We don’t talk much about miracles. Maybe it’s because we’re not sure how we feel about them. In Scripture they are massive and unmistakable. Nothing like fire, earthquakes, and a little smiting to get our attention. But our lives go on in the mundane. We more closely identify with George Burns who played God in the original “Oh God” movie with John Denver and Terri Garr. When asked about miracles, he simply said, “I’m not that flashy.”
Maybe if we begin to think about miracles as God’s intervention into our life or lives, maybe if we quit thinking about the flash, we will see an occasional miracle. Take Sunday for instance. We had a record turnout to worship, fellowship, and break bread together. We honored the legacy of Ruth Bronson, who, in many ways was a miracle herself. She refused to stop believing in the goodness of people. She refused to succumb to a belief that God is finished with God’s creation. She was Christ’s hands and feet (and car) in the world, helping people get to and from. She trusted the providence of God as she opened her home to virtual strangers. She refused to listen to “reason” when her friends counseled her to be more careful. Any of the above in the length and frequency could be considered miraculous. Taken in the aggregate, she practically deserves beatification. If she were to read this paragraph, she would be horrified because, like George Burns’ God, “she wasn’t that flashy.”
Our culture has taught us sadly that there can only be number one. Everyone else is “loser.” So, when we experience God’s presence and work in our lives, if not accompanied by smoke, fire, bells, and whistles, it’s nothing to write home about. Nonsense! Think about the times God is present in your life. Think bout the times you are able to present God to another through a kind word or simple gesture. Think about the ways in which you find yourself in a situation where you can help someone. Each of these encounters is a miracle. Maybe that is what Jesus had in mind in Sunday’s text from John 1 in which Jesus simply says, “Come and see.” Maybe our call is simply to invite others to come, see, and experience God’s grace in tangible ways. Maybe “come and see” pertains to us as we’re called to be witness to the myriad small miracles in our lives and world.
Sunday is going to be a miracle as well. Jesus is going to present himself as living bread in John 6. Jesus is not the gatekeeper, Jesus is not our insurance policy, Jesus is not a talisman to protect us, nor an enforcer to do our bidding. Jesus is sustenance itself. We can live without him, but cannot be fully alive without him. I look forward to exploring the miracle of living bread. I also look forward to our creating a miracle at NBUMC as we bring our second-mile gifts to God, creating the miracle of Holy Housecleaning, of augmenting our on-line Sunday presence, and of learning how to invite the community to “come and see” in more winsome and relevant ways. I. Can’t. Wait.
See you Sunday,
Paul
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