April 29, 2007
4 Easter , Acts 9:36-43
“Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.” Amen.
This makes my third sermon in a row that focuses on a reading about ordinary people experiencing miracles. For the Easter vigil, there was Matthew’s story about Mary Magdalene and the other Mary going to the tomb early on Easter morning and running into an angel and the risen Jesus. The next Sunday, doubting Thomas and the other disciples were in a locked room and the risen Jesus appeared in their midst. And this morning, Peter raises the widow Tabitha to life again. Since it’s the season of Easter, it makes perfect sense that these stories are part of our lectionary schedule. We’ve come to expect these kinds of stories at this time of year. In fact, they can actually start to feel so familiar that we take for granted their incredible subject matter – the miraculous way that God is intervening in ordinary lives.
What must it have felt like for Tabitha to open her eyes and see Peter? Did she know she’d been dead? Was her illness completely gone? Did she feel any different now, any closer to God? How did she feel about becoming a poster child for Peter to take around and show everyone? What would Tabitha do next with her newfound life? Would she appreciate each day more now, or be overwhelmed by all the new expectations that must have been placed on her by her community?
And those widows! How confusing for them to have been weeping one minute over the death of their friend Tabitha and then to have her back among them again. Did they wonder whether she’d really been dead in the first place? Was there any jealousy there that suddenly Tabitha was getting all this special attention? Would the widows have trouble treating her normally now?
And what about Peter himself? Had he been confident that he’d be able to raise Tabitha from death? Or did he make all those widows leave the room because he was scared it wouldn’t work? Did he ever feel a little self-congratulatory about what he’d done or was he able to remain humble, knowing that he’d only been able to act through God’s power?
In my Encyclopedia of Biblical Theology, a miracle is defined as “an event, apprehensible to the senses, through which the intervention of God in the world is accomplished.” Essentially, a miracle is God’s breaking into the world, God’s getting involved in our lives, getting close and personal, reversing expectations. Sort of a sneak preview of what things will look like when the Kingdom of God is ushered in. Frequently when we come here on Sundays we hear stories about miracles. But we’re always at a safe distance. Can you imagine how it would feel to actually be present and witness a miracle? How would it change us?
During my time here as a seminarian I’ve had a fabulous lay committee. This committee is 6 members of St. Aidan’s that listen to my sermons and come to the various events and classes that I’m involved in and give me feedback on how I’m doing. They let me run ideas by them and I get a chance to see how what I say in my sermons actually gets heard. It has been incredibly helpful. Well, this group got to talking about my sermon about Thomas from a few weeks back. Poor Thomas who knew and walked with Jesus and yet refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he was able to see the risen Lord for himself. And we started talking about how much easier it would be to believe in all of this if we could have had that opportunity to see Jesus face to face too; if we could witness a miracle ourselves rather than just hearing about them, and trying to have faith in them, 2000 years later.
But I wonder if it’s really that simple. Does faith suddenly get easier for those who witness miracles? Would the people who were confronted with this extraordinary event we hear about today – Tabitha, the other widows, Peter, all of the other onlookers – would any of them ever have a moment’s doubt again, or would this experience always be something they could turn to for certain knowledge of God love for them? Would having witnessed this miracle forever give them absolute assurance of Jesus’ resurrection? Would they never again have any qualms about the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives? Or is that just how it looks from our view, some 2000 years later?
There were plenty of folks who were present for Jesus’ miracles that managed to explain them away or used them as reason to persecute him instead of believe in him. Even Jesus’ own disciples who saw him raise Lazarus from the dead, multiply the loaves and fishes, heal countless sick and hurting people – even these disciples left Jesus at the cross. Peter denied having known Jesus. Thomas doubted his resurrection. So just being there for a miracle is no guarantee of anything. Even those who saw and believed did not have perfect and unblemished faith.
The unfortunate fact is that all experiences of God, no matter how intense, are only partial; and all of us who experience God here on earth, no matter how intensely, are only human. That is why, I think, one of the truest statements of the human condition is that of the father whose child Jesus had miraculously healed who says, “Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.”
Most of us won’t be the recipients of a miraculous reviving from the dead and we may not witness a miraculous healing or multiplication of food, but I think all of us have the opportunity to witness God’s breaking into the world in smaller ways, ways that can help bring us closer to the miracles that we hear about in the Bible.
*God broke into my world the other day when for the first time my baby initiated a game of peek-a-boo. He held a napkin over his face and then pulled it away with a big grin. At first, I thought it was just a random jerky arm movement, but then he kept doing it, so pleased with himself. This little being, created from just a couple of my and Holden’s cells, is becoming his own little funny person.
*God broke in at Bill Darnell’s funeral last week when Charles was singing “My God How Great Thou Art” and his love for his friend made those lyrics a prayer for everyone that was here celebrating the life of an incredible person.
*God broke in last Sunday when little Luke Trumbo was baptized and he just radiated peace and joy as he joined the fold of our Christian community.
*God broke in again a few days ago when one of my girlfriends who is going through a very hard separation realized that despite it all she is finally starting to feel healthy and whole again.
*And, oddly enough, God broke in during American Idol the other night. I am not a big reality TV fan, but we heard Bono was supposed to be on the show so we had it on. It was essentially a telethon to raise money for global poverty. It was fairly cheesy and we thought a bit manipulative, but still, this show that is generally devoted to voyeuristic consumerism raised tens of millions of dollars for critical global causes.
None of these things are miracles, but they are small ways that God is breaking into our world, communicating with us, trying to help us past our unbelief. They aren’t on par with Peter’s raising Tabitha to life again, but they are examples of God’s love and presence that can help sustain us for a while. That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when we doubt, when we feel like God is far away; there is no recipe for perfect faith. But, whether or not we’re feeling particularly faithful at any given time, maybe these small moments will help us to remember that God is always there – constantly speaking, acting, and loving us ordinary people – and sometimes that is miracle enough.
Amen.
ER