Homily | August 3, 2026 | Real Faith Begins When Self Trust Ends | (Episode 218)

One of the greatest dangers in the spiritual life is not fear.

It's false confidence.

That's exactly what we see in the first reading.

There are two prophets standing before the people.

Ananiah tells them exactly what they want to hear.

This suffering won't last.

Everything will be back to normal in two years.

The yoke of Babylon will be broken.

The people must have loved that message.

On the other hand, Jeremiah tells them something much harder.

He says, in effect, I hope Ananiah is right.

I would love for that to happen.

But God has not said those words.

Then Jeremiah says something remarkable.

The Lord has not sent you, and you have raised false confidence in this people.

False confidence.

Those words struck me.

Because our world is full of false confidence.

We hear things like follow your heart, live your truth, everything will work out.

You don't need to change, you'll be fine.

Those messages are comforting, but comforting isn't always true.

A good doctor doesn't tell a patient what he wants to hear or he shouldn't.

He tells him what he needs to hear.

A good parent does the same, and so does God.

Sometimes the most loving thing God says to us is also the hardest to hear.

And that brings us to Peter.

Peter had confidence, but at first it was confidence in himself.

Lord, if it is you, command me to come.

Jesus simply says, Come.

And Peter actually does the impossible.

He walks on water until he doesn't.

The moment he shifts his eyes from Christ to the storm, he begins to sink.

But notice what Jesus does not say.

He does not say, Well, Peter, I knew you would fail.

No, he doesn't say that.

Or he doesn't even say you embarrassed yourself.

He doesn't let Peter drown.

Immediately Jesus reaches out and grabs his hand.

That's the kind of confidence God wants us to have.

Not confidence in ourselves, but confidence in him.

The saints understood this.

When you read their lives, you'll notice something surprising.

The saints were actually very aware of their weaknesses.

Saint Therese knew her littleness.

Saint Augustine knew his past.

Saint Peter knew his failures.

Their confidence didn't come from believing they were strong, it came from believing Christ was.

I think that's the lesson for us.

Some of us are facing storms right now.

A marriage that is struggling, a medical diagnosis, financial insecurities, a child drifting away from the faith.

The temptation is to keep staring at the waves.

And the waves are real.

Peter wasn't imagining them, but they were never stronger than Christ.

Neither are yours.

I also love this little detail in today's gospel.

Peter doesn't offer a beautiful prayer.

As he's sinking, he doesn't quote scripture.

He doesn't recite a long formula.

He simply cries out, Lord save me.

Three words, Lord save me.

Sometimes that's the best prayer we can make.

When we're overwhelmed, Lord save me.

When temptation is strong and we're falling into sin, Lord save me.

When grief feels unbearable, Lord save me.

When we don't know what else to say, Lord save me.

And every single time the gospel says the same thing.

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, not eventually, not after Peter earned it, immediately.

Why?

Because that's our Lord.

So today ask yourself, where is my confidence?

Is it in my plans and what I can control and my narrative, my abilities, my circumstances, or is it in Christ?

Because storms will come.

But when our eyes remain fixed on Jesus, we'll discover that his hand is always closer than we think.

And that's not false confidence.

That's faith.

Amen.