Making Miracles
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
-John 14:12 NRSV
I’m assuming you have heard the story about the man shipwrecked on an island who prays for deliverance over and over and over again, all while telling the boat and plane that “I’m fine, I’m just waiting for God to take me off this island.”
There was a man who came into Creekwood one time who was indignant that God wasn’t listening to his pleas for help. He had been in a tough financial situation for a long time, which had only gotten worse when he’d been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. I listened to him as he asked for financial help and told me that God didn’t care about him, but I also listened with curiosity as he told me about his gambling habits, cigarette use, propensity to buy junk food or eat out every night, and other sure-fire pathways to financial ruin.
There was a group of women who walked by a homeless man in downtown McKinney. One broken-hearted woman said to the others, “I wish there was something we could do for him.” Another of the women generously offered, “Let’s make sure we pray for him today.” They agreed to do so, while the first woman shuffled all 4 of her shopping bags into one hand so she could open the door of another boutique clothing shop.”
Jesus’ words in John 14:12 can be confusing when we view “greater works” as quality over quantity. If we assume that Jesus means we’re going to surpass walking on water and healing people’s blindness by rubbing mud on their eyes, it’s only natural to assume we aren’t part of the solution. As many swimming pools as I tried to walk on as a kid with a lot of imagination and faith, I still have swim every time.
But, the Gospel of John isn’t about us becoming Jesus, it is about us becoming a part of Christ. Look at these three passages together:
John 5:19-20 :: “Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.”
John 14:12 :: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 21:17 :: “He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
God empowers Jesus.
Jesus empowers us.
We empower the world.
While we are to pray in all circumstances and ask for anything that we need to fulfill God’s will, the coming of Christ was never an invitation to go on about our lives as though we have no agency or power. Quite the opposite. The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” and while that certainly carries a distinct title for Jesus that we cannot claim – it also is part of the anointing that Jesus gives to us through the Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus saying, “Abide in me, as I abide in you?”
The coming of Christ was to return us to the original intention of humanity, to be co-creators of God’s peaceful world as we are saved by Jesus to realize the image of God we are created in.
God created us in God’s image.
Jesus re-creates us back to God’s image.
We get to shape the world in God’s image.
Over the next 4 weeks, we’re going to dig into the miracle stories in John and highlight how we can make miracles happen through our missions. You’ll see signage about “Close to Home” on the Mission Wall, because there are miracles that need happening right in our backyard in the 75069 zip code. I hope that you will make worship a habit this month, and take advantage of the opportunity to sign up for mission information and opportunities.
Two such opportunity are the High School Student Mission Trip and the Middle School Student Mission Trip. Kevin has sent details out to the students, but if you missed that information contact Kevin. For the rest of us, we get the privilege of financially supporting our students as they embark into the world to make miracles happen.
If you’d like to get a jump start on supporting their efforts to serve in mission and bring youth interns onto the summer staff, you can give directly to Student Missions HERE.
This first week, we’ll explore the miracles we can help make happen through our partnership with Samaritan Inn. I look forward to what God will do once again in worship together.
Peace,
David Lessner
PS – Please return your pledge card before or by February 2. You can do so by bringing it to the office, to worship on Sunday, or filling out the online pledge form.
