MIRACLES IN PERSPECTIVE
J.C.Cordova, D.Min., LCSW
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick
or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together
about the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases,
and cast out many demon sand he would not permit the demons to speak,
because they knew him (Mark 1:32-34).
The Sabbath ran from Friday at dusk until Saturday at dusk. By then, word had
gotten around Galilee about the events in the synagogue and at Peter’s home. So,
immediately after the conclusion of the Sabbath, relatives and friends of Capernaum
sick folks brought them to Jesus to be restored to health. And many got their needs
met.
The making of miracles
To this point, the narratives of Mark beg the question: what is a miracle? A miracle is
a divine action not understood by present human intellectual ability. Some miracles
appear to take place in defiance of the laws of nature. Others seem to be done in
compliance with natural laws. Some miracles are predictive. Others occur
unexpectedly. The birth of a child is a predictable occurrence happening after nine
months of gestation. The resurrection of a body from death is an action opposing the
laws of nature. No one can predict how God is going to perform miracles because
each situation is different.
The Bible gives several accounts of the making of miracles. The first miracle account
in the Bible is creation itself. It is an old aphorism that “nothing is made from
nothing.” Yet, God made the physical universe from nothing. Each planet was placed
in its orbit. Earth was prepared to be populated by the animal kingdom, including the
human species. The detailed complexity involved in making the animal kingdom is
way beyond human comprehension. Species were made to reproduce themselves.
Humans were made in the image of the Maker to manage the earth, endowed with a
tremendous potential to do an excellent job.
The miracle of sexual and asexual reproduction is an every moment affair involving
the organic and vegetable kingdoms. The vegetable kingdom reproduces by means
of pollination, the animal through biological interaction between male and female
members of the species.
Human life is a series of miracles observable in the secular and religious world. The
actors in the Bible go from miracle to miracle. The birth of Isaac and his binding were
two early miracles in the life of Abram (later renamed Abraham). Beginning with the
interaction of Moses and Pharaoh, the great leader’s life is replete with miracles as
he related with God and Israel. During the time of later prophets miracles occurred
sequentially. Just to offer a couple of examples, God raised the son of a widow from
the dead through Elijah, a prophet of Israel in the 9th century (see 1 King 17:17-24).
The prophet commanded fire to come down from heaven to consume an offering he
made to the Lord (see 1 King 18). After finishing his work on earth, the prophet was
taken into heaven in a whirlwind (11 King 2:11). Before his ascension unto heaven,
Elijah anointed Elisha to be his successor. God performed miracles through Elisha,
as well. In Shumem, Elisha and his party were lodged by a rich woman, the wife of an
elderly man. To return the favor for her generosity, Elisha made possible for her to
bear a child. Even later when the child died, Elisha restored the lad to life (see 2
Kings 4:18-37). While in Shunem, Elisha multiplied a poor widow's jar of oil (see 2
Kings 4:1-7).
What are we to make of the miracles of Jesus? Lots of theologians and philosopher
of religion have written copiously about the miracles Jesus performed exorcising
demons, curing the blind, the lepers, the paralytic and other sick folks. They have
written abundantly attempting to interpret these miracles as actual occurrences given
literal interpretations of the miracles. Others have taken these to be literary devices
intended to exalt the power of God. Even others are selective in determining the
veracity of the miracles and their place in history, examining motives other than mere
restoring health to people.
Purpose of the Miracles
Two thousand years ago, the world was at the tail end of the agrarian society and
entering the industrial society era. Israel had settled in Palestine and was rapidly
developing. They were cultivating their fields with the plow, working on the fish
industry, developing the metallurgic industry, mining, ship building, etc. They were
also trading with other nations. And a strong power elite was rapidly emerging
resulting in much inequality (see the Book of Amos for horrible examples).
The development of industry, commerce, politics and religion made society complex
and pressure and anxiety mounted. Borrowing concepts from the pagan religion of
Egypt and older Palestine residents, Israel sought relief exercising the tangible ritual
traditions of their neighbors rather than maintaining trust in their intangible God.
