It Seemed Miraculous to Me

Today’s readings address mortality, miracles, and the scope of salvation raising many questions and challenges for today’s Christians.

How can we affirm the miraculous resuscitation of Tabitha/Dorcas in the scientific age? Can faith not only move mountains but also raise the dead?

What gives us the power to confront the inevitable and necessary losses and challenges of life?

What enables us to go through the valley of the shadow of death, when there is no way around it and to live with our fear and terror – or panic and anxiety – knowing that God has the final word and that the good shepherd will guide our path home?

Who are the sheep, and is the scope of salvation limited – as the gospel suggests – and/or potentially infinite as Revelation asserts?

The reading from Acts might remind you of the story of Jairus’ daughter which is related in the gospels. It is a story told by early Christians to demonstrate the mighty scope of God’s power. Like Jairus’ daughter, Tabitha – or Dorcas – is presumed to be dead and then awakened with a word from the healer Peter.

In this story, Peter is following in the footsteps of Jesus, performing marvelous acts through the power of God. This is a wonderful story, but what shall we do with it? In our lives, the dead simply don’t come back to life, especially those who have been dead for significant lengths of time and are defined as “brain dead.” We don’t expect such miraculous events.

I know that I have stood at enough bedsides and gravesides to recognize the finality of death – many of you have too. It is not that we lack faith. We simply are unable by our prayers or faith to defy the predictable laws of nature. Nor are we sure that we want zombies in our midst even if they might come back to life in answer to our prayers.

We do lift people up in prayer even as they die – recognizing God’s presence in death as in life. There is usually no physical miracle, despite our prayers. We hope that those for whom we pray are in God’s hands and that those who love them experience healing in the midst of grief. Are our prayers unsuccessful, or is there a deeper healing of which we are often unaware?

I remember being called to the ICU in Edmonton. A man was dying and surrounding him was his extended family praying for him to be cured – to be restored to health – for a miracle. As I spent time with them, I learned that the family had been fractured – they didn’t all get along – they had been estranged one from another. Like so many families, it took this crisis to bring them together. I realized eventually that a miracle was occurring – that healing was taking place – and that the dying person was part of it. He did not get up and walk out of the ICU, but his family was miraculously restored.

Miracles – defined as acts of power that transform cells and souls – do occur. Our prayers can be a tipping point between health and illness – life and death. Yet, our prayers and their impact appear to occur within an orderly causal matrix, which both limits and inspires. We can pray boldly, trusting God, while recognizing that some diseases reach a point in which death is the only expectation and the best result. Then we must pray for healing – a sense of peace and wholeness in relationship with God, when a cure is no longer possible.

My mother had a stroke in 2018 and when I visited with my sisters we were all quite shocked and dismayed at how much it had affected her. Mom was bedridden and virtually incapable of communication. She seemed unable and uninterested in participating in life at all. We truly believed that death was coming fast and that it would be a blessing for her and for us. Some of my siblings were able to visit more frequently in subsequent months and said mom was getting stronger, but I did not believe it possible until I saw it with my own eyes. In many ways it was like she had been raised to new life. She was more interested and engaged – more alert and responsive – more herself. I knew that she was still near the end of her life, but healing had occurred in ways I never expected – she lived until May 13, 2022 – and those remaining years it seemed miraculous to me. I wonder what you have experienced that seemed miraculous to you…

Although Peter raised Tabitha/Dorcus to life, eventually she died as did all the New Testament characters. We may pray for a cure, but healing is that for which we yearn. We need to trust that nothing – not even death and disability – can separate us from the love of God.

That sense of trust is beautifully articulated in the 23rd Psalm as it describes what it feels like to be home with God. The psalm reminds us that our trust is in God, not necessarily in a worry-free life. Peace is the result of God’s presence, not apparent success. The Psalmist affirms that we will fear no evil, despite the reality of threat. He knows that he must go through the valley, and live with his fears, getting through the journey only because of his confidence in God’s companionship. God makes a way where there is no way and provides us comfort with what cannot be changed but must simply be endured.

Psalm 23 is the source of great consolation to those who reach the end of their efforts. God is with us as a fellow sufferer who understands. Aware of God’s presence, we can find wholeness during life’s inevitable crises and when there can’t be a cure, there can be a healing. Healing is the experience of God’s presence – the sense of trust and peace that God is with us, not only by the still waters of calm and serenity but also in the dark valley of shadow.

The psalm is thought to be the expression of King David who wonders how best to fulfil his role as the shepherd of Israel. Drawing on his experience as a shepherd, he ponders the question and is led to a deeper insight into God’s relationship with people. David discerns something of God’s love and comes to realize that as long as we live our life with faith in God then we will experience the reassurance and security that sheep experience in the presence of their trusted shepherd.

David is also aware that life is not always easy or straightforward – illness, accident, bereavement and loss are part of the human experience. However – convinced of the continuing concern, compassion and loyalty of God – David affirms God’s loving presence will be as real in the dark and difficult days as it is in days of sunshine.

The author of Revelation upholds much the same ideal using different imagery – giving us a peek into a vision of heaven. The angelic host are described as – Divine Parent, and the Lamb of God – the victorious Christ – and like those who have walked the through the valley of the shadow of death, this author discovers that all tragedy, terror, and trauma will be healed through the power of God. The martyrs may be lost to us, but they are not lost to God. God will wipe away every tear – heal what is broken – and bring wholeness to our wounds. Heavenly hope does not turn us away from the world but enables us to live courageously when all external hope seems to be gone. We will all experience necessary losses, but no loss is final in light of God’s everlasting love.

The Revelation passage also posits an infinite number of heavenly choristers. Is this an implicit universalism, inviting us to belief in a wideness in God’s mercy, rather than a narrow gate? God’s grace is generous – perhaps more generous than our own limited perspectives.

John’s Gospel reveals Jesus’ unity with God as the source of our confidence. Jesus reveals God’s nature to us, and calls us to be his own, aligned with God’s vision. Jesus’ sheep – like those beside still waters enjoying green pastures – are ultimately safe, and their safety lies in their alignment with God’s vision for them and the world. When we listen to the shepherd’s voice, we are home, regardless of life’s circumstances.

Sometimes life’s circumstances are overwhelming – it can be a scary, out-of-control world. There is evil in the world – and sickness – and devastation that comes to us in all kinds of ways. There is also great good in the world – God creates and calls the creation good – very good. There are marvels and mysteries and miracles in abundance if we can open our hearts and minds to the possibility. Each in their own way our texts today assert that we can live in this dangerous, unpredictable, frightening, perplexing, weird and wondrous world with confidence because God is with us.

The Lord is my shepherd in life – in death – in life beyond death. Fear not. Amen