19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A August 9, 2026
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magadalen, Abbeville, LA
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Because it’s kinda crazy to be walking on water, Jesus, that’s why! Like, it’s one thing to watch you heal people and do miracles. It doesn’t stretch our minds too much to say “okay, Jesus is special and has miraculous power, so of course he can heal people.” It’s quite a different thing to be standing on water in the middle of a storm! How does that even work? Were his feet rising and falling with the waves like standing on a lumpy conveyor belt? Or did his feet just stay like 1 inch beneath the surface while the waves crashed over his ankles? Or did he hover maybe? Once we stop to consider how this miracle works, there are no shortage of reasons to doubt that we could do such a miracle.
Yet Jesus tells us that faith has power to uproot trees, move mountains, overcome poison, heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. At least Peter got a few steps literally walking on water. If that is “little” faith, what does a “lot” look like? What hope do we have?
Plenty, actually. We have plenty of reasons to hope for such faith. It starts with understanding what faith actually is. A grace. A virtue. A response. Faith is not willpower. It’s not working ourselves up into a heightened emotional state or concentrating real hard. Faith is the virtue, the habit of choosing to act like we trust what God tells us. He says “you get treasure in heaven for giving your stuff to the poor,” so having faith would mean giving our stuff to the poor though we don’t see that heavenly reward. God says “whoever receives” the apostles receives him, so having faith means taking the authority of the bishops seriously.
If you go fishing and just decide to try walking on water, it would be astounding if you succeeded for even a few seconds. That’s not what Peter did. Peter asked the Lord, “command me to come to you on the water.” Then Jesus told him to do it. Remember, faith is a response to God’s word, an act of trust. When Jesus tells Peter to walk on water, he should do it. It’s not Peter’s willpower that matters, but his trust in what Jesus says. And he does trust him… kinda. That’s why Jesus is so disappointed. It makes sense to lose your nerve before you put your foot on the water, but once you’re already standing on the sea? Why lose your faith then? Why doubt after it’s already worked?
Of course, you know why Peter failed at that moment, right? He took his eyes off Jesus. Instead of remaining attentive to the word of God, he focused on the wind, the storm, the problems. He stopped paying attention to Jesus; it’s really hard to trust someone if you don’t pay attention to them. That’s why the Church matched this gospel with this first reading about Elijah.
Elijah is on Mount Horeb where God tells him that he is passing by. Elijah believes God and so acts on it by standing to watch for him. Great wind, an earthquake, and a fire all pass by but none is God. He is not distracted by these things, but instead recognizes God’s voice in the tiny whispering sound. Elijah does many incredible miracles, but it is this habit, this virtue that makes them all possible – the virtue of faith that hears God and then acts on what God says.
Prophets and Saints don’t “level up” in holiness to gain super powers. You can’t just try hard enough to be Padre Pio and get stigmata or the ability to bi-locate. Mary and Joseph never personally perform a miracle yet they are the greatest saints. That’s because faith is not an energy source for doing magic. It is a response of trust to the word of God. You cannot have the “faith” to do something God never asked you to do. But if he does tell you and you don’t even try, then he will say to you what he said to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
But don’t be too quick to give yourself a pass! Elijah did miracles because he knew how to listen to God’s voice even in the great noise of earthquakes, fires, wind, and social upheaval. Peter walked on water because he asked Jesus to command him! He paid attention to Jesus and gave Jesus the chance to speak. And for a moment, at least, Peter listened to his word and responded to it with faith.
What does this mean for you sitting comfortably in a pew? Or maybe uncomfortably, or maybe juggling a child, or maybe battling anxiety and a poor attention span… It means three things.
First, God always speaks. In the Scriptures, in the Church, in the storms of life and the quiet moments, God is speaking to you. Literally his last words in the Gospel of Matthew are, “I am with you always.” Faith, therefore, means acting like you believe him, like you believe that Jesus is with you and is speaking to you. He really is!
Second, God’s voice is usually subtle, a “tiny whispering sound.” Elijah witnesses the rending of a mountain and Peter is tossed about in a storm at sea, yet they were able to tune into the quiet, subtle voice of God. The secret to great faith is not drama. It is not a shouting preacher, hyped-up music, or a psychological trick of motivation. The secret to great faith is learning to listen for God’s words in the midst of all the noise… to give God the chance to invite you to do great things… or small things with great love. Like Elijah, that means making time to pray, to put ourselves in places we can hear God. Like Peter, that means asking God to speak to us and then paying attention to what he says.
Often enough, God does not tell us to do miracles. Often enough, we rant and rave at God in prayer, pour out tears in the chapel or the bedroom, and earnestly strive to hear God for him only to whisper “I love you, I’m with you, keep going.” But sometimes… he just might tell you to step out of the boat, to lay hands on the sick, to speak boldly in an unfriendly place. The only way we’ll know is if we learn to listen.
Which brings us to the third thing. When he speaks to you, act on it. Start with the clear commands. “Do this in memory of me.” If Jesus tells us in scripture and through 2000 years of unbroken tradition that the Eucharist is really his body and blood and you don’t trust him, if you say you believe but don’t actually treat the Eucharist like it’s Jesus… why are you surprised your faith is weak? If he told you to confess your sins to one another but you insist on only confessing to God, why are you surprised he doesn’t ask you to do miracles? All seven sacraments are miracles and five of them happen every single day. He speaks his word to us and we do what? Yawn, move on, scroll up… Faith is a response to his word; it means we have to hear his word and then act on it.
Most importantly, there is the Greatest Commandment – love God and neighbor – and the New Commandment – love one another as I have loved you. Y’all, the miracles aren’t important. The Love Is! Hear the word that Jesus has never ceased to speak to us: love one another. And what is love? To will the good of the other. Sometimes what’s good for others is a miracle; sometimes it isn’t a miracle. Have faith enough to obey his command to love, to love as Jesus loves.
Love by listening to Jesus despite the storms and earthquakes. Love by asking Jesus to tell you what to do, by asking Jesus to help you love better… to love with a living faith that listens and trusts and acts. Love like that and you just might find yourself loving another person with God’s own love in you so that, when God tells you to do a miracle for them, you don’t stop to ask how, you don’t look at the wind and the waves… you just keep your eyes on Jesus in them commanding you to step out of the boat… and you do it.