Year A Proper 24 WED 2020 Every Miracle Brings...

 Year A Proper 24 WEDNESDAY, 21 October 2020

Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Every Miracle Brings...”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Luke 10:17-24

The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’

I read a line in a commentary the other day that has been stuck in my spiritual cud. I chew and chew and chew, trying to decide if I agree. I think I do. But I need to wrestle with things, that is how my faith works most days.

The line in the commentary was on Jesus doing a healing, and the line was, “With every miracle comes a message.” When God steps out of the laws of universe God wrote and plays by most of the time, God does so to not just do the miracle, but to teach us something that we would not have learned otherwise. Like I said, I think I believe this. I just had never heard it phrased that way and I want to be sure, so I unpack in spaces like this so I can wrestle with it externally instead of just internally. That is another way I know how serious I am, when something moves out of my brain and comes out my mouth.

Here we see Jesus talking about the exorcisms, these miracles that the 70 followers performed through the power of God. What does he say about these miracles? 

“See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

The miracle, what they did. The message, “You see these things that are so great? They are nothing compared to what you cannot see! Your names are written in the Book of Life!”

This was what happened when Jesus forgave the sins of the man lowered down, and then made him walk so that people knew he had authority over both the seen and the unseen. And in Jesus’ teaching, he repeatedly shows that the unseen is what has his attention. The Kingdom of Heaven! Store up for yourselves treasure in Heaven. These miracles? More important is that your names are written in Heaven.

Friends, I think that we are on the cusp of great things, momentous things, unbelievable things. I pray that they are wondrous and miraculous, even. I think the seasons we are still in the midst of will be let go of for what is to come. I pray my faith rings true. But even if I am soooooo wrong, I know that God is with us. Each and every one of us.

We need not ever fear. God is with us. Christ is sending us out, and will welcome us home. And the things we will see are but an amuse-bouche of what is to come. 

Every miracle brings a message. I cannot wait for both! Amen