St. Peter steps out of a boat in rough seas and begins to walk on the water.
How could it have happened?
What gave Peter a simple fisherman the courage to step out on the water in the midst of a storm?
The answer is simple.
It was his Faith, he believed in Jesus
Peter believed that Jesus even had the power to make him walk on water.
We all know that as he walked toward Jesus
Peter began to be afraid and he began to doubt.
Once he took his eyes off our Lord he began to sink.
There so much to learn from this simple story.
The message is simple but daunting.
As followers of Christ we can do incredible things
if we have faith.
As followers of Christ we should expect to do incredible things if we have faith.
Throughout the history of the Church very ordinary people like you and me have done extraordinary things.
Some have feed the hungry
Some have cared for the sick
I know a woman who cared for her handicapped Son her whole life. Even when she was in her 70s and he was 50 she took care of him with a strong loving faith.
She never wavered
She would be the first to tell you that her love and her faith gave her an incredible stamina.
I know a man whose wife developed MS in her 30s and he still takes care of her and their two children along with working a full time job.
He is an ordinary man like you or me.
He never expected to face such a challenge but he too was called to step out of the boat and surrender some of his dreams for love and he has..
He is hero in my book, and with all that he does he never misses Mass, never.
I know another man who divorced his wife when she got MS because he felt her illness was simply too big a burden for him carry.
Over the centuries ordinary people at great risk have practiced their faith and attended Mass or celebrated Mass even when it was a capital offense.
How many of us would be here today in these pews if it meant risking our lives.
There have even ordinary people who have accepted death rather than renounce Christ.
The blood of Martyrs is the seed of the Church
Ordinary people, People like you and me have stepped out of the boat and into the sea no matter how rough it was over and over again.
Ordinary people like you and me have stepped out of the boat of their comfortable lives and made a huge difference in every age.
It’s kind of obvious isn’t it…
After hearing today’s Gospel all of us should be asking ourselves what extraordinary thing is God calling us to do?
What extraordinary thing does God need us to do?
When life throws a challenge our way even a daunting challenge,
an overwhelming challenge,
When life throws us an extraordinary challenge if we keep our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus
He will never let us sink
And even if we falter for a moment…
Jesus will pull us back into the boat
Peter didn’t drown when he was afraid
He didn’t drown when he doubted and neither will we.
He lived on to do incredible things with his life
And he eventually even gave his life rather than renounce his faith.
The world would be a very sad place if no one ever took a risk or got out of the boat for someone in need.
Amen.
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