Sixth Sunday of Easter-May 13, 2007

“Do You Believe in Miracles?”

John 5:1-9

May 13, 2007

Community of Grace Christian Church

Minneapolis, MN

This is probably going to be one of the rare occasions where you will see me employing a sports analogy to a sermon. This is a big event, kind of like Haley's Comet.

I love watching the Olympics. I know a lot of people say there are over-commericalized and not that interesting, but I still get a kick out of watching them. I love seeing all the nations march into the stadium and I definitely love the lighting of the Olympic Flame. If I had to choose between the Summer or Winter Games, I would say I love the Winter Games. There is something thrilling about seeing the skiers as the barrel down a mountain at unbelievable speeds, doing something I will never, ever, ever, do.

I think I've watch every Winter Olympics since 1976, but the one that I remember the most was the 1980 Winter Games which were held in Lake Placid, New York. The moment that I remember most vividly from those Games was the semifinal game in hockey between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviets had probably one of the best hockey teams in the world and the US was made up of college players. It was the hockey equivalent of David versus Goliath. I don't know if many of you here remember those times, but I can. Life in the US was at a lowpoint. The economy was flat, interest rates were climbing, the Soviets were soon to invade Afghanistan ratcheting up Cold War tensions, and to top it off, in November of 1979, Iranian revolutionaries took over the American embassy were holding over 50 US citizens hostage. In the midst of all this gloom and doom, here was this upstart hockey team that kept winning. This game with the Russians was a big one: whoever won, would go to the gold medal round. I remember the tension I had in watching this thrilling game with my Mom. It seemed as if the entire nation held its collective breath not sure if the young Americans could really beat the experienced Soviets. As the clock ticked the final moments away, you could hear the cheers of the people in the hockey arena grow louder and louder, anticipating that the US would actually beat Russia. With only a few seconds left, ABC sportscaster, Al Michael says something that I remember to do this day. It wasn't a question, it was an affirmation. As the game ended and as it was certain the US would be the victor, he said with confidence, “Do you believe in miracles?” A second later, he Michaels answered his own question by saying, “YES!”

The United States wasn't expected to get very far in hockey that year. International hockey was the province of so-called Superpowers, like Canada, Finland and the Soviet Union. And yet, the US won against the Soviets and then went on the win the gold medal.

Do you believe in miracles?

Today's text is an odd one. It's odd because both Jesus and the man that he healed asked some pretty stupid questions. Jesus sees this man who can't walk at the Pool of Bethsaida. We find out that this man has been in this condition for 38 years. When Jesus sees this man, he ask, “Do you want to be healed?”

Huh?

Here's a man that can't walk. What do you think? Of course he wants to be healed, he wants to walk, leap and run. Who wouldn't?

Well, I guess not this man. Instead he says that he has been here for 38 years and that whenever the water gets troubled, isn't able to get to the pool in time.

Wrong answer, dude. Here's a better one: yes.

So what is going on here? We have Jesus asking a question that seems stupid, and a man that seems more willing to offer excuses than in wanting to be healed.

I think this little exchange between the man and Jesus tells us about the man's faith or lack thereof. It seems to me that this man would have been hungry to find someone, anyone who could help him. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, you'd expect the man to say, “Yes, yes I do. Do you know someone who can help me?” But he didn't do that. He wasn't expecting to be healed, on the contrary, he had become quite confortable with his predicament. “Oh, I'd like to be healed,” the man seems to be saying, “but since I can't get to the pool and be healed, I'm going to stay right here.”

He saw that he couldn't get to the pool and that there was no one to help him get there. So, there was really no way for him to be healed. His excuse was one of a man who had lost hope and could really see things changing.

As much as I've been putting this man down, I think I identify with him. You know, lately I've been down about things, especially being the pastor of a new church. You put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this venture and sometimes it seems that there is very little that you get out of it. All of the setbacks start to make you think that nothing will ever change. I've felt that and I know others have as well. Maybe you've been in a situation where things have always been the same way and it seems like they will never change. You start to lose hope, just like this man. His excuse about not getting to the pool in time is really just his reality. He can't walk, so he can't get to the pool, so he won't be healed.

The thing is, we tend to see things like this through human eyes. If it can't be done, then it can't be done.

I've seen this behavior more often than not in church. We are too small to do effective ministry. We can't open our doors to gay and lesbian people because everyone will leave. We can't plant a new church, because that will drain our small church. It goes on and on. We live our lives in fear, seeing scarcity when our God promises abundance.

What if we believed that God can take the small, weak and seemingly insignificant things in our lives and make something beautiful out of it? Could God take a small number of people at a church and make us into something? Can we believe in Jesus and take up our mats and walk?

As much as we talk about God, I tend to think a lot of people in the church, including yours truly, tend to be functional atheists. Yes, we talk about believing in God and we say the right words, but when it comes down to it, we believe we are on our own.

But the thing is, we are not alone. We have a God that deals in the impossible. The Good Shepherd takes care of us and will always be with us.

Do you believe in miracles?

In short this is a story about faith. Do we have faith that God is with us? At times I tend think not, but the reality is, God is with us. We need to have faith that God can do the unimaginable even when it seems nothing will change.

The US Hockey team of 1980 wasn't expected to win against the Soviets let alone win a gold medal and yet they did both. If a hockey team can do that, what more can God do for us? It's time for us to get up from our mats of hopelessness and walk in faith.

Do you believe in miracles? I do. Thanks be to God. Amen.