Miracles. John the Evangelist calls them signs, as if they point to the realities of the kingdom of God. We saw last week in the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 of how one can catch “compassion,” passing on from one to another the very gift of mercy that we ourselves have received from the hand of God. But what message does today’s miracle paint for us?

At first glance, Jesus’ walking on water appears to simply be a convenient form of locomotion. We all know that the shortest path between two points is a straight line, and when you’re the Son of God, what does it matter if that line goes across what would be an impassible obstacle for normal people? So what if the shortest path to the disciples’ boat is across the sea? Simply alter reality in such a way that you can walk on water. Problem solved.

But there are two parts to this story and perhaps the message of this miracle is found not in Jesus walking on the water, but in what happens after he arrives at the boat. His appearance on the waves first terrifies the disciples. After all, normal people don’t walk on water. But after Jesus reassures them that he is no threat, no ghost, Peter speaks up. “If it is you, Lord, then let me come to you on the water.”

And then Peter walks on water.

Peter. Open-mouth insert-foot Peter. Ordinary human Peter. Peter the fisherman does something impossible. He does something magical. Something miraculous. Peter walks on water.

And maybe, just maybe, that is the lesson of this miracle. That is the picture of the kingdom we receive from it. That great deeds are not Christ’s alone. We too can do the miraculous. We too can do the impossible. We, ordinary human beings, can do amazing things, life changing things, world changing things. This is the power of faith. The power to change the world.

And we have seen it at work. The faith in Jesus Christ that was kindled in those few dozen men and women, Peter included, grew and grew and grew. Now 2000 years later, over a billion people lay claim to the name Christian. And how many lives in this and all past generations were touched because of the work of those handful of disciples and those who carried on after them. Jesus himself said this is what would happen. In John 14, he told the disciples “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” The miraculous work that Jesus began continues in us. It continues because of our faith in Christ, but it also continues because of Christ’s faith in us. He has entrusted us with this work, his work.

Even here in this community, on this mountaintop, we have seen this miraculous power. Last Sunday, this congregation celebrated its 115^th anniversary. Thing of all the amazing things this congregation has accomplished. I’ve seen the records. This church has never been wealthy and our numbers have never been great. Yet we have survived, even thrived for 115 years here. Three dozen men and women pledged and raised over $100,000 to help restore this building, a work that is ongoing.

We have banded together with our sister churches and have started a youth ministry. Nearly a dozen youth attended the Common Ground Café this past Friday, including a handful who have never set foot inside a church before. Miracles are happening in our very midst.

But there is still yet another part to the story. Peter walks on water, yes, but then he sees the waves and the wind and fear gets the better of him. And he sinks. The miraculous turns mundane once more and since ordinary people cannot walk on water, down he goes. We know that experience too. When we work to change the world, to change the lives of those around us, the devil gets pretty upset and he hits back…hard.

Many of you who have been a part of this congregation for many years can remember hard times, times when this church barely scraped by. Times when it seemed as though the miraculous had become mundane and there was nothing amazing happening here. Times when it felt like we were sinking. To some degree, maybe we’re there again. For all the work we’ve done on this building, we’ve since discovered just how much more there is still to do and how critical it is that it be done. Maybe that gives us a bit of that sinking feeling.

For myself personally, these past three months have been some of the hardest in my life. I went from the tremendous high of my marriage and honeymoon trip to three months with my beloved still living in far-away PA. And I was sinking, touching bottom even.

But you know something. When the miraculous seems to end, when the devil does hit back, and all we see are the waves closing over our heads, that’s precisely when Jesus reaches down to fish us back out. Just like he does Peter.

This is a picture of the kingdom, a place where the ordinary can do extraordinary things, where the miraculous happens from the hands and the hearts of people like you and I, where the world and lives within it are changed. And if it happens that we suffer setbacks, failures, when we find ourselves lost, feeling like we don’t matter and that all our efforts come to naught, Jesus is there, reaching down into the waves to pull us back onto our feet. We can do amazing things through him and he will never forsake us when things go south.

I keep thinking of a parent teaching a child to ride a bicycle. There’s that moment when you let go, and your child is on their own. If they keep their balance, hold to all that you taught, they’ll ride and the look on their face as they do what they might have thought impossible just a few hours before is priceless. And there you are, urging them, cheering them on. And if they lose their balance, get frightened, and pitch over onto the sidewalk, you rush over, pick them back up, calm their fears, and say “Let’s try that again.” This is how Christ treats with us. We can do amazing things, miraculous things, when we have faith in the one who puts his faith on us. And even if we fail, he is still there to rescue us and start us again. Amen.