have been meaning to blog this for a while...
we had a couple of services in the autumn at grace on miracles. this was partly inspired by jeffrey john's talk at greenbelt that a few people had heard. the second service in particular was wonderful. it concluded with communion and this liturgy that jenny baker had written:
Lord God,
You spoke into darkness and chaos and then there was light;
You imagined this earth in its complexity and beauty and called it into being
You created humanity in your own image and gave us a home to live in
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego through the fiery furnace
You shut the mouths of hungry lions and kept Daniel safe until morning
You gave Hannah a family when she despaired of ever having a child
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You changed water into wine so the wedding party could continue
You calmed a storm and your disciples with words of quiet authority
You transformed a boy's picnic into a meal for a multitude with plenty left over
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You healed a woman from 12 years of bleeding and rejection
You asked Bartimaeus what he wanted and then restored his sight
You watched a paralysed man being lowered through the roof and helped him to his feet
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You called Lazarus from the tomb and restored him to life
You walked past the mourners at Jairus' house and gave his daughter back to him
You suffered a horrendous crucifixion in order to defeat sin and death and give us life
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You told your disciples that they would do greater things than you had done
We hear and read stories of miracles in our world - of you healing the sick,
setting prisoners free, releasing drug addicts from their addiction,
providing the right amount of money at just the right time
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
And yet, Lord, we don't see many miracles happening around us
We have friends with cancer, and we pray, and they are not healed
We have friends who long for children, and we pray, and they do not conceive
Our doubt is mixed with faith
Our trust is accompanied by questions
We acknowledge the mystery of faith and prayer, and the ways in which they are connected
We acknowledge that you often do things differently to the way we would do them
We long to know you better, to understand more of your ways
And we believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord we believe.
Help our unbelief