Signs and Wonders

Preached at All Saints Chapel on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
(6 June 2010)

In the Name of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.


In today’s lessons, we see several events that defy all human logic or scientific explanation. Such events are called miracles, because they demonstrate the power of God.

In the First Lesson, God miraculously demonstrates his power to provide by providing Elijah a place to stay; and then demonstrates his power to provide and sustain for this widow woman and her son by providing them with enough to eat during a severe drought and famine. God then demonstrates his power over life and death when, through the Prophet Elijah, he raises the widow’s dead son back to life. That’s pretty impressive stuff, isn’t it!

Then in the Gospel Lesson, we see even more impressive stuff – when Jesus himself demonstrates his power as God’s Son, by raising another widow’s son back to life. What is striking about these miracles is not that they happened, but the reaction of the people in response to each of these miracles. Let’s take a closer look.

In Elijah’s miracle concerning the grain and oil, which kept them all fed and alive during a severe drought, there was little or no recorded reaction from the widow; it’s as if she just expected it to happen, almost taking it for granted that every day, there’d be enough to eat. She went about her daily life, business as usual, cooking and preparing meal after meal, without an apparent second thought to the fact that there would be enough grain and oil for that day.

But then something happens that does cause a reaction – her son dies. Her reaction was a lot different. She begins to blame Elijah and even God, for allowing it to happen. It is not until Elijah raises her son back to life, that she is prepared to recognize God’s power, when she says, “NOW I know that you are a man of God, and the word of God in your mouth is true!”

Never mind that she’s been eating and surviving for years, blessed by the same power and word of God to miraculous fill her stomach. It’s not until she sees something really spectacular that she believes.

The same thing happens when Jesus raises the man back to life. There Jesus is, preaching, teaching, healing, walking on water, feeding thousands from almost nothing, and a hundred other amazing things. Yet it is not until he raises this dead man back to life, that the people are ready to declare, “A great prophet has risen among us!”

I guess if you’re a prophet or even the preacher or teacher, and you want to be taken seriously by people, you have to do something really dramatic, almost miraculous, like raising people back to life, before people will really believe in the power of God, or in the Word of God. That is exactly what is happening in these two stories.

The widow in the first lesson was completely unimpressed by the fact that God was providing for her needs each and every day. Was it was a miracle that she was being fed? Yes… but just an ordinary, everyday kind of miracle – and she missed it! She overlooked the everyday miracles, and failed to see the power of God at work in her life. It is not until something spectacular, something flashy and amazing – like raising her son back to life – that she recognizes and acknowledges God’s power and God’s provision in her life. The same thing happened to Jesus!

People are impressed by the flashy, the glamorous, the spectacular, the grandstanding and mega events, and the really BIG miracles. Most people overlook the little miracles that take place in their lives each and every day that speak to the power of God, and his ability to provide for us and take care of us. They live like the widow, almost feeling entitled to these every day miracles, without even the slightest recognition of the power of God, or the provision of God in their lives.

Many people go about their daily lives with barely the first thought of God. They seem to take it all for granted… or even have the expectation that God’s power and provision is some sort of right. Many people go about their daily lives as if God owed them something… without giving God any acknowledgment, thanks or praise; and this entitlement mentality as crept into people’s attitude towards the Church. They expect the Church to be all and do all these things, provide programs, feed them, care for them, entertain them, and be available 24-7 to respond like a combination ambulance service and social services department – as if it were owed to them – as if it were an entitlement.

It’s because, by and large, as modern Christians, we have become Consumers of Religious Goods and Services and essentially abandoned the Scriptural model of being Producers of Good Works and Makers of more Disciples. We are Consumers instead of Producers; and we fail to recognize and respond to the power of God in our lives, fail to recognize the every day miracles all around us… and we clamor and demand and expect more and more and more from God, and even from his Church – without the slightest thought or desire to surrender to God, to devote ourselves to God, and to live our lives for God, or demonstrate our faith in God in and through his Church.

Our approach to Faith, and God, and his Church are the similar to our approach to how we shop, which store we like, or which restaurant we choose. So long as the store or restaurant has the right selection, good environment, good service, and friendly staff – we will continue to patronize that store or restaurant, and even encourage others to go there. And, so long as the Church has good programs, a comfortable environment, excellent services and entertainment, and a friendly staff, we will continue to go there and even invite our friends. So long as God is providing our basic needs in a timely way, and not imposing too many expectations on us, then we are happy to be Christians. See the similarities? That is the thinking of a Consumer, not a Producer; because at the heart of it is ME – what I want.

I want a thick steak. I want a new sweater. I want to feel good when I leave Church. I want a good program to be provided for ME and my kids… instead of “How can I help develop a good program for OUR kids and the Families of OUR neighborhood?”

And we go on every day, and so long as we have a job, or a little money in the bank, or a decent place to live, or plenty to eat, or enough time to do what we want when we want, then God is really good. We feel good about God, feel good about Faith, feel good about the Church. We sing a little louder, say “Amen” a little stronger, shake hands with the preacher a little longer, and content our selves with that smug sophistication of a good shopper, that we’ve made the right choice in choosing God, choosing faith, and choosing to be a part of his Church.

