Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11)
Such a miracle, this scene from Exodus. The living God invites a limited number of Israelites to eat and drink in His presence. They see God, and are not destroyed by beholding the overwhelming perfection that flawed flesh and blood is not normally ready to encounter.
There was safety prep before this could happen. God issued specific instructions as to who could approach, and how they were to make ready, and who could not come near without inviting disaster.
A miracle of this magnitude takes place at Christian altars every Sunday, and in some churches more often than that.
Jesus Christ is present when His people gather for Holy Communion, the sacred meal He established to be present to us now and to proclaim His saving work on our behalf until He returns to feast with us forever in His new heavens and new earth.
His presence is a miracle, transcending limits of time and place.
And another miracle is His gathering of diverse people, who could be (and might well want to be) doing a million other things with people more like themselves. Somehow they gather and are transformed into His living body at work in the world.
As with Moses and the Israelite leaders, there are warnings to heed and preparations to make,
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:27-32)
Well pastored churches encourage this awe, calling their people to see more than an earth bound ceremony, and more than a membership entitlement. Anglican Prayer Books contain The Exhortation, with the Lord’s challenging imperatives,
Therefore, judge yourselves lest you be judged by the Lord. First, examine your life by the rule of God’s commandments. Wherever you have offended, either by thought, word, or deed, confess your sins to Almighty God, with the full intention to amend your life. Be ready to make restitution for all injuries and wrongs you have done to others; and also be ready to forgive others who have offended you: for otherwise, if you unworthily receive Holy Communion, you will increase your own condemnation. Therefore, repent of your sins, or else do not come to God’s Holy Table.
Some demand signs and wonders, or at least stimulation, for their assent to “go to church.” Meanwhile, the miracle is breaking in all around them, as unspectacular people unite to eat and drink with the living God.