Today we have the well-known encounter between Elijah and the widow. The widow preparing to fix a last meal for herself and her child shows hospitality and shares what little she has with Elijah and as he prophesied
the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
We just assume that the jar and jug magically stayed full, with no human intervention. And then we complain that we don't see miracles today like in the bible.
The bible never says how the jar and the jug were kept from going empty. Is it possible that Elijah in his preaching during that year told the story of the widow's hospitality and others made sure that they did not go hungry? If that happened would it not still be a miracle?
A miracle is not an event which violates the laws of physics. A miracle is an ah-ha moment, a moment when a person experiences the presence of God.
In the gospel 10 lepers are healed but only one experiences the miracle. Only one is able to recognize the hand of God in the event.
We want to dismiss any miracle that doesn't contain magic. No magic, no miracle seems to be our modern motto. We dismiss everything else as coincidence. And then we complain about what God doesn't do.
Time and again God uses human beings not only to proclaim his words but to manifest his loving presence.
Just the other day I was having a really bad day. I came home and there was a beautiful hand-written note in the mail from someone I never met. Coincidence or miracle? As far as I am concerned that was God at work.
Stop looking for magic, and see the miracle in whatever form it takes. Each Sunday we sing to God, "Heaven and earth are full of your glory" if we truly believe that how can we not be surrounded by signs of that glory? If we believe what we sing then the world is a miraculous place, if we have the eyes of faith to see.
