Miracles

Sermon for May 20, 2007
Miracles Deborah Rucki Drake

Have you ever asked God to show you a miracle? Do you want to see a miracle? Have you ever seen a miracle? The word miracle is derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning “something wonderful”. We, as Christians, might interchange the word miracle with divine intervention because we may feel it involves the action of God. We call something a miracle because it is against the laws of nature as we know it or against living as we know it.
There are a few miracles or something wonderful events that occur in this mornings reading from Acts. The scripture reading starts with Paul and Silas encountering a slave girl who is held captive by the men making money off of her and also by an evil force within her, an annoying spirit was holding her captive. Paul and Silas set her free by casting out the evil spirit from within her.
We are told that because they set free the captive girl that Silas and Paul were whipped and put into a horrible hole in the ground called a prison. It seems the real reason for the persecution of Silas and Paul was economic. The business people had political power and so they used the public officials to vent their anger. The people in power protected the economic interest of the men who were enslaving the girl for profit.
Silas and Paul were abused, locked into a horrific place called prison and yet we are told Silas and Paul displayed hope for the miracle to be released from their suffering. They were suffering immensely and there was a prison guard watching over them to make sure they could not be freed from their suffering, they were locked in their cells and their feet fastened and the prison guard held the key to their freedom.
During the night it seems a miracle did occur, there was an earthquake and the prison was so rattled that the cell doors opened and all the imprisoned were set free. The life of all in that prison was rattled and the earthquake transformed the prison, it turned into a series of open rooms. The prisoner’s chains were loosed and all were set free. The guard who was responsible for keeping the prisoners locked up had been sleeping, his eyes were closed and than he awakens and opened his eyes to see the chains have been removed from the cell doors and he assumed all the prisoners had been set free.
The guard was in such despair that he was ready to commit suicide and he was trembling in fear. Paul and Silas did not leave the guard in his despair but instead sat with the guard and spoke to him about the message of salvation through their faith in Jesus Christ.
Now, instead of suffering and pain the guard witnessed freedom and chains removed.
Silas and Paul did not leave the guard, they stayed to help the guard see the glory of God and to bring him into the glory of God. The guard who had been sleeping opened his eyes to experience a miracle and he expressed his desire to live in this new world where miracles can occur. The miracle changed this guard, he witnessed release from suffering and the chains that were binding people and he no longer wanted to live his life in a way that put chains on people but now he desires to help set people free. The guard is so overcome with the glory of God that he must share his new found life with his loved ones and he brings Silas and Paul to his home to speak with his family. The entire household is baptized and they all rejoiced.
Last Thursday was Ascension Day and Jesus was lifted up to share in God’s glory. Out of the suffering of Jesus’ crucifixion came the freedom of being lifted into the glory of God. The Ascension means Jesus is with God, one with God. Because Jesus has ascended he is no longer restricted or confined to time and space, as he was during historical lifetime. Jesus, like God, is with us and Jesus continues to be known in the experience of us, his followers. We, like Silas and Paul, are living examples of hope and freedom; helping others to experience the miracles of living in God’s glory.
Paul and Silas would not let their faith die when they found themselves beaten and chained; instead they continued to stay close in their relationship with God and they were lifted up by God and they experienced their freedom. And they did not keep the freedom to themselves but helped to lift up others so they to could live in the ways that Jesus had taught them.
We all know there are many ways which we experience suffering; there is literal death when the physical body dies, but there is also the death that comes with the despair of giving up on life, death of our dreams, death of a relationship. The miracle is when we overcome the types of deaths that try to take a hold of us and chain and imprison us.
The men who were holding the slave girl were chained to the money they were making by abusing the mentally ill girl. The men were upset by the good deeds of Silas and Paul because by setting the girl free had hurt their economy. The mentally ill girl was enslaved for profits and this sounds so terribly abusive to us but our governments have closed many psychiatric wards and released patients to care for themselves, many of the mentally ill wind up homeless on the streets. In allowing this to happen are we also perpetrating abuse?
I think Jesus came to show us that we can have miracles, but it is up to us to choose how we desire to look at life and how we help to make known the miracles. Do we want to be lifted up or do we continue to live in our prisons with the chains that bind us? Life is filled with miracles; we just have to let ourselves have the experiences. And we, like the prison guard, must open our eyes to see the miracles, desire to live into the miracles, and rejoice with others in the miracles. Do you believe in miracles? Amen.