Signs and miracles

 

Samuel had spent nearly his entire life in the service of his faith and his people.  He was hailed by them as leader and as Judge.  Late in his life the elders came to him and bluntly stated that Samuel was old, his sons were not trustworthy, and the people wanted to select a king.  They wanted a new system. Samuel recited to the people a long list of demands that a king would want them to fulfill; some would cost them their freedom.  They persisted.  God said to Samuel, “it is not you they reject; they reject me as their king.” They clearly had free will that God allowed, even when it meant the rejection of God as their ultimate leader. “Appoint a king over us, as other nations have.” [Samuel 8:4-22]   When Samuel gave way to the people's will, he chose the first king, Saul.  

When Jesus returned home to Capernaum, a huge crowd gathered.  Soon His small home was so crowded that no more could come in.  A paralytic person, carried on a mat by friends, couldn’t part the crowd.  They carried the person to the rooftop where they actually “opened the roof” (probably twigs and rolled earth) and let the stretcher down into the crowd.  Jesus, noting their faith and effort, said to the paralyzed person, “your sins are forgiven.”  Some in the crowd were shocked. “Only God can forgive sins.”  Jesus knew their minds and answered their unspoken objections by healing the paralyzed person. “Rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”  Jesus had answered the skeptics of his forgiveness of sins by performing a tangible, unmistakable miracle.  If the subtlety of the forgiveness of sins didn’t sway the people, a person cured and walking home should have.  All were astonished. Jesus had posed the question to the crowd, “which is easier to say (to the paralytic), 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? “[Mark 2:1-12]   We know that it’s easier to believe what we see, but on closer examination, which miracle means the most for the good of our eternal souls?  

I found it interesting that these two Scripture passages talk specifically about the authority of kings in the Old Testament and Jesus’s authority in the New Testament, especially the miracles of the New Testament.  In the early years of the Church, these acts, which we now call miracles, were known mainly as signs.  Today we refer to them as both (signs and miracles), but over the years, the Church has focused on the actual miracle, in this case, the cure of the paralytic.  So there’s a difference in these two words and even how we interpret them.

In other parts of scripture, Jesus tells us that in order to believe, we have to see.  “Jesus, therefore, said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe [John: 4:48].”  So, Jesus understood that a sign (or miracle) needed to be performed to have others understand He was here on a mission and that He held the authority to speak and act on God’s behalf.  It was an encouragement to have the scribes, apostles, and other witnesses to see that Jesus was empowered to act, speak and operate with authority.  Later, it became apparent (after many other signs and miracles) that Jesus was the Messiah, to at least some of His followers prior to the Resurrection; and many others afterward.

So, in many respects, we can consider the sign, the indicator that the authority in which Jesus was operating was more important than the actual miracle itself.  If we concentrate on the outcome of the miracle, to a certain extent, we’re missing the point.  The point here is that God is with us, amongst us, operating at all times, but we continually require proof positive.  

The acceptance of God in our everyday lives is there for us all to see.  We don’t need a miracle or something supernatural (to us) to prove it.  Jesus demonstrated His authority through signs and miracles, we have the evidence in sacred scripture, but it’s also closer to home if we look and listen carefully.

Perhaps today, we can examine the times when God has spoken to us in signs in our own lives.  In our creation, our vocations, those around us, and the Pentecostal gifts.  Hope is one of the virtues which provides this continued expectation; God and grace are not around the corner but are ever-present. Hope is always on if only we can recognize His presence.