However, when we lose our job, or are running a little short on cash, or struggling to make ends meet, or struggling in our relationships, or our kids get in trouble, or the car breaks down again, or someone gets sick, or even when someone close to us dies… then suddenly God is a toad, Jesus is a fraud, the Bible is a lie, the Preacher is a jerk, and the Church doesn’t care about anything but my money, has too many expectations, doesn’t appreciate me, and doesn’t give me that warm and fuzzy feeling that I used to get and need to have in order to assure me that all this religion, faith, Jesus, God, and Church stuff is really right and really real.

Remember the lessons… So long as he widow was eating, she was happy and content… almost complacent about the power of God that was being manifest right in front of her eyes each and every day. But… the moment her son died, she started blaming God and calling the prophet names.

If people really recognized God’s work and God’s power that is manifest in their lives each and every day; if people were really thankful and aware of how much God takes care of them each and every day; if they saw the everyday miracles all around them – even when things are tough, when life kicks you in the teeth, then they’d stop finding fault with the Church, stop belly-aching about God, stop griping about the preacher, stop grumbling about what they don’t have, and stop murmuring about things they don’t like such as obedience, devotion, commitment, and responsibility. If we would recognize the every day miracles all around us, then we’d start living as Producers of Good works and Makers of more Disciples, instead of living as Consumers of Religious Goods and Services. We’d live for God each and every day – completely and totally and without any hesitation or any apology – even when faced with life’s uncertainties, difficulties, illnesses, and even death.

This gratitude, this contentment, and this recognition of the provision and power of God in all the little miracles that we experience in our daily lives, would express itself in a renewed devotion to that same God, a cheerful willingness to do what he expects us to do, and a joyful service as a true disciple and follower of Christ in and through His Church; and we would work to make a difference in the world around us.

We wouldn’t need to be constantly amazed and bedazzled by the spectacular, the flashy, the exciting, the entertaining. We’d live in that quietly assured and contented place, confident of God’s love and care for us. It would change our lives, and motivate us to lead others to experience and share it as well.

The point of these two lessons, I believe, is to make us aware of just how selfish and even short-sighted we sometimes are, concerning God’s power and provision in our lives; and to help us see the signs and wonders that fill every moment of every day in our lives.

For example, it was a miracle that we all woke up from sleep this morning. Think about that… God could have allowed each and every one of us to die in our sleep last night. But have we thanked him for bringing us in safety to this new day, or did we just grump around in our usual morning way, without a second thought to the alternative of not being alive?

Every breath we take is a miracle from God the Creator. Think about that… the exact mixture of oxygen in the atmosphere, the proper breathing apparatus in our chests which enable us to consume and exchange this oxygen, and fill our bodies with the breath of life. It’s a miracle, for God holds your next breath in his hand.

And consider this… despite the tough economy and bad times we all face, not a single person here is starving to death this morning. Sure, we may be ready to each lunch again, but we’re not really hungry… not really starving to death. God has provided us with so much wonderful and different kinds of food, and we abuse our bodies with so much over consumption.

Yet, whilst we fill our guts, we grumble when there isn’t any more pie or cake, or we don’t have the right brand of cookies in the cupboard, or the meat isn’t tender enough to our taste, or the bread is a little stale, or the coffee is too strong, or there’s no sugar for my coffee. My friends, it’s a miracle that we even have food.

And think about this… look into the face of that little person in your life, that you call son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter; and consider the miracle of life itself. Consider for a moment, how God created us in his own image; gave us souls; and breathed into us the breath of life. And despite the difficulties that arise when trying to raise that little person, think of all the love and joy and wonder that little person brings to your life… and just how empty your life would be without them. Their life is a little miracle… and as they grow and learn, your life will be blessed by all the other miracles that will follow…. When they learn to count, when they bring you that first dandelion flower, when they reach up and take your hand as you cross the street, and run to you with arms wide open for the best hug in the world.

My friends, we are surrounded by miracles from God’s hand… each and every day… from the sunrise each morning, to the birds singing in the trees, to the clouds floating over head, to the rain that waters our gardens and yards, to the strength we have in our bodies – despite the aches and pains, to work, and play, and enjoy this miracle we call life.

And yet, on top of all this, there is one more miracle that we so often take for granted… the miracle that Saint Paul talks about in the second lesson today – how God because of his love, saves our souls through the power of Christ. That is the miracle of all miracles…. That we, the rebellious and hardheaded children of God should still taste eternal life through the merits of Christ and the salvation he Jesus brings us.

So don’t wait for the spectacular response to some crisis in your life before you are willing to recognize God’s power and provision. Don’t wait for some grandiose demonstrations of God’s power before you are willing to give in to God and sing his praises.

Don’t be a greedy, selfish, demanding, ungrateful, and indifferent consumer of all that God has provided – including spiritual things. Chose to live each and every moment praising Him for the signs and wonders he performs all around us... each and every day. Discover the joy and wonder of God’s hand at work in the world around us, and let that joy and wonder motivate you to a truer, deeper love and devotion that finds its expression as a Producer of good works in God’s Name.

And when life does get tough… and it will and does… you’ll be better able to cope with it because you’ve placed your confidence in the miracle working wonder God, and in his Son – Jesus Christ our Lord.

Signs and wonders… they’re all around us, if we will but open our eyes and take them all in… instead of taking them all for granted. Amen.