Thus, Israel began to practice superstition of various kinds, including an enormous
fear of demons and other pagan practices.
The miracles God performed through Jesus were two fold. 1) These were intended to
call people’s attention to divine presence. (see Luke 17:21); and 2) the miracles
were also intended to serve the needy. Indeed, the religious conceptions of the
people then afforded Jesus the great opportunity to intervene in behalf of sufferers
to free them from various diseases. In this article, I discuss only the service aspect
and the implications for present day ministry.
What can we learn from the passage above concerning service? According to Peter,
Jesus was a man going about doing good (see Act 10:38). As followers of Jesus, we
do well in imitating his behavior. Jesus was true to his commitment to the end of his
life on earth. He showed absolute loyalty to God expressed in service to humanity
even at the cost of his life. His concern for the suffering of people moved him with
total compassion and empathy for the masses. This is the lesson Mark is trying to
convey with his series of vignettes. Thus, service is a main learning we come across
in the above passage and throughout Mark’s gospel.
Service has three beneficial dimensions. Consider the following three descriptive
statements:
1. We serve God by serving others
2. By serving others we meet their needs
3. In serving others we meet a basic personal need
1. God is a spirit. In many instances, service to others requires physical
activity, which God chooses not to directly provide. Rather, God does His work
through the actions of His people. Jesus was the instrument the Father utilized to
heal the demon possessed man in the synagogue, Peter’s mother in law and the ill
folks relatives and friends brought to him. Jesus disciples continued the same type of
ministry. And through the centuries to the present, God has used believers to follow
the same line of conduct helping the needy to resolve physical and spiritual struggle.
A personal example illustrates this point. My father was a grocer. His store was
located in a rural area where lots of families were dirt poor. Whenever anyone got
sick in the neighborhood and had no medical insurance or recourses to deal with the
problem at hand, dad would take the infirm to the hospital and paid all medical and
hospital bills. I saw the same deeds of my father repeated through time. There were
neither conditions ever attached to what he did nor any bragging. He just felt that it
was his duty to do so for the fellow human being.
Stories of the kind fill volumes. Much of the benevolent work done by altruistic
persons is known in spite of their attempts to keep their deeds secret. Much more
has been done by others we will never know. Even more will be done by future
generations to the end of times.
2. “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (see Acts 20:35) are words of
Jesus addressed to his disciples. Why is better to give than to receive? The answer
to this question is buried in the human make up. We are social beings made to
interact with others for life. We were born of women, developing in the context of our
families of origin. Growing up, we play and go to school with other children. Some
stay in school for advance education, doing it in the context of others. Most of us
married and form families of procreation. We have children of our own. All of us work
in labor groups and remain in them until retirement. And we stayed in contact with
people to the end of our days on planet earth.
By far most people need and enjoy fellowship with other human beings. In fact, very
few individuals would choose living as hermits, away from others. Usually, living
under these circumstances results from trauma, hurt received from others forcing
them to leave the human group to avoid further perceived hurt.
The condition under which we develop and live our entire lives makes us altruistic.
Altruism is a virtue moving people to help others in need. Charitable organizations
are made up of altruistic individuals. Altruist persons give time and finances to assist
others not expecting anything in return. Helping others is their reward.
In our country, non-governmental relief organizations concentrating on myriad
aspects of life count by the thousands. These efforts are possible by the altruistic
generosity of the people involved. Asking folks participating in relief organizations
why they do what they do will elicit responses like: “It makes me sad to see others in
need. So, I do whatever I can to help them get ahead.” Such was the attitude and
conduct of those who brought the sick to Jesus.
3. Service has a self-rewarding aspect. It is a natural feeling to have
satisfying lives. Ask altruistic persons why they help others, and you will hear also:
“Helping others makes me happy.” This attitude and consequent behavior is the
pursuit of happiness ideal become real.
The pursuit of happiness is a God given human right denied to so many throughout
the world, even in our own wealthy country. Many people need help in meeting their
needs. And altruistic people are happy to bring it into realization. Providing for the
needs of others also meet personal feelings of self-worth.