It may not be polite to lurk, but I have and have loved the comments found on this thread.
First of all, I love you people. There is some passion in this thread that I miss. You folks are great.
On another note, the discussion has taken a turn into the arena of "miracles." I like this take on miracles which comes from a sermon called "Here's Your Sign." The illustration below references the Peabody Award winning Futurama episode “Godfellas” by Ken Keeler.
"Futurama" is a television show produced by the creator of “The Simpson’s.” It’s about a man, Philip J. Frye, who was accidentally frozen in a cryogenic lab at midnight on December 31, 1999 and thawed 1,000 years later. In the episode titled “Godfellas,” Frye’s best friend and roommate, a robot named Bender, is accidentally shot from a space ship’s torpedo tube while it’s traveling at maximum velocity. Since Bender is moving faster than the ship’s top speed, there is no way to catch up and rescue him. Bender floats through space until he passes through an asteroid field and accidentally accumulates a microscopic civilization on his stomach (or what passes for a stomach on a robot), which declares him God, and worships him despite his constant inability to provide for their needs.I like this, do we need heavy handed miracles or a Lord who prefers to steer us gently? I like the Lord that works so gently we won't be sure God has done anything at all. As for me, I prefer relationship to manipulation.
After the civilization that lived on Bender destroyed itself, he was distraught. Then he found an eternal omnipotent presence, the cartoon equivalent of the god of the universe. Bender shares his lament with the greater power. He says that no matter what he did, he could not help them. He did something, it didn’t work. He did nothing, and that didn’t work either. Then Bender learned the lesson of quality miracles from the being, “When you’ve done something right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”
BTW, that "Homeland Security Since 1492" t-shirt is great!
Bravo! This was totally a relevant post. I wish I had written it. What a great illustration. It reminds me of how parents try to get thier kids to do things. Steering gently always works better, even though we sometimes would like to knock some sense into them. I have a very charismatic friend who is always talking about "supernatural healing". I said to her that who is to say that supernatural healings can't come from the hands of doctors, or a transplanted kidney, or heart. Why does it have to be like magic? Miracles are often times all in one's perspective of what a miracle actually is. Great post. Char
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Char! It's amazing the truth that can be found in cartoons. And I agree, if all healing ministry is from the Lord our God, then Doctors and Nurses are God's eyes, ears, and hands in this ministry. Is there "miraculous healing?" Who am I to deny? But I agree, all healing is a blessed miracle, even when it comes from the white blood cells that come from the marrow of our bones. That's a miracle!
ReplyDeleteWhen asked if I believe in "Intelligent Design," I prefer to talk about the Intelligent Designer. (I think I stole that from "The West Wing")