ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 11, 2022
Today, I begin a new study based on Dr. Amy-Jill Levine’s book, Signs and Wonders. Once again, Dr. Levine (she tells us to call her AJ) has put together a really thoughtful study, this one on the concept of miracles. She is willing to wrestle with the multitude of questions that people have been asking or wanting to ask. In the Introduction, she writes:
“If our major sense of Jesus is ‘great miracle worker,’ we’ve missed the point of the New Testament. Paul does not mention the miracles; he stresses what he sees as the central point: the faithfulness of Jesus in going to the cross, and the faithfulness of God in resurrecting him.”
This raises some interesting questions, among them: What is the purpose of including the miracle stories in the Gospels? How did the first audiences of the Gospels hear and understand the miracle stories? How should we understand them?
In the movie, Bruce Almighty, God (played by Morgan Freeman) says: “A single mom who’s working two jobs and still finds time to take her kid to soccer practice, that’s a miracle.”
What exactly is a miracle? What do we see, think, believe, or do when we hear a miracle story or witness what we might call a miracle? Is this what we will be exploring in the weeks ahead?
The wonderfully creative methods your love uses to make its way into the world, O Lord, are nothing short of miraculous. And I am among those who are blessed. Amen.
