Do You Believe in Miracles?

For 7/1/2012

All Scriptures are from The Message Version

Today’s Gospel Lectionary scripture tells us of two of the many miracles which were part of Jesus’ ministry during those three short years. These miracles occur as he returns to the “Jewish” side of the Sea of Galilee after what turned out to be an unpopular healing of a possessed man on the “gentile” side. It is an opportunity for us to think about miracles and what role they play in our spiritual lives.

This post is intended to help the reader personalize the words and thoughts in the scriptures. It works well if shared between two or more people as a conversation but there is much to be gained by just considering the questions for yourself. Commentaries for the lectionary scripture can be found on Textweek.com through this link Mark 5:21-43

Miracles

What is a miracle and more importantly what role do they play in your faith life? What questions do you have about miracles? First a brief definition of a miracle from Wikipedia from which I will steal some ideas (you can read the full version here):

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that God may work with the laws of nature to perform what people perceive as miracles. Theologians say that, with divine providence, God regularly works through created nature yet is free to work without, above, or against it as well.


In casual usage, "miracle" is seen as any event that is statistically unlikely but beneficial, (such as surviving a natural disaster), or simply a "wonderful" occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as a birth. Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or 'beating the odds'. Some coincidences may be perceived to be miracles.

• One of the views of a miracle is that it is “an interruption of the laws of nature” – how would you define it, what would be some criteria you would use to acknowledge some event as a miracle?
• What causes a miracle to occur? Do we have a role in making them happen? What causes God to act, to step into a situation?
• Reflect on a miracle story from your life based on the thoughts from the previous question. How do your answers fit that experience? What impact did the miracle have on your faith life? What role do seemingly visible actions by God in real life have in enriching our faith?
• Have you ever prayed for a miracle and it failed to happen – how did it impact your faith – how did you deal with it?

Let’s look at a miracle story from Mark’s gospel and reflect some more on miracles:

Mark 5: 25-29 A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, "If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well." The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.
30At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?"
31His disciples said, "What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you're asking, 'Who touched me?' Dozens have touched you!"
32-33But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story.
34Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague."

• What is the woman’s condition? What has she endured in addition to probably being considered ‘unclean’ by fellow Jews? What has her experience been with the medical profession? Can you relate to her dilemma through any personal experience or the experience of someone you know? How did you feel, was there any sense of desperation or a readiness to try anything to find relief from the situation?
• Why do you think that she felt that just touching his clothes would bring healing? What do you think that her frame of mind was as she approached Jesus? What does the way in which she approached him say about her feelings? How would you have approached him?
• What does this story tell us is our role in initiating a miracle? Do we learn anything about God and healing from the story? What questions and answers about miracles does the story raise for you?
• What do you think about the response Jesus had to being touched? Do you think that anyone who touched his clothes might have been healed? Are there places where miracles seem to occur or persons who have gained a reputation for performing healings? What do you think about them?
• Think of some situations in which someone either asks for or seems to need help or assistance? Are there things that influence you in the manner of your response? Are there certain situations or individuals that you are not inclined to provide help? Do you associate any of your feelings with the manner in which God might respond with miraculous acts? How is God’s response similar and different?
• Were all of the woman’s problems solved? What would this now healed woman who was apparently single and poor face in her life? Might she deal differently with them after this experience?
• What did Jesus say was the reason that the woman was healed? What does he say was the basis for her healing and what does it mean to you?
• Take a few minutes to write down and reflect upon the big and little miracles that are a part of your life.

Closing Litany - Isaiah 35

3-4Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees.

Tell fearful souls, "Courage! Take heart!

God is here, right here, on his way to put things right And redress all wrongs.

He's on his way! He'll save you!"

5-7Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped,

Lame men and women will leap like deer, the voiceless break into song.

Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert.

Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain.

Even lowly jackals will have water to drink, and barren grasslands flourish richly.

