Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, August 9, 10:30am
Sermon: Power Over Even That
Accompanying Scripture: Matthew 14 : 22 – 33

Power Over Even That
Matthew 14:22-33 8/9/2026
Jesus is running on empty.

John the Baptizer’s disciples come to Jesus with the news that John was beheaded by Herod over a lustful request from his stepdaughter. It’s a death that should never have happened. Just how drunk was Herod that night?

Jesus is hurting. He needs time to grieve. But there is no time. Here are the crowds coming to see him, to be healed, and to hear his teachings. He heals and teaches. And he even feeds them with next to nothing! Jesus has power over that.

As soon as he can, though, he gathers the disciples, put them on a boat and sends them to the other side of the sea. He delivers a benediction to the crowd and they finally disperse. At long last, Jesus can get away to think and to pray.

Most people wouldn’t have chosen a mountain. They believe that mountains, like deserts, are places of chaos. Demons and deities live there. You don’t go up a mountain, at least not alone. But Jesus has power over that, as well.

He prays, he rests, he grieves. He spends the dark hours of the night wrestling with his anger and sadness. As the sun begins to rise, Jesus is ready. Time to get back to work.

His work is cut out for him. The disciples have been battling a storm at sea all night long. This isn’t unusual, especially at this time of the year. Storms arrive without much notice. The Sea of Galilee is like a bowl, easily shifting its waters back and forth with the winds. It’s dangerous to be at sea when a storm arrives. It’s even worse for the fishermen who know this sea so well.

Just as the mountains hold the chaos of the gods, so the sea holds the power of the god Poseidon, aka Neptune. It is believed to be under the spell of Caesar. A story goes that someone brought the emperor a fish that he claimed wanted to be caught so he could bless Caesar.

The best way for Jesus to approach the boat is to walk on the sea. Say, what? Walk on the sea? Yes. Jesus walks on the sea, trampling the demons and chaos who used to hold power over the disciples. Jesus has power over the sea.

Yes, even the sea.

I love that Peter wants to give it a try. In fact, I get out of the boat with him and try to step my foot on the sea. While I sink immediately from fear, Peter actually makes it a few steps before he falls in. His attention was caught by the wind. If only he had kept his eye on Jesus.

Liberty was born several years into my stay at the church in Cleveland, OK. At the time of the story I’m going to share with you, she was about four years old. I was preaching about a similar storm on the Galilean Sea, only this one has Jesus sleeping soundly.

For the children’s sermon, we pretended that the center aisle was a large fishing boat. We all boarded our imaginary boat. Liberty needed help being “lifted” over the bow. Soon the storm came up and we had to bail water while calling out to Jesus to wake up. As the storm raged on, Liberty decided to rejoin her mother in the pew.

We baled water and called out for Jesus. Meanwhile, off to the side, Liberty decided to return to our imaginary vessel. Her mother held her back. And then, with her calm, sweet voice, everyone heard her say, “But, momma. I have to get in the boat!”

That was the sermon that day. I have to get in the boat.

What if the story about the storm at sea and Jesus walking on it was a parable about the church?

Just as Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat and travel to the other side, so Jesus also compels us to be a part of his Church. The church ventures through seasons.

Sometimes, our season is one of growth. The sun is bright, and the winds are at bay. Our nets fill up to the bursting point. Other times, the sun goes behind a cloud, the winds come up and we hang on for dear life. Most of the time, though, we move through a season of business as usual. We do the usual ministries, preach the usual sermons, raise our children, and move through the season with dedication and purpose.

When the storm rises, we wonder, where is Jesus? Why is he asleep? Why is he on the mountaintop? Doesn’t he care about us?

A virulent virus was a storm of massive proportions. It didn’t take long for us to tire of baling water. We prayed, yelled, pleaded with God. But, Christ’s Church did not fail. We were still here, somewhat worn. But still here.

FPCO has enjoyed a season where the sun came out, the sea filled with fish and we have opened our doors to the world. We have seen the power of Jesus Christ at work in our committees and our worship and our ministries.

Sometimes the storm distracts us. Sometimes we feel as if we’re sinking. But remember this.

Jesus has power to multiply loaves of bread, power over the chaos-inducing deities of a mountaintop, and power to trample over a sea.

And he has power over his church. He knows where he wants us to go. He knows what he wants us to be.

He has power over the Church.

Yes, even that.

All glory and honor be to God.

Amen.