Sunday, May 01, 2016
Sunday Reflection: Magic
I like this picture that Steve Timmer took on Thursday-- it looks like I might be doing a magic trick. I have always wanted to be able to do that, but the problem is that I wouldn't want it to be a trick; I would want it to be real.
My 7th and James Sunday school class (which was the most awesome such class ever) once was reading through the book of Mark. One of the things people were taken with was the amount of magic that there seemed to be in it. So much happened that was not explained-- demons and angels and unseen actors in our world.
The thing about magic is this: If I was capable of it, what would I do with that power? When I seriously address that question, the truth is that I would probably pursue the things I do now, and magic wouldn't help me much, if at all. My life would not be very different.
I suppose that one of the allures of magic is that it seems us to give us power, an ability that others don't have. Perhaps that is why some probably thought Jesus was a magician-- because he really did have powers that others didn't. In the end, though, the power he possessed that mattered the most was the ability to teach through word and example.
So, maybe that is really what we should strive for, no magic required. My profession is teaching, but I am far from good if Jesus is the standard, nor could I ever come close. Yet, there is something deep and real in seeing plainly what Jesus's most important power was. Even in the Son of God, magic is now what endures, but truth and love. That can be taught, no magic required.
