September 7, 2003; Proper 18, Year B
The Rev. Marliou Schlotterbeck, Deacon
The miracles of Jesus. There are many, many accounts in scripture that tell us about Jesus’ miracles. The feeding of the five thousand, walking on water, casting out demons, healing the blind, the deaf, the mute, the lame, to name a few. And today’s scripture verse 35: “the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.” I would not be surprised that there were many more miracles that have not been written.
The miracles of Jesus come in a life when Christ enters as its Master and Savior. There were miracle workers, but their miracles were certainly not as impressive as Jesus’ were. But Jesus did not come to earth to perform miracles and that is why he commanded his people not to tell anyone. The healing that Jesus did was out of love and compassion for His people.
I have heard people ask, “why are there no miracles today”? Why doesn’t God speak to us like he did to his people long ago?
The definition of a miracle: “An event that appears unexplainable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural or an act of God.” Quite accurate I would say.
We do have miracles today. We have miracles everyday. Look around! There are miracles in our everyday lives. Have you ever heard a doctor say, “it’s a miracle he’s alive?” Have you ever done something that when you think about it, you could and probably should have been killed or been seriously hurt? We all know I did! Yes, I was seriously hurt, but the miracle was that I could still walk. We all have had flashes in our lives of these happenings. These are miracles.
I don’t believe in luck. To deny miracles today is to deny God’s power.
There are all kinds of instances in our lives that are miracles. Some are more profound and obvious that others. But all are miracles.
| Birthing. Have you ever witnessed a birthing? I like to think of that as a miracle. |
| Have you witnessed death? Another miracle. The miracle in death, is that we live again. |
| The promise made to us at Jesus’ death. |
| Baptism. Another miracle. Some of you saw the face of 80 year old Charlie Krueger this past Easter when he was baptized. Surely he felt the presence of the Lord. |
These are all miracles given to us by Jesus Christ.
Then there is that age-old question, why a miracle in some cases and not in others? As Kathy said last week, we are all going to have crisis’ in our life. We can’t get away from that. Outcomes will be different in different cases. We can’t answer the why, but we can say that letting Jesus into your life makes it better and easier to handle a crisis. Should it surprise us that God, through believing, is working miracles today?
In Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.”
So why should Jesus change now?
But as I said, Jesus did not come to earth to be a miracle worker. He came to earth to give the true message of God. To teach us how to be a true servant of God. Jesus came to earth to die for us and give us eternal life.
The promise of Jesus Christ. Do we all know the promise of Jesus Christ or have we fallen to spiritual deafness? Are we missing the “still small voice” of God?
The other question, does God talk to us? I believe He does. Maybe it is not a thunderous roar that some people seem to expect. Jesus talks to us through others. He talks to us in our prayers and in our dreams. The answers to our prayers involve divine intervention.
The real question here is, not does God talk to us, but do we sit still long enough to listen? Are we so busy, that we do not hear God? And if we are deaf to God, are we also deaf to others? Can we hear the sobs of grief, whether across the seas, or across the street? Do we hear the rumble of discontent over injustice? Do we hear the call for help, and if we do hear it, are we tuned in to respond?
In Isaiah 35: 5- “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” When we decide to unplug our ears, we will hear the messages of our neighbors, both near and far. The messages of understanding and sympathy. When we do sit long enough to listen to God and hear his teachings, then we can act on those teachings.
I am sure you all have heard about the monument of the Ten Commandments being removed from the rotunda of the court house. On Fox news I heard a man cry out when the monument was removed, “Leave our God alone”.
It gave me the chills.
It reminded me of the many persecutions of Christians going on in the world and it made me think. If we do not unplug our ears and listen to God’s word, we will not be able to defend Him. We cannot defend someone or something if we do not understand it.
In Proverbs 15:23, A man finds joy in giving an apt reply-and how good is a timely word! When we hear and listen to the voice of God, then we too can make a timely response. We should not be so concerned about Jesus’ miracles, and what He can do for us, that we forget to listen to His message.
When we are witnessing the illnesses in this world, the tearing apart of God in our society, the abuse of children, the degradation of human life, and even death, do we stand around and complain because Jesus did not come and perform a miracle? No!
We take action! We show our love and Jesus’ love and compassion for all people. In a crisis we all step in and help out.
It is ok to show our discontent and let it be known that we will not stand for our God being torn apart. We have a right to fight for the children of abuse and for the life of every human being.
You want miracles? You got em!
Step up to the plate!!
Because everything we do is for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His miracles are being performed everyday through us. God speaks to us through the miracle of creation and the miracle of life. God needs our voices, speaking plainly, that His voice may be heard and His miracles realized.
Amen.