I was raised in a tradition of faith that believed God could do miracles. Seemingly impossible, out-of-the-blue, supernatural miracles.
Do I still believe that God can perform miracles.
Yes, I suppose I do believe She still can.
My experience, however, has taught me that even miracles happen most often manifest not because God supernaturally intervened. Instead, miracles happen through average human beings doing what they can to help another.
Christmas, among christians, celebrates what we call “The Incarnation.” The belief that God wrapped up in human flesh and entered the limitations of time in order to walk this space between the sod and the sky. Incarnate = in flesh. God took on flesh and experienced the messy, wonderful, haunting, beautiful, broken, and exhilarating experience of being human.
And God incarnate is given a name…Jesus.
Over and over in the ancient scriptures, Jesus is seen performing miracles. And over and over, these miracles involved people being willing to take action so the miracle could come to pass.
People filled jars with water at a wedding.
People distributed the multiplied bread and fish.
People dissembled a roof and lowered their sick friend down.
People moved grave stones and unwrapped grave clothes.
I think what we name as miracles are really a collaboration of divine initiative and human effort. It’s both/and.
Could God could act alone, intervene in the natural order of things, and perform a miracle?
Yes.
But does God do it that way very often?
I don’t think so.
The Incarnation that began with Jesus is still happening.
God still shows up in the flesh.
It happens when you and I, with skin on,
choose to mark ourselves present,
and refuse to accept the status quo.
Incarnation is the restlessness that moves us to action.
Incarnation is the belief that this world can be healed,
that there can be peace on earth and goodwill toward all.
Incarnation is that which compels us to accept our part in this drama of life
and not settle in on the sidelines.
Incarnation is never about spectators.
You want to see God in the flesh?
You want to see miracles happening?
Look at people who are doing something to welcome the foreigner,
clothe the naked,
feed the hungry,
disassemble systemic racism,
defend equality.
Look for the people who listen,
who look each other in the eye and aren’t afraid,
who offer an embrace,
who remember your name.
Look for the people who don’t give up,
who build bridges between us,
who celebrate our shared humanity,
who pay for more than just their own bills.
Look for people who befriend those who look different than them,
who are willing to pray for someone of another faith tradition,
who welcome the most vulnerable among us,
who refuse to resort to violence to prove their point.
I grow incredibly weary of christians who say they’ve prayed and then they kick back and wait for God to show up in some kind of supernatural appearance. Do these brothers and sisters of mine not realize that we are the answer to those prayers?
You and me.
Our hands,
our feet,
our minds,
our compassion,
our resources,
our sweat.
This world will not change simply because some people sat in a room and prayed.
That is, at best, misguided theology.
At worst, heresy.
This world will see miracles happen
when everyday people stand up,
one by one,
and do their part to promote peace, justice, equality, and love.
Perhaps you think me a heretic who is diverging from christian orthodoxy.
So be it.
Everyday, I go to work and I rub shoulders with those who are experiencing homelessness. I have the opportunity to serve those who are mentally ill, addicted, abused. I look into the eyes of those desperate for a job, or a home, or a speck of hope.
Don’t tell me God can perform miracles for these beautiful people and then go on your merry way. Don’t tell me you prayed for them and move along. You know why? Because after those platitudes and prayers, they will be back in library tomorrow still dealing with the same issues of yesterday.
Life change is hard, slow drudgery. It demands people who are willing to get messy and do the hard things, and walk the journey with someone else. Even then, there's no guarantee that life will turn around. There's no magic bullet. But I guarantee there will never be a turn around without people who showed up and were willing to do something.
That’s incarnation.
Miracles happen because the divine ache in us propels us to action. Miracles happen when we have the divine eyesight to see the beauty of being human and are moved to come closer, not push further away.
Everyday, I wake up to headlines that break my heart. Yesterday’s included five people being stabbed in the New York home of a rabbi during a Chanukah celebration.
You want a miracle through this this tragedy?
Go ahead and pray. And then refuse to accept hateful speech or racist thinking in your future conversations. Call a Jewish friend and say you are sorry that this continues to happen. Don't have a Jewish friend? Then humbly go make one. Make a monetary contribution to a Jewish organization. Learn about Chanukah and light a menorah.
It may not seem like much, but if you and I do just a little than the collective picture changes. And when the collective picture changes, we see miracles have happened.
In this season of Christmas, when we celebrate the Incarnation in Bethlehem,
may we not forget that incarnation is still possible.
God can still show up and work miracles.
She just does it, most often, through me and you.
Show up.
Be present.
Center yourself through prayer.
Have courage.
Do your part.
Refuse to sit on the sidelines.
Then maybe, we will see the miracles for which we have so long prayed and hoped.
