Readings: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Luke 7:11-17

Kerry: Tonight we bring you miracles! Well, we bring them to you for consideration. How about this for starters?

GWS are the last on the AFL points table. If they won every game that is left to them it would still be impossible to reach the top of the table as there are insufficient games to be played. If you are a literal believer and say that nothing is impossible - miracles happen - then the impossible math calculation would be possible!

Or consider the woman who was rescued 17 days after the collapse of the Bangladesh factory about a month ago. A set of circumstances prevailed to save her - although injured, the falling masonry did not kill her; an air pocket enabled her to breath; although trapped and unable to move she had been in a place where a small amount of food and water kept her alive; she was not injured by the heavy machinery used in the search for survivors. This is reported as a miracle.

There is another miracle we consider at most Sunday services and our
call to worship this evening expresses it this way –

We give thanks
Creator Spirit beyond imagining,
for the wonderful gift of reflective awareness
that allows us to recognise and name your presence in our universe.

Everything we have; everything we see; everything we do;
everyone we love and everyone who loves us
reveals your sustaining presence
and our total dependence on your presence.

We marvel and wonder at the size and complexity of our universe.
We marvel and wonder at the development of life on this planet.
We thank you that your presence `charges` this life and all that exists.
We recognise that human life gives you a particular way of expressing yourself and that in us you can sing and dance, speak and write, love and create.
Conscious that we live and move, and have our being in you, we give thanks for people throughout history who have affirmed your loving presence in all people and who have challenged people to give witness to your presence by lives characterised by mercy, gratitude, compassion, generosity and forgiveness.

We marvel at the miracle of being involved in this creative process.
Amen

Russ: We have two readers standing well apart to emphasise that we are listening to two stories written maybe 900 years apart. Try to keep in mind the differences of culture, knowledge, political and social environment, indeed everything over that period and be sure to make note of the miracles.

Kings Reading - 1 Kings 17: 8-16

Kerry: Elijah appears in the story of the Hebrews sometime during the 9th century BCE. In his book, This Hebrew Lord, Spong describes Elijah as a `rustic figure . . . public and provocative, earning from King Ahab the title `the troubler of Israel`. Hebrew legends clothed him with immense power: he raised the dead, closed up the rains in heaven ... was vengeful and vindictive towards his enemies. In later Hebrew tradition it was said that Elijah would precede the coming of the Messiah ; he would prepare the way.`

Luke Reading - Luke7:11-17

Kerry: Spong informs us that by the time Luke wrote his Gospel, `Elijah had begun to be used by the Christian church as a figure around which Jesus` own story could be woven. Elijah began to loom beneath the surface of the Christian narrative as one more image from the past through which to interpret the life and power of Jesus of Nazareth.`

Luke uses the Elijah image as a way of trying to grasp the greatness of Jesus. Jesus the new Elijah came to save, not judge; to give life, not destroy it; to love, not avenge; to die, not conquer. He came to break the powers that enslave human life, not with the power of might or vengeance or justice, but with the power of love. This love revealed the presence of God in creation.

Russ: In the Jewish tradition, there is a concept called Midrash where events of the past are re-interpreted for the present time. There seems to be a strong Midrash theme particularly in the Kings reading where past events of the Exodus are being replayed in the life of Elijah. In reading biblical texts within the tradition of Midrash, the present time is connected with a sacred moment of the past - there is a reworking of an ancient theme in a new context that the truth of god is not bound within limits of time. Eternal echoes can be heard anew in every generation. Since there are the same three characters in the Kings story as in Luke`s story, that is - a widow, a son and a healer, together with death and resurrection; then the midrash theme from Elijah`s time to Luke`s time seems evident. But that`s not the miracle.

Kerry: I get that. In fact, in The World According to Jesus Lorraine Parkinson refers to Jesus as an interpreter of the law, meaning the scriptural law of the Torah. The people needed to hear how the ancient Law could be reinterpreted for their time. The life of the average Jew in Jesus` time was vastly different to that of the Hebrew nomads who observed the ancient Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments. Jesus says he has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it. The scriptural foundations of faith remain for all time. He builds on the ancient laws, illustrating ways of living by them in the present time. His emphasis is on the spirit of the Law, not the letter of the Law. Jesus knew that even though religious traditions addressed to a particular age eventually fall into disuse and pass away, the spirit of the Law is timeless. For that reason his message also is timeless. Details in his stories are not from our age, but the values his stories illustrate are every bit as relevant to this age and concern his followers still.

Russ: So that gives us an overview that may help us to understand the readings. In simple words - knowing something about the recipe in order not to finish up eating egg shells. But we also need to mention the metaphor that I think is evident in both stories so that what are termed as miracles have meaning for us today. Because metaphor enables us to see beyond a single meaning, it allows our minds to explore new understandings.

Look at the contrast between the widow and Elijah. He is a person who sees himself, under the direction of his God, as trying to save a nation. He is dealing with the top end - a king and his powerful wife. Although his colourful life has not been easy, it is far removed from the unfortunate widow. He had been in isolation living beside the stream in drought conditions and fed by ravens. When the stream dries up, he is instructed to go to Zarephath to be fed by, above all people, a widow.

The widow is at the bottom end of the social ladder, probably ignored, struggling to survive and outside the community. However, her deprivation has given her an understanding of the really important things in life. When her son dies she will be without any support in her aging years which will likely be intolerable.

Kerry: So she, the poor one, feeds Elijah, the one who believes he is on a mission to save a nation. In return, she is sustained symbolically through the jar that never runs out and the resurrection of her son symbolises a continuing presence to sustain her. Both of them, so different in every possible way, are able to support each other in their time of struggle.
So what about the widow in Luke`s story? Many widows of the day were outcast from their communities suffering the consequences of perceived sins. Whilst religious observance was being carried out in the funeral of her son, the future for this woman looks bleak. However, whichever way you look at it, healing dead people makes no sense!

Russ: That`s not the miracle! In seeing this as a metaphor we are able to say that Jesus restored the widow`s position in the community, identifying her as a loved and valued person and challenging the prospect of estrangement that awaited her. Without the support of her son, she is at the mercy of the community who would be responsible for her well being. We are challenged by Jesus to show love and compassion for the marginalised amongst us.

Kerry:In the ancient world, illness, suffering and untimely death were seen as signs of demonic power. The power of darkness punished and marginalised people, overwhelming the possibilities of a healthy, fruitful and fulfilling life. Into this world comes Jesus, who with the power of love banishes demons, healing and restoring life. Light dispels the darkness. Jesus is a portrait of what life was created to be. The stories of miracles show us Jesus restoring wholeness to people. Lives are transformed by the power of his love and compassion. And as a teacher, isn`t Jesus showing us how to restore life to those in our own communities? That fulfilling lives are not created by the fear of a mighty powerful and vengeful God, nor are they created by blindly obeying the Laws and traditions of the church, but in the everyday acts of love and compassion by those who would transform broken lives into whole ones. That`s the miracle.