Amen

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures –Mark 6:1-13, 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, Psalm 48, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Jesus' Dilemma

For February 12, 2012

All Scriptures are from The Message Version

It is helpful to use this blog as a discussion starter for two or more people but it will also stimulate some thoughts if used by one reader. The material is used by a Sunday Study Group at Hamilton Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Commentaries for these scriptures can be found on Textweek.com through this link http://www.textweek.com/mkjnacts/mark1g.htm

This story come from early in Jesus’ ministry as he travels through Galilee, begins to establish the nature of his work and immediately finds that people are most responsive to his ability to heal their broken bodies:

Mark 1: 32-34 That evening, after the sun was down, they brought sick and evil-afflicted people to him, the whole city lined up at his door! He cured their sick bodies and tormented spirits. Because the demons knew his true identity, he didn't let them say a word.
35-37 While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed. Simon and those with him went looking for him. They found him and said, "Everybody's looking for you."
38-39Jesus said, "Let's go to the rest of the villages so I can preach there also. This is why I've come." He went to their meeting places all through Galilee, preaching and throwing out the demons.

• Can you imagine the scene as all of the sick and afflicted were brought to Jesus? What would the sights, sounds and odors have been? What would the behavior of the people have been as they sought Jesus’ presence? How long must it have gone on? Do you think that he was able to heal everyone?
• Are you or have you dealt with a serious physical or mental problem or have you been around someone who has? How strong was the desire for a cure and what amount of effort went into finding one? Would travel, discomfort, long waits, scrambling for attention from the cure have been a problem?
• Do you believe that we can be physically and mentally healed through our relationship with God? How does one go about being healed and are there limitations and conditions associated with the degree of healing that takes place? What priority does this approach to healing have for you?
• We see here one of the many cautions Mark’s Gospel records that Jesus gave to those he healed to keep quiet about his true identity. This has been a subject of conjecture down through the ages but what might be some reasons that Jesus would want to hide his identity at this point?
• What do verses 35-37 establish as of the bedrocks of Jesus’ ministry? If Jesus is God incarnate, the son of God, why does he need to pray? What do you think that he prayed about that night? What does this tell us about the importance of prayer on our faith journey?
• When and how does he pray? What conditions are most meaningful for your prayer time?
• What do verses 38-39 tell us are the reasons Jesus came among us? What role does healing play in his ability to be effective in his preaching? What is the dilemma that it brings?

Mark's Gospel continues with another healing story:

40 A leper came to him, begging on his knees, "If you want to, you can cleanse me."
41-45 Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, "I want to. Be clean." Then and there the leprosy was gone, his skin smooth and healthy. Jesus dismissed him with strict orders: "Say nothing to anyone. Take the offering for cleansing that Moses prescribed and present yourself to the priest. This will validate your healing to the people." But as soon as the man was out of earshot, he told everyone he met what had happened, spreading the news all over town. So Jesus kept to out-of-the-way places, no longer able to move freely in and out of the city. But people found him, and came from all over.


• How do you visualize the appearance, voice, and attitude of the leper as he approaches Jesus? What do his words to Jesus tell us about him, what is the only reason he would not be healed? How would you address Jesus if you were seeking healing?
• What do you learn about Jesus from his interaction with the leper? How does he respond to the lepers, “If you want to…”? Might Jesus have ignored him or told him, “I do not want to”?
• One of the biggest questions people of faith have concerns prayer and certainly the leper’s words to Jesus were a form of prayer. How have you come to deal with what seems to be unanswered prayer during your faith journey? Have you formed any thoughts on why some seem to be healed and others not? Is it because God picks and chooses or is something else going on? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 – is this what it comes to?

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

• Jesus tells the man to use the cleansing process for those cured of leprosy as dictated by the Jewish law (Leviticus 13) so that the source of his healing is hidden. But what does the man do? Is this surprising? Don’t you think that the others who had been healed also excitedly pointed toward Jesus? And what happens here?
• What do you think that people are missing if they focus so much on his acts of physical healing? What do they need to hear from him that might be more important? Are there some really big things that form a basis for the totality of your faith life?
• What is your take away from this scripture? What have you learned about Jesus and yourself? Might our closing litany be the feelings we should have about the blessings of our faith life?

Closing Litany

God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together.

God, you pulled me out of the grave,

gave me another chance at life

when I was down-and-out.

I can'tkeep quiet about you.

God, my God,

I can't thank you enough.

Amen

From Psalm 30

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Isaiah 43:18-25, Psalm 41, 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, Mark 2:1-12

Please comment by clicking on the word comments in the sentence “Posted by John at XXXX “ at the bottom of the page