Fear Destroys Faith

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

August 11, 2026

in Spritual Growth

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August 09, 2026

Readings: Jonah 2:1-9
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026 Homily – Abp. Hines

This is the day the Lord has made, and we will be glad and rejoice in it. Rejoice in His great love for us. Often times when we face situations such as storms and floods, who will really bring glory to Him in the face of opposition? Shouldn’t God be so great that we regard worshipping Him of utmost importance? God is so awesome that we can hold people up and spread peace to them. We have a great God who’s more than willing and able to take care of us.

Christ has just very recently fed a large quantity of food to the multitude. They were all satisfied. In fact, there were 12 basketfuls of left overs. When they finished eating, Jesus immediately commanded the disciples to get into the boat and leave. He then dismissed the people. Jesus was sensitive to God’s voice, and it was clearly His instruction for the people to leave. After this, He went up to the mountain to pray. When the disciples left and their boat was halfway on the lake, there came a raging storm and big waves were formed. Jesus saw this from afar that the disciples were getting anxious, but He was not. In fact, He still stayed behind and did not go down the mountain until 4 AM. So, He got down the mountain and walked towards the water. He then started walking on the water and continued walking to the direction of the boat. When the disciples saw Him, they thought they had seen a ghost and began to be fearful. But Jesus said, “Peace be into you. Take courage, for it is I.” In 2nd Kings 6, we see Elisha and his men chopping wood by the Jordan River to build larger housing. One of the men lost a borrowed iron ax head in the water. Elisha then miraculously made the heavy iron float by throwing a stick into the river, and so was able to return the borrowed item to its owner. In the account of the Crossing of the Red Sea during the time of Moses, God also proved His awesome power by splitting the red sea so that the children of Israel could pass through and walk on dry land. In the account of Jesus walking on water, the disciples were at first in doubt and fearful. Just like us today- we who are disciples of Christ, shouldn’t we believe in Jesus instead of being anxious and doubtful? Peter, the impulsive one, wanted to be with Jesus and asked Him, “if this is really You, command me to come to you.” Jesus said, “come!” Peter steps out of the boat and began walking on the water. But when he saw the wind, fear began to overtake him and he started to sink. His doubt destroyed his faith. If Jesus is the One commanding, a thing is sure to be done. Jesus is speaking to us, too, reminding us that God has given us so many promises and they are ours. Jesus then rebuked Peter, “O ye of little faith. Why did you doubt?” Peter, seeing that he was drowning, cried out, “Save me Lord!” And immediately Jesus pulled up Peter’s hand to save him. This is showing us that Jesus will come to our aid and bring us to safety. 1 John 1:4 “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Storms are not greater than God. We are not to doubt. We are not to be fearful. We have unfortunately trained our minds to be doubtful and to be constantly asking questions. This is what the world wants. To plant fear in our minds and hearts. If Jesus could take 5 loaves and 2 fish and cause this to multiply in order to feed a whole multitude, could He not take care of us too? Today’s Gospel shows us over and over again that God will indeed take care of us in the midst of a storm. He will bring us peace. He is the Master of everything. If only we believe, all things are possible. Scripture tells us to seek Him and we will find Him. Knock and the door shall be opened unto us. Jesus may have rebuked Peter for a while, but He was wanting to show us and prove that fear has no place in our lives. We should choose to walk with Him. “Give God His due of glory and strength, you who are godly.” The voice of God empowers. God is great. God sits enthroned above the flood. It cannot destroy us if our faith is in Him. Do we see God as He is? We need to put our faith in Him.