Expect a Miracle

Part 3: “Expect a Miracle”

(Series: What Do You Expect this Christmas?)

Sunday, December 12, 2010 – Third Sunday of Advent

Matthew 11:2-11 (Isaiah 35:1-10)

John’s question doesn’t seem very “Christmassy” now does it?

How many of us would dare to peek into the manger on Christmas morning and ask:
“Is this it? Is this little baby what all the fuss is about?”
This isn’t what we were expecting!

Where’s the Messiah to bring down Herod and release John from prison?

Is somebody better coming along?

Are you sure we’re backing the right guy? Really?

Jesus’ offers an answer that points us to the prophet Isaiah…

In chapter 35, Isaiah says, when the Messiah comes…

“The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again;

The lame will leap; the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb”

Signs and wonders will signal Messiah’s arrival…

Even John has to be reminded of what to watch for…what to expect.

You see, we tend to get exactly what we expect…

Do we expect the miraculous or the mundane?

Let us pray:

We hear the echo of a promise: “The Messiah is coming!”

Are you really the One?

We hear you answer: “I am the One who changes the world.
Are you really ready for me?”

With God’s help, we are ready to follow you. We are ready to greet you!

Lead us now in the study of your Word and help us to prepare the way for you.

Amen

Once again we are confronted by a text that doesn’t seem to fit into the Christmas season…

Instead of celebrating the angel’s promise or Mary’s joy, or Elizabeth’s excitement,
we’re questioning whether Jesus really is the promised Messiah…

And, why not? In today’s story we find John in prison…Not a great place to be…

He’s wondering – If my cousin Jesus is the Messiah, then why doesn’t he bust me out?

We really can’t blame John for being confused…

He’s been out in the desert preaching about the coming Messiah…

He has certain expectations about what this person will do for the people…

He preached about a new Kingdom…

He talked about a baptism of fire…Gathering the good and burning up the bad…

Now he’s rotting in prison because of what he said and Jesus isn’t helping.

I’m not surprised he’s asking this question.

The thing is, Jesus really doesn’t give a straight answer…

He sends the message back to John that the blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk…

And there is a very good reason why he answered in such a way…

First, he depends on John – and us – to recall to memory and listen to the traditions of our faith;

He sends us back to the prophet Isaiah…

He’s counting on John to remember the stories of his faith and put two and two together.

The miracles tell the story.

Second, he’s asking us to think about what miracles are really about…

Throughout Scripture miracles are used to point the people toward God…

The miraculous show of power or healing or deliverance has always been about showing people who God really is…

The Pillar of fire showed God as Guide and Protector…

Manna from heaven showed God as Provider…

Daniel saved in the lion’s den showed God’s power over all creatures…

Jesus demonstrated countless healings to show God as Healer…

Jesus’ Resurrection proves God’s dominion over death…

Miracles point us to God and God’s absolute power over everything!

But all that “miracle stuff” is in the past…That stuff doesn’t happen today does it?

I think that depends on what you expect and what you look for…

How do we see miracles in the midst of the harsh realities of life?

Particularly now – during the Christmas season – we tend to regard sickness, tragedy,
and death as somehow being worse.

If we hear that someone died this close to Christmas we immediately think, “What a shame. The family’s holidays will never be the same.”

Matthew’s text this morning reminds us that it is precisely because we live in a world full of sickness, tragedy, death, and sadness that Jesus came into the world in the first place…

If we cannot recall this core truth from the Gospel during Advent, then why are we celebrating this coming of Christ at all?

Christ arrived in the middle of our tragedy
to show us the miracle that is our life with Him.

We must expect God’s miracles of healing and wholeness and hope…

We must look for and recognize God’s miracles,
even when they don’t happen just the way we want them to happen,
at exactly the moment we think they should happen.

We need to realize that the miracle we want may not be the miracle that God knows we need…The miracle points us to a deeper understanding of God; maybe our version of the miracle would lead us away.

Belief in miracles means believing that God knows what we need better than we do…

That is true faith!

As we prepare for Christmas this year, I invite you to expect to see miracles…

Expect God to do the things that God promises…

Expect miracles to happen on God’s schedule…

Expect miracles to point you to a deeper understanding of who God is and
how your relationship with God is supposed to work…

Expect a miracle to lead you to hope and healing this Christmas.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen!