John 6:1-21
“Magic”
This is the only miracle story that is in all four Gospels.
Jesus is the host who welcomes and invites the community to share in God’s hospitality.
He has anticipated the people’s needs and asks Philip “How are we going to feed these people?”
While the disciples are figuring out the budget to feed they have not figured that Jesus will provide.
But Jesus is not alone.
He gets a Holy Ghost assist from a young boy.
This young boy and probably someone servant brought food for two people and Jesus turned it into food for five thousand
This young boy was ready to be a vessel for God
Jesus is there not for speeches but to show them what God is all about
These miracle or signs are to show that Jesus is in the presence of God
Miracles were to teach those who saw it about Jesus
What is the difference between miracles and magic?
Well magic doesn’t teach.
Arthur C. Clark the author of 2001 had three laws of prediction in writing:
His third law says:
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
Clark’s Law explains the source of our amazement as our limitation, rather than the impossibility of the technology
Did you know that there is a connection between magic and Christianity?
Really?
For example the words abracadabra comes out 2nd Century Judaism.
The words were put on a medallion to ward off sickness.
The phrase “Hocus Pocus” comes from the sacramental blessing in the Latin mass:
“Hoc est corpus meum: This is my body”
The word magic comes from the magi, who we recognize from the nativity story and from Zoroastrianism.
These miracles these signs aren’t magic
It’s not about being amazed
It’s about God
It’s about the Holy Spirit
It’s about our God given talent
It’s the stuff God created that is inside of all of us
There is no magic dust
There is no Abracadabra
There is no Hocus pocus
But there is you!
These miracles, these signs, were to teach us about Jesus
Jesus is here with us to teach us about our God and ourselves.
We have to deal with our realities and our responsibilities.
We have to say “I aint no ways tired!”
We have to look at our history and what they did and be willing to do the same.
And if you aren’t, don’t claim it!
Well what does that mean?
If I was at Tuskeegee and there were problems.
It’s time for some brick making and some bricklaying lessons…
If I am a man or a Letman, there are some role and responsibilities to being a Letman
To be a Dillard Alumnus there are some qualities that I must possess.
You see as a Dillard man I have “achieved the ability to appreciate, interpret, and create the beautiful.”
I have “developed an abiding appreciation for the art forms in literature, music, drama, painting and sculpture; an ability to participated in one of the fundamental art forms with satisfaction to myself and to the observer; and an ability and desire for encouraging this appreciation in others.”
In this room I can see what we can do together
With our talents together we could feed five thousand
Some in this room feed HIV patients and some feed impatient four year olds
We live in the presence of the living God
but that is not something for us to be proud of,
It is not something to be used as a slogan,
it is not something for us to feel good about.
What it is, is something to be acted upon by everyone in this room.
An AME minister Rev. Millard Southern would do this thing
“Give a penny, take penny”
He would stand in front of the alter just like for an offering and you would…
Give a penny and take a penny.
This wasn’t a zero sum theory
This wasn’t a game theory
He might have been trying to get his congregation passed the amazement to get them attuned to the technology of God.
And the idea that we all have something to give.
And this is not about finance this is about energy.
If you’re tired, I understand I’m with you.
Then this is the time to call on your brothers and sister and say “I need help”
and we will lift you up.
This is the time to hold to God’s promise
This is the time to call on His name.
There is power in the name of Jesus and there is power right now in this room.
There are some things I may not know, there are some places I can not go, but I am sure of this one thing, that God is real for I can feel God deep within…
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