September 1, 2020
Good afternoon,
( The family of Dianne Rellinger wishes to thank the Poole congregation for their love and care given towards Dianne during her many years at the church. There was a private family funeral and burial for Dianne yesterday at the church. Please give yourself time to grieve the loss of a good friend. There are some pictures from yesterday on the Poole Facebook site ).
” When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you ? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17: 14-20
There are many miracles in the story of Jesus of Nazareth. He cures people from their diseases. He raises people from the dead. Jesus makes water into wine. He feeds 5000 people with just a few loaves of bread and a little bit of fish. He changes the perspective of people who thought that they were right. He is raised from the dead. Jesus is not the Saviour of this world because he can do a few miracles. It is more than that.
The disciples of Jesus had been given the same power, to cure and to heal. They are sent out into the world, but they cannot do it the same way as Jesus. They could not heal this little boy of his disease or demon. Jesus seems angry at them. He heals the boy, and then says that they do not have enough faith . He then uses the example of a small small seed, to say that if they have enough faith they can move mountains.
I have prayed for the pandemic to end, and for medications or vaccines to be made available to everyone. I pray to God, through Jesus, but it has not happened. I am a follower of Jesus, but healing of the virus has not happened. I can see myself being just like the disciples. Maybe I do not have enough faith, or maybe none at all ? Would Jesus be angry or disappointed with me ? He ends this short story by saying, ” nothing is impossible ‘. I agree with this point that Jesus makes here. I must then wait for the impossible to be made possible ?
Prayer
Dear God,
You are a miracle worker
,And I am waiting for another one today.
What do you want me to do ?
To say ?
To pray ?
To believe ?
Speak to me through the church, its members and your Word.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. AMEN.
Fred Pastor Poole Mennonite Church