John Koza

Dear friends in Christ, 

Two of our readings for today are absolutely miraculous and awesome.

Firstly, from Genesis 17: 15-19 we read:

“God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her.  I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?  Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’ God said, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac (which means “he laughs!”).  A MIRACLE!

Then in John 6: 1-15 Jesus feeds the five thousand.  A MIRACLE!

Boy, why doesn’t God drop miracles like these into my lap? In the days of Jesus, they didn’t so much use the word “miracles” as they did “signs and wonders.”

Maybe I should be looking for signs and wonders instead of miracles. It’s just a subtle shift. 

When I think back on when I’ve seen signs and wonders, it was because I was open to them. The most powerful of these was one morning a few years ago, when I turned and saw the majesty and grandeur of the Santa Catalina mountains. It truly was an awesome moment. I later reflected on the text from Psalm 8: “When I gaze into the night sky, and see the work of your fingers (paraphrased).”

I think a little preparation to receive signs and wonders is beneficial.

Quite often one of my favorite morning prayers is from a hymn: Open my eyes that I may see…Open my ears that I may hear…Open my mind (that I may understand and know some things)…Open my heart (that all may see Your love in me)….

I pray that we all may see signs and wonders in our lives this week.

In Christ, 

—John