Who says this is a miracle?

The year: 1980. 8,500 people screaming in the arena. According to Wikipedia, "The "Miracle on Ice" refers to a medal-round game during the men's ice hockey tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, played between the hosting United States, and the defending gold medalists, the Soviet Union. Here is the last 60 seconds video to watch.  The announcer asked, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Mario Chalmers is an Alaskan basketball player whose career at Kansas University was stellar and launched his continued career in the NBA. In the 2008 championship game, KU played Memphis in San Antonio. With 10 seconds left, Memphis had the lead and Derrick Rose was shooting 2 free throws. Easy, no problem. Except Rose as the entire Memphis Tigers team had done all evening, missed another free throw. KU had 10 seconds to get a 3-point play to tie. They had shot only 2 3-pointers all game. But Mario sank his with 2 seconds left and sent the game into overtime. Here's the video of the last 10 seconds of regulation.  The next day, the papers called Chalmers' shot a miracle.  (I disagreed, but that was another blog)

The word 'miracle' is often misused, even abused. Every breath is a miracle, some say. If Susie will notice Larry at the year 9 dance, it will be a miracle. They sell miracle cures for hair loss and any number of other first world troubles on late-night television. 

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbi Shmary Brownstein of Chabad writes about miracles quoting Maimonides and Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi (1660-1718) among others. Brownstein explains that what we refer to as nature is actually miraculous and “unnatural.” It is only because “natural” events happen all the time that we take them for granted.

But how is nature and above nature or unnatural all the same? Philosophically that doesn't work.

He says, "In the words of the Talmud, “The one to whom the miracle is happening, does not recognize the miracle.”... Extraordinary miracles wake us up to the fact that all of life, down to the minute details, is one big miracle...Maimonides, in his Guide for the Perplexed, writes that all supernatural events were “programmed” into the world at the time of creation...In our daily prayers, we thank G‑d “for Your miracles that are done for us daily.”"

If it's supernatural, then it's not natural. If it's extraordinary, then it cannot be ordinary. Right?

Think about it. When men on ice skates slap a puck into a net 4 times, and their opponents do the same only 3 times, the 4-times men win the game. That's not a miracle. When Chalmers hit the 3-point shot with 2 seconds left, it wasn't a miracle; it was a great shot. 

But miracles do happen. 

Kris Samons of Probe Ministries quotes C.S. Lewis well in this answer:
"It’s very interesting that a common word used for miracle in the New Testament can also be translated “sign.” A miracle is a sign that God uses to point to Himself; the same way we follow signs to find a museum or an airport.

An interesting question may arise. Does something have to break a natural law for it to be a miracle? C.S. Lewis defines a “miracle” in his work by the same name as an interference with nature by a supernatural power. Obviously, to interfere with natural law may not necessarily mean to break the natural law. In fact, nature and “supernature” become interlocked after a miracle occurs and nature carries on according to the change wrought by that event. A science example: the law of inertia (Newton’s first law of motion) states that an object will remain in rest until an external force is applied. Nature can only move from event to event through supernatural intervention.

Deists believe that it was only at creation that the supernatural and the natural related. But we Christian theists believe that God has intervened in nature by its inception, sustained it by His preserving power, and will redeem it through the final act of intervention. The creation and incarnation of Christ are the perfect examples of supernatural inertia (another way of referring to a miracle), not to mention their conclusion as well, in His second coming. God is still in the business of working miracles. And we wait eagerly for that greatest miracle of them all–the redemption of all creation."

Sign-- the Hebrew word is "OAT." Like in Isaiah 7:14. "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." Virgins don't have babies. So when a virgin walks around the village insisting she has not had relations with a man, and brings a child into the world, that would be miraculous. And Samons' words are true again as this sign God used to point people to Himself. 

That's the story of Christmas. Mary, Joseph, the baby, Bethlehem. It's all there and it's all a sign. Have you seen the sign? Do you know which direction it's pointing you?

The birth of Messiah was like this: "When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. and Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. but when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet (Isaiah): “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."(as recorded by Matthew in chapter 1:18-25)

That's a sign.
Where is it pointing?
Where is it pointing you?

Merry Christmas.

What makes this a "Good" news book?

Tonight we began a long series again in our book shop. Each Thursday, even next week on Australia Day, we study the Bible together and this week was no different. Although tonight we started a new book, the Gospel according to Matthew. The word "gospel" means "good news" and the question is begged... what makes this book such good news?
Good question.

Then the book begins with a long list of names, Hebrew names at that, which no one since Jehoshaphat has used. There was the exception like Jacob and Ruth, but mostly names like Eliud and Zerubbabel. Didn't exactly roll off our lips. And that's not a great way to start a biography of this Yeshua fellow. Good news? Barely news at all.

Until we started investigating some of the unusual listings. Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, and Bathsheba, along with Mary, who was no Catholic. There were five women listed in a Jewish genealogy. That's rare times rare to the 5th power. Men are listed in Jewish listings. That's it. That's all we need. That's all we ever needed. Until Matthew.

