Sermon - We Need a Miracle

Have you wondered why miracles are such a big part of belief? Jesus says to us today, unless you see miracles you will not believe. We only heard last week that those disciples believed because of Jesus’ miracle at the Cana wedding. In some ways, this feels natural to us. If we are supposed to believe in something other than this world than there should be some sign or act that is bigger than the world. Yet, it would seem from Jesus’ expression, that we shouldn’t need miracles to believe.

We first need to realize that God is revealing himself in so many ways. The God we know in Jesus may be far bigger than the world, but he is not completely separate. He has interlayered his very character and personhood into everything around us. Remember that God is love and goodness itself, so if you want to grow in your understanding and belief - go out and look for him. People have met and believed in Jesus many many times without anyone strongly intervening. What is stopping us?

I think we put a lot of barriers in God’s way. I remember before I became a minister I had felt God’s call in my life, but I had 7 excuses that I would tell myself and anyone else who asked. Even after God got rid of all of those excuses, I still just refused until he reminded me of his love in a powerful way. I look back and it still feels ridiculous that it took me so long to get to where I am and yet, I still put up barriers for God and he still enters in miraculously to tear them down, bit by bit.

This brings me to another really important way that God shows himself - through history, biblical stories, and his encounters with those around us. We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, speaking audibly for us to hear God’s wonders. The bible is an amazing book full of God working and revealing himself. Our history is full of ways that God has acted to order, restore, and bring hope. The people next to us, in this church, around the world, on YouTube, and more have stories of how God has worked. Why don’t we believe these? Why do we have to experience it for ourselves?

In our story today, the royal official approached Jesus to heal his son, probably because he had heard about the wedding miracle. In some way, the story had led this man to come to Jesus, that is a good start but that is only the first step of faith. Yes, we all need to take this step and we should use any vision of Jesus as an impetus to approach him as should others.

We still need to keep digging though. This man had yet to really trust Jesus. Think about it this way. When someone is sick, simply trying another procedure does not demand much faith. It’s more like trusting advice, which only goes so far.

What should this man have done or should we do? I think Scripture gives us many visions of this. You can think about the centurion who didn’t see himself worthy for Jesus to enter, but knew he could command a healing from far away. Or the bleeding woman, who knew if she only needed to touch the hem of Jesus’ cloak. We can think about Peter’s mother who got up to serve Jesus the minute she was healed. We can think of Ruth or Hannah, or Sarah, or Mary or Joseph, and so on. All of these people saw God move in powerful ways, but even before they did they stepped out in great faith knowing that God would meet them there. And guess what, God did.

The bigger and sadder reality is that so often we don’t always believe in the miracles God does give us. This royal official believed because he understood and interpreted the signs from Jesus. But would we. If someone was told that God would heal their friend or family member and it happened at one point or another. Would that person believe? Would you? Especially, if there were a bunch of other doctors, nurses, treatments, etc. involved. I have seen way more obvious miracles from God, but just as often I have seen people explain them away. They turn an act of God, something wonderful, special and precious into luck, simple talent, or perseverance. Sure, I’m clever enough that I could make an excuse for why anything happens, but I’m wise enough to see that dismissing something so profound and beautiful is way more foolish. I still can’t help my doubt sometimes when I hear about a miracle, but I actively doubt that as much as I seek for the greater truths.

Yet all of this still ignores something really important - we should love and seek God simply for who he is, not what he can do for us, or how he has proven himself. Sure as God is love he is going to do this anyways, but our relationship with anyone shouldn’t be built upon what they can do for us. I remember one of my greatest struggles as an actor was that a lot of friendships weren’t really friendships. Almost everywhere I went there were people trying to figure out what they could get out of you and if I wasn’t doing well in my career at the time I would literally see people disappear. We know that is no relationship and so why do we so often treat Jesus that way - turning to him when we need something from him and then forgetting him just as quickly. We should be loving and seeking God simply because we want him. Guess what? If we do that we’ll get everything else too, but that’s not the point.

This leads to something else really important, we need to believe without miracles, because it is the only way we are going to help the world become God’s Kingdom of peace, joy, and love. God’s Kingdom is a place of bounty, trust, fellowship, generousness, home and so much more, but if we don’t trust that kingdom when we can’t see it - then we aren’t living in it or building it. Let me explain. In our lives we will often feel stretched or that a new decision may stretch us. This is natural, but that stretch, that discomfort can cause us not to act. If we act out of this fear, we promote a kingdom of scarcity, of disconnect, of isolation and so much more. Our lack of faith, can often create the world we do not want.

A quick example - when I had been applying at churches, just before I came to St. Matthew’s, there were a lot of places that could have worked. Yet in prayer, God kept guiding me to take my name off the list. I was only weeks away from my contract ending and there was one last place - God again told me it wasn’t right. I only had the slightest inclination (outside of God’s word that there was something more). If I had responded in fear, or discomfort, I would have stuck with one of these other places and my life and ministry would look wholly different and so would this place. We have worked together in faith and seen God work in this place. We need to act and step out in faith - even when God’s miraculous signs are not leading the way. That is the only way we will see, know and build His Kingdom in our midst.

Guess what? God will still do miracles. He still responded to this royal official. He still will meet us in whatever faith we can spare. He still responds to the widow who is blaming Elijah and to Elijah who is blaming God. God works anyways. He will use our faith when we give it to him, and the more faith we give the better but he continues to move, act, and love no matter what our faith is.

In knowing that God will respond and act, we need to trust how he responds - always discerning what comes from him and what doesn’t. I’m not completely comfortable with the narrative from Elijah, I don’t think that would fly in our modern context, but none-the-less I see that God worked and didn’t something amazing and wonderful - even if I’m uncomfortable by it. Notice something about the Royal official's request. He is consistently trying to get Jesus to come to his son to heal him. Yet Jesus says, “Your Son will live”. The royal official believed him and changed his demands, thoughts, and plans. God worked beyond what he had expected. The same thing may happen to us when we ask. God will hear our request, but he might fulfill it in a way and time that we did not ask. Or he might know something more important for us - at least in this life.

So to close off, we should believe, search for, and ask for miracles. God wants to act and show himself to us. There are so many other ways that God is revealing himself, so we should also seek these out too. Seek out the miracles he has done through history, to the people you know and in nature itself. Our relationship and belief in God should ultimately rest on a simple love for who God is and a desire to spend more time with him - like any good relationship. God will respond, he will act, we need to trust and follow what he is doing - knowing that he is shaping all things for good. In doing this we will join him and work miracles in our lives. AMEN