View today's sermon on our YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeqjVbkybaw.

Matthew 14:22-33 NRSVUE

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

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There is something wonderfully appropriate about hearing this story on a day when we have baptized a child.

Water is one of the great symbols of our faith—not because water is somehow magical, but because water is ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. We need it to live. It cleanses us. It refreshes us. It can heal us. It can overwhelm us. It can carry us from one place to another. And in Scripture, water is often where God meets people in the midst of change.

Before the world had shape or form, Scripture tells us, the Spirit of God moved over the waters. Noah and his family passed through the waters of the flood into a new beginning. Moses and the Israelites passed through the waters of the Red Sea, leaving slavery behind and moving toward freedom. 

Jesus was nurtured in the waters of Mary’s womb. He was baptized in the River Jordan. He spoke of living water to a woman at a well. He washed the feet of his disciples with water and sent his followers out to baptize with water and Spirit.

Again and again, water marks a crossing. A before and an after. An old life and a new one. A place of fear and a place of possibility.

And so here we are today, having gathered around water, welcoming a child into the community of faith. And then we hear this story about disciples in a boat, surrounded by water, battered by wind and waves.

I love that the disciples in this story are not sitting peacefully in a synagogue, with everything all figured out. They are in a boat. And the boat is being battered by wind and waves. They are far from shore. And when Jesus finally appears, walking across the water, they don't recognize him. They are terrified. They think he is a ghost.

And Jesus says: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter, always quick to speak, says, “If it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus says one word: “Come.”

So, Peter gets out of the boat. And for a moment, Peter walks on water. Until he notices the wind. And suddenly, the faith that carried him out of the boat is replaced—or maybe accompanied—by doubt. As Peter begins to sink he cries out, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him.

We often hear this story as though doubt is the problem. Peter had “little faith,” Jesus says. And perhaps we have sometimes been taught that faith means having enough certainty that we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and never notice the wind.

But I wonder if that is really what this story is telling us. Notice that Peter's doubt doesn't disqualify him. Peter's doubt doesn't make Jesus withdraw. Peter's doubt doesn't end the story. Peter doubts—and Jesus reaches out a hand.

Faith is not the absence of doubt. Faith is the willingness to keep reaching, even when doubt is there. I envision faith and doubt as dance partners. 

Faith says, “Come.” Doubt says, “But what if I fall?”

Faith says, “Step out.” Doubt says, “But the wind...”

And somewhere in the middle of that dance, we discover that we are not walking on the water by our own strength. There is a hand reaching out for us.

Today, we baptized Charlie. She does not need to understand theology. She does not need to have certainty. She does not need to promise that there will never be questions. Charlie simply received the gift of baptism. Water. Love. Community. A blessing. A promise.  

Whatever storms come, Charlie will not have to face them alone.

Isn't that what we are promising as a congregation? Not that we will have all the answers. Not that we, or she, will never doubt. Not that life will always be calm. But that we will be here for one another. We will hold one another when the wind and the waves are high. We will remind one another who we are when fear makes us forget. We will reach out a hand when someone begins to sink. And we will keep making room in the boat. Because faith is not just an individual possession. It is something we practice together. That is why baptism is not only something we celebrate for infants. It is something we can return to at any age.

There are moments when we need to reaffirm our baptism—not because the first baptism somehow wore off, but because life happened. We changed. We grew. We wandered. We doubted. We survived things we never expected to survive. We discovered new questions. We lost our way and found our way again.

And sometimes we simply need to remember: I am beloved. I belong. Grace is still, and always, available to me. The waters of baptism are still calling us toward new life.

Renewal doesn't always require a dramatic spiritual experience. Sometimes renewal is as simple as coming forward to touch the water. Dipping a hand into the font. Making the sign of the cross. Remembering a baptismal promise. Taking a cleansing breath. Letting the water remind each of us that each day offers a new beginning.

The God who moved over the waters at creation is moving still. The God who led people through the Red Sea is still leading people toward freedom. Hear again the words of Jesus: “Take heart… do not be afraid.” There is a hand reaching for you. And there is always room in the boat.

The Christ who entered the waters of baptism is still meeting us there. And the Christ who reached out to sinking Peter is still reaching out to us.

So, the question for us today is not, “Do I have enough faith?” Perhaps a better question is the one a wise teacher taught me to always consider:

“What in my life tells me this scripture is true?”

Where have you known a hand reaching for you? Where have you been carried when you could not carry yourself? Where have you stepped out of the boat, even while afraid? Where has doubt accompanied your faith—and somehow, mysteriously, faith remained? And where, today, do you need renewal?

The waters of baptism do not promise that there will be no storms. They promise something better: that the storms will not have the final word. That doubt will not have the final word. That fear will not have the final word. That even when we lose our footing, we will be held.

So today, as we celebrate Charlie’s baptism, we also allow the baptismal water to speak to all of us. In a moment, as Debbie plays our Special Music, I invite you, if you feel so called, to come and dip your hand into the baptismal font. 

Come with your faith, your questions, your doubts, or simply your need for renewal—and let the water remind you that you are beloved, you belong, and God’s grace is still reaching for you. Come if you are strong, come if you are sinking. Come as you are. Come.

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – August 9, 2026

Union Congregational Church of Hancock