deep water cannot step off the edge. The parent again, more softly, more reassuringly, calls for the child to look at them in the eye and jump in knowing they will be caught. Some of us will have been that child or that parent. We might recognise that is more or less what happened in the Gospel today. Peter was standing at the edge of the boat. Jesus said one word, "Come," and Peter stepped out. All was well until he stopped looking at the Lord and started looking at the waves, and he began to sink. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and caught Peter,  not eventually, but immediately.

The question for us today might be, where is the edge of our boat, and what is Jesus asking us to step out onto? We might have heard the expression when someone seems able to do the impossible, fix anything, achieve everything, people say, "He thinks he can walk on water." The phrase has come into our everyday language, usually with a note of cynicism, a way of saying that nobody is that good. That is the point of a miracle. A cynical world might dismiss this Gospel as impossible, but Jesus is God, and God is not limited by the creation he himself made. All creation runs according to the laws that hold it together, the physics, the chemistry, the order of things. Jesus wrote those laws, but He is not bound by them. When He walks on the water, he is showing us who he is, the Master of creation, the Lord of wind and wave.

This Gospel passage finds the disciples late at night, exhausted, fighting a headwind, the boat pitching beneath them, and then a figure came towards them across the water. They were terrified. as any of us would be, this was unnatural, unexpected, something that defied the natural order of things. Into their fear Jesus spoke the words He often used, “do not be afraid." This was not a ghost, it was God walking on the waters of chaos. Peter, impetuous as always, called out, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Jesus replied with one word, "Come." Peter stepped out of the boat and started to walk on the water, until he noticed the wind, he heard the roar of the waves, and his faith began to fail, and he started to sink. What did Peter do? He prayed. "Lord, save me." Jesus responded immediately stretched out his hand and caught him. Not eventually, not after a lesson had been learned, or a condition met, but Immediately.

We can imagine ourselves in that boat. The boat, is the Church, tossed by the winds and the waves of the world with all its cynicism, doubts, accusations. We can cower inside, gripping the benches, hoping the storm passes, or we can hear the voice of Jesus saying "Come," and step out. This Gospel should reassure us, Jesus can accomplish great things through us if only we will call on Him, answer His call, and go out to Him. If we lose our nerve halfway, if we begin to sink under the weight of it all, we know we can cry out and that hand will reach for us at once.

How do we hear that voice of Jesus over the noise? The answer is in the first reading today. Elijah stood on the mountain. There was a strong wind, an earthquake, and fire. God was not in any of them. Then came the sound of silence, a light silent sound, and Elijah hid his face in his cloak knowing that the Lord was passing in that silence. We have so much noise around us these days, the storms of war, earthquakes of uncertainty, fires of hate that burn everywhere. We do not find God in any of these, we find God in the silence of prayer, when we take the time simply to listen for him. We can spend much of our prayer time bombarding God with words, but we must also be still and listen for His reply, for His voice when He answers us. Jesus shows us the way in today's Gospel. Before He walked on the water, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray. The Master of creation made time for silence. How much more must we need to do the same? Some of our most familiar saints found God in the tranquillity of silence. Saint Benedict, Saint Francis, Saint Ignatius, Saint Teresa, all found God in the silence of contemplative prayer. Silence is not empty, it is where God speaks to us.

Jesus was with his disciples even in their fear and panic, He is the same with us, He does not abandon his Church, and He does not abandon any one of us. But we need time, space, and quietness to let His presence penetrate our lives. In today's Gospel we see the steadfast serenity of Jesus walking calmly through the storm. That serenity is exactly what our frenzied world is in need of today. Saint Paul in the second reading was in real anguish over his own people, and yet even in that grief he was unshakeable, because he knew to whom the promises belong and from whom the Messiah had come. Anguish and serenity can live in the same soul when Christ is at the centre of it.

We can take two important points away with us today. First, the value of silence. Find a few minutes, turn off the phone, the radio, the television, sit in the church or a quiet room and simply say, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening," and then be quiet. We will find God in the heart of that quietness. Second, take the courage to step out. Somewhere in our life there is a boat we are hiding in. It might be a conversation we have avoided, faith we have kept private because of what people might think or say. Hear Jesus say to us “come” and have the courage to step out.

At Mass Jesus stretches out his hand to us again, immediately, as he did to Peter. Let us receive him in silence. Let him steady the boat, and then go out and walk on the waters of life. May we all say with the disciples in that boat, "Truly you are the Son of God."

God Bless Brendan.