Words by our Priest-in-Charge:

 Expecting Miracles

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” Hebrews 2:1-4

This week is my second week in Pierrepont. I had the opportunity to go to Waverley Abbey House, the home of Every Day with Jesus which is just about 15 minutes away by car, and listen to the work of Church in Baghdad. The Vicar of St. George’s Church shared passionately with us about what the Lord is doing in his church which has more than 4000 members. One of the few amazing stories he recounted left a very deep impression in me. During one of the confirmation services, he spoke to one of the children who was to receive his first Holy Communion and told him that when he walked down the aisle of the Church to receive the Holy Communion, be ready to see Jesus walking along with him.

Shortly after the service, this young boy ran excitedly to the Vicar and told him that Jesus did come and walked along with him. Thinking that the boy might have a rich imagination, the Vicar asked, “How did you know it was Jesus? How did you recognize Him?”. The young man answered confidently, “Of course, I recognize Him. It was the same man who was with us when our school bus was blown up last week!”

You see, a school bus full of children was blown up the week before. The children was miraculously saved from the bomb blast. The children saw a man with them on the bus when it was blown up. They immediately knew that it was Jesus.

I do not know what is going through your mind when you read this story. Which miracle actually caught your attention? Jesus on the school bus? Jesus walking with a boy in a Confirmation Service? Or a boy who could see Jesus, manifesting to him? May be all 3? These miracles happened, perhaps to some of us, in a very unlikely place or environment – a hymn singing Anglican Church in a war torn nation in dire need of healing and reconciliation.

Miracles – signs and wonders, are given to confirm the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, or more specifically, God’s words, in a world incapable of knowing Him. Perhaps the proper place of expecting a miracle from God is the place where God’s heart reaches out to the hurting, dying and hopeless. When we recognize that we are in that place, we will see, or we will experience for ourselves, that “wonder” of the power of God’s love, as a sure “sign” of His eminent presence in our lives.

Don’t just expect miracles. Expect God!