God often speaks to us in quiet ways, like the whisper Elijah heard. When has God spoken to you in a whisper? Do you have quiet space and time in your life to hear a whisper?

In today's gospel story, faith is contrasted with fear. The disciples were "terrified" and "cried out in fear"; Peter became "frightened." But Jesus tells them, "Take courage . . . do not be afraid."

SAINT PETER IS elevated to our attention for at least nine crucial Matthean moments. This gospel is invested in the development of a singular disciple destined to become the keeper of the keys. Though Peter is called to discipleship in ch. 4, he has no speaking part on that occasion or up until this one in ch. 14, when he attempts to walk on water.

Amid the public clashes of the struggle for racial equality, the African-American theologian Howard Thurman, who would influence Martin Luther King, Jr. insisted that clergy "never . . . lose their rooting in spiritual practices such as meditation, prayer, singing, celebration, and worship and silence.

Have you ever tried to teach someone to swim? That was part of my job description when I was a camp counselor back in high school. Some of the kids took to the water like little otters, slipping and swooshing around and having a ball. Others sank like the sand-filled milk bottles we used as anchors for the camp rowboats.

We all have someone in our lives whom we think walks on water because of something he or she did for us or a loved one: the teacher who finally got through; the doctor who saved a life; the cop who came to the rescue; the counselor who helped turn things around; the friend who lent a helping hand; the lawyer who restored a good name; the neighbor with a generous spirit; the foe with a forgiving heart.

The song "Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon and Garfunkel, based on an old Negro spiritual, offers a reassuring message of self-sacrificing love in the face of adversity: "Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will lay me down .

Saving Lord, truly you are the Son of God. Reach out to us your merciful hand.

I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. Much of the Letter to the Romans deals with the relationship of the people of Israel to the followers of Christ. For Paul, this discussion was very personal.

The church of Christ acknowledges that in God's plan of salvation the beginning of her faith and her election is to be found in the patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets. --Nostra Aetate, 1965