“Life is the Reason”
June 26, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
This morning, as both the beginning and main illustration for today’s sermon, we will be hearing the Rev. Marvin Hileman give a brief presentation about the fire which burned our church’s original sanctuary to the ground back in 1952, seventy years ago this month. We will now hear the story of what happened on that fateful evening:
(Marvin Hileman presentation here; please see the video or hear the podcast for the presentation.)
Thank you, Marv. What this is an illustration of is something quite simple, and powerful: God has always been faithful. The fire could have done far more damage in a lot of other ways than it did: at the very worst, it could have ended our life as a church family. But that’s not what happened: instead, the sanctuary was rebuilt, and we are still here today. Why? Because God caused it to happen. He is still causing us to worship, fellowship, and serve together, and He has guaranteed our existence to continue. The reason for this is also simple: He has a purpose for us. That purpose is for us to be alive, and in being alive, to give and spread life. More importantly, our purpose is to be alive in Him. The life we have is meant to be lived to carry out the mission God has for each of us.
Last night, many of us also had the chance to see the movie “Breakthrough” here at the church. Besides being a powerful film, it also had a strong message: God can perform miracles, especially if He has a reason for bringing someone back to life. In the movie, which is based on a true story, a boy, whose name is John Smith, and two of his friends fall through any icy lake near St. Louis, Missouri. John is stuck under the ice for fifteen minutes, and is nearly drowned. He ends up in the hospital without a pulse, with damaged internal organs, fully unconscious, and unresponsive. Several things happen, however: first of all, John’s mother prays for the Holy Spirit to give her back her son, and, after not having a pulse, John suddenly has a pulse. Next, several miracles happen, which no one, not even the doctor, can explain. John’s lungs end up being completely clear and healthy, and he is able to breathe fully on his own again. He regains full use of his mind and senses, and is able to be discharged from the hospital and return to school sixteen days after his accident. He ends up with no permanent physical or mental damage of any kind, and experiences complete healing.
Something else happens as well: early in the movie, one of the first responders, whose name is Tommy, is about to give up after not finding John under the water, but then Tommy hears a voice which says, “Go back.” Listening to the voice, which Tommy thinks is from his Chief, helps him to find where John is under the ice. After finding out the voice didn’t come from the Chief, Tommy is told it had to have been God talking to him. The problem: Tommy doesn’t believe in God. Towards the end of the movie, though, John and Tommy meet by the same lake where John nearly drowned, and Tommy tells John that if God actually exists, then He obviously has a purpose for bringing John back to life. In the epilogue shown at the end of the movie, it says that John is now studying to become a pastor. The real life John Smith also once said in an interview, “I see three 14 year old boys who were being dumb on the ice and that fell through, and that the Lord saved us. And really he used it in his way to save other people, not just the three of us.”
This is true, because God performed what can only be described, and what was described at the time, as a miracle – something unexpected and out of the ordinary to accomplish a special purpose He had. That is also what is happening in both today’s First Lesson and Gospel Readings, where God performs miracles to bring two beloved sons back to their families. In the First Reading, much like John Smith’s mother, the Prophet Elijah pleads with God to give the boy’s life back to him – and that’s exactly what God does. In the Gospel reading, Jesus Himself commands a young man to come back to life after being dead. These miracles not only bring the boys back to life, but they also cause people to believe. The parents of the boy Elijah raises to life believe in God’s promises more strongly than before. The people who witness Jesus raising the young man to life believe that God is coming in a special way to help His people. Both of these also point to the greatest miracle of life over death of all: God raising His Son from the dead, showing that nothing, not even death, is impossible for Him to overcome. God used what happened to us to save other people, not just ourselves. We may not have realized it, but God has used us to touch and change many different lives of many different people, some of whom we know personally, others whom we may never even meet. God has used us to save people: over the years, God has helped us to be able, in many different ways, to rescue people from hopelessness, addiction, hunger, homelessness, wondering where the next money to live is going to come from, and even wondering whether anyone cares about them or is interested in them. We have caused miracles to happen for people. People have come to believe and trust in God because of us. We have been making a big difference all along, and, if we keep faithful to what God wants for us, we will continue to make a huge difference.
There’s another part of the story of what happened after the fire: two of the items that were discovered undamaged were the Communion vessels and the Bible. The Bible had blown open to a passage which, although no one seems to remember exactly which one, basically said that everything was going to be okay, because God was in control. And that’s what we need to hear more than ever now: everything’s going to be okay, because God is in control. In the movie “Breakthrough,” when John’s mom is able to surrender to God’s will, that’s when the miracles really start coming through. Also, in the movie, when John’s schoolmates, church family, and many others in his community pray for him constantly, that’s also when miracles really start happening. And that’s what we need to be doing right now: we all need to be praying. We need to be praying for God to rescue us from fear and frustration; to help us focus on faith in Him and fellowshipping with each other; and to believe that not only do miracles still happen, God can cause miracles to happen among us right now. But for that to happen, we have to surrender to God’s control. We have to believe that if God could bring two boys back to life in ancient times; if He could give a boy full recovery from being drowned; if He could give us a new sanctuary after a devastating fire; then He will help us rebuild, rebound, revive, and re-grow. There are many churches that are struggling just as we are, so we’re not alone – and we all have to ask God to give us the power to believe and keep going. Miracles still do happen if we expect God to cause them to happen. But we have to believe, and we have to pray. God still has a purpose for us, and He still has a reason for us being alive. So just as our forebears did, let’s keep trusting God, because He is faithful, and He will make us live again.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
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