And those women all had some serious flaws or hung out with guys who had them or came from some history of bad stuff. All involved sexual activity. Tamar, who pretended to be a hooker and snagged her father-in-law in a lie and a furious outburst against her. He had tossed her aside and dismissed her from their family. Horrible start.
Rahab is next-- another hooker, for real-- who took care of some Jewish spies in her apartment upstairs and by faith in the reports about the Jewish people, went against the mayor and the chief of police in her village of Jericho. Only her family was spared when the walls came a-tumbling down.

Ruth was from Moab, which today would be in Jordan. And her ancestor, Moab, was the product of incest between Lot, nephew of Abraham, and Lot's daughter. Moab was both the son and grandson of Lot. Not a good start to a family tree.

All three of these women were Gentiles, and participated in Jewish life in such measure that they made it into the genealogy of Messiah Yeshua. But wait, there's more.

Bathsheba was the wife of a man named Uriah, the Hittite. Hittites were one of the seven people groups who lived in Canaan when Joshua and the Jewish people entered after the Exodus from Egypt. The Hittites were to have been eradicated, but Joshua thought better of that. So here's Uriah, and in the story he turns out to be a righteous dude. But King David, usually a good guy in the Book, turns out to be a very bad dude. He sleeps with Bathsheba while Uriah is out on his military assignment. She gets pregnant. David has Uriah killed, and the guilt and shame are catching up with him. His good buddy, the prophet Nathan takes him to task about all this, and David acknowledges his sin in the famous 51st Psalm. Bathsheba has a kid with David, of course, and this is Solomon the king. And he's in the line of Yeshua, too.

Finally there's Mary, the teenager who was engaged to this man Joseph, whose genealogy is what we are reading. Before Mary and Joseph tied the knot and enjoyed the marriage bed, she is informed that she's going to have a baby, as a result of God making her pregnant. Seriously. Virgin conception. That's a miracle.

OK< so all five of these listed women have a bit of sexual impropriety in their lives, or so it appears. Why did Matthew choose to indicate this was 'good' news? For whom would this be good anyway?

I believe the key is found later in two places in the book. First, in chapter 9, Matthew self-describes as a tax collector. Those folks were not the best, not the most liked by either Roman or Jewish society. They were cashed up, to be sure, but his riches left him no pleasure, and no assurance of God's life being his. When Yeshua called Matthew to 'follow' him, immediately he left all that he knew, and did just that. Tax collectors, just like today's IRS or ATO, are unloved by the masses. In fact, we could safely say they were despised.

The other statement of note in this question of the listing of the sordid women is found in chapter 21.
Yeshua used a question about two sons, and which son did the will of his father to describe this single category of people. The father asked the sons to do something. One said, "no" and then later regretted his statement and went to accomplish his father's request. The other son said, "Sure thing," and then didn't follow through. Yeshua asked the people, "Which of the two did the will of his father?" Obviously the first one. And to whom does he compare that first son? To prostitutes and tax collectors. Wow, what a linkage!

“Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him." (21.31-32)

Tax collectors were people of status; prostitutes had another, a lower reputation. But both were an embarrassment to proper Jewish society. That Matthew links the two classes of rejection into one, that's very telling. The listing of the 'bad' women in the genealogy says that Matthew says there is hope for everyone. There is hope for hookers. There is hope for the IRS man. There is hope for every person in society-- not because of a new class on offer at the university or because of a new John in the 'hood-- but because God can make good come out of the worst of situations.

Grace abounds where sin abounds. So Paul said in Romans 5.20 "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." God can and will override all the bad news the world offers, and bring us 'good' news. That's what Matthew and Paul and I and countless millions have discovered. Good news comes to those who believe in the Grace and Goodness of the Almighty. Even dark clouds have silver linings.

I'm counting on God just now in my life.
I invite you to count on Him just now in yours as well.
And I wish you a good 2017 because of the forgiveness and grace of God.

On the 6th day of Hanukkah...

We are more than halfway through the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah and maybe this Vox Pop with Jewish people from a few years ago says what you think about the holiday. YouTube 2009. But then maybe it's more about sitting at a table and eating like some think on this one from THIS year says it better VoxPop2015 .

But then again, it's possible that you haven't really pondered the real story of Hanukkah. This quick synopsis might help.

Jews were not very significant in the world of 168 BCE and the real powers in the Middle East were the Syrian/Greeks and the Egyptians. They used what we call Israel as a venue for fighting. Who wants to fight in their own backyard? The Syrians were the dominant force. One day they came into Jerusalem and desecrated the Jewish Holy Temple with idols set up to the Seleucid king Antiochus IV and also with sacrificing of a pig. Doubly bad! Judah Maccabee and his little family stood up and asked for volunteers to withstand the Greeks and to wage war. Miracle of miracles, after a three-year war, the Jewish people won, pushing out the enemies from the Holy City and cleansed the Temple. They dedicated it back to God. The Hebrew word for "dedication" is Hanukkah. That's the story. Almost like David vs Goliath. The few withstood evil and God helped them succeed. A great miracle happened there. The miracle of Jewish survival. Thanks be to God.

So the question arises in many-- what about the story of the lights and oil that lasted 8 days.

Some easy to read simple information all in one place on Judaism 101 is here

So I really want to know, what does Hanukkah mean to you? And what great miracle happened to you?