SUNDAY READING.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 10508, 11 February 1928, Page 6

SUNDAY READING.

(By the Rev. James Aitken, M.A.)

THREE All RACRES. This chapter- of- if fork’s Gospel' contains the record ol‘ three miracles; Hu- cuiing of the Gadareno demoniac, the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage, and,the restoration of Jainis’ daughter'. There was a time, not, so eery, long ago, when the miracles in the Gospel story were felt by. many good people to be a stumbling block, -philosophers‘and men of science said frankly that they did not believe the stories. .Miracles did not happen, and no amount of evidence could possibly make them credible. And ordinary people 1 oit ,t very hard to be sure that Jesus did cure blindness,' and paralysis, and insanity, and even raise the dead, as lie is said to have done, home- students of. the Gospels even tried to get rid of. miracles, saving that they were misunderstanding of ipnle ordinary occurrences, or that they were, later additions made to the account- of Josh's’ life by wellintentioned, but ignorant men intent upon adding to the wonder and glory of the Saviour. • Now it is a very interesting syrnptoiii of- the change which has come over the whole. atmosphere ot thought in our day, that the stories of the miracles no'longer present the difficulty they did fifty years ago. Among other things two have taken place. On the, one hand the criticism (i.e. the earnest and painstaking study) of the Gospels has made if "perfectly (Tear that the miracles are. an integral part of the record of Jesus’ life. You cannot remove them. Von cannot tell the story of Jesus w.tliout them.. If you take awnv the account of His wonderful works, you have no coherent history left. On' the Other hand the whole tendency of seientilic and philosophic thought to-dav is in the direction of a spir.tual interpretation of the, universe. That is to sav, it is coming more and more to he realised that spirit is the ultimate reality,, and that matter -in all its forms is dependent, upon spirit. That Jesus should have marvellous power over .the bodies of men and over the physical world, seems not only credible hut even just what we shpuld expect, considering all that Jesus was. Here and there difficulties may remain. in connection with this m.racle or with that—the incident of the devils entering into the swine is an .instance—but neither science nor philosophy to-day would stamp .the, miraculous element in the Gospels as untrue. I am not going to waste a whole sermon, however,on the controversy about miraclps. 1 want you to look with me at those three that are. recorded in this chapter and see what they suggest to us. And first of a,II, notice who -wern the subjects of, those miracles. There was the poor mad -wretch in the “country ot the Gadafeuos.” ."We would call: himtlie victim of a‘ particularly violent ‘firm of insanity. He lived among Hpi tombs—there were; no mental hospitals in those ‘days, no places where such sad cases eon Icl he cared for, and the. people could not have liim raving about their homes and villages. As it was lie was the terror of the whole ;country-side. He wentabout naked, gashing Iris llosh with sharp-edged stones, howling - and shrieking, and . frightening everybody who 'passed "near him. -They had tried to hind him so that ho could do nobody any harm, hub, with the unnatural strength of a -nomine, lie had broken every fetter they put . on him. He believed; that there was a ;legion of devils in possession ol him He had no other way of' describing, his condition. Neither had anybody else, in those : days. And anyway, that was what lie felt like.. Devils or no devflhs the mini was ; insane, and nobody knew any ■ way. at all ot helping him. . ■ ; Note hew this poor :-an’t -iihagino anything more miserable than Ids’, condition—approached Jesus. On catching sight, of .Hint from itfap lie ran: and: knelt before Him., shrieking aloud, .“Jesus, Son of God most high, wliat business have you with me!” A? curious phenomenon that. He protests against Jesus having anything to do with .him. “By God I adjure you, do not torture• me,” he erics.,.-And yet he comes near to Jesus, when lie might just as well have-run away, lie had heard of Jesus, of course. lie had not always, been mad, and even how Ids madness may not. have been com linitous/ There was some- knowledgeof Jodis in his poor racked and broken brain. - And he, was drawn to Him —drawn to Him and at the same tint o'repel led from Him. l’ark of .his dislocated nature looking to Clir st for help;- the, other part praying (Jurist to let him he.

’ The subject of the, next miracle is i. woman. She had been a Reini-in-valid for twelve years'. She had suffered a great deal under a number of doctors-and had snout, all her means and was hone the better. In fact she was father - worse. She had pretty well gi.veh tip hope ot" ever being well again, when the hows reached her that tlie Carpenter, of Nazareth was helping sick and afflicted folk in a marvellous wav and it came to her that possibly He mighthelp her too. . But sho hesitated to go to Him. .She'wa.-5 a' timid, son-.vt-ivo body, old enough to .he His .mother belike, and she' was shv of telling Him .tier trouble. But the thought that; lie might do her good kept revolving-, in her mind. His '’•ouch had ’cured one old woman in Copernnuin already-,- it, was said. Layug his hand on a leper had driven the' leprosy away. A word of His had made a paralysed man walk. Tt was - the p el woman—Eeter’s mother-in-law,—that she could not forget. If her, whe not her? And a touch was all. that was needed—or it seem,il. She was abroad in ’the city streets .one day,. when, before she knew where she was, she was caught ;n a crowd of excited people hurrying along. Quickly she learned the causa of tiie excitement. Jesus was there, lie v.as.on R.s way .to Jainis' house, because Jainis’ daughter, was sick and .Tairas had sent for Him. Here was her'chance.. All of, a sr.tl--ileii she. was aware-that ’Jesus, was. passing by. Trembling, ' hoping, doubting, believing, she put out her bind and touched His robe. “H 1 can touch even his clothes,” she said to herself, “J will recover.”

The subject of the third miracle—‘was it Taints’ daughter.' or was it ./aims' himself. U was the daughter who was ill: hut. it was her father who was beside, himself with anxiety and er.’ef. it. was her father—a prominent member c-f tbe community president.ot one of the synagogues—who came to Jesus, and 101 l at His feet. With ■ the cry. ‘‘My little girl is dying.”'.A . strange sight, in that Po lint 17 road that ran along the lakeside. the well to do, middle-aged citizen on his knees before a young Peasant! But Je.irns w,as conscious ot no incongnt ty; ho- was conscious ot nothing but that his little girl was dying, and hero might.be help for her. "Do come,” he begged; ;‘.Do come and lay your hands on her that she -may recover and live.” Jesus vvnt. Pro they reached the house news met them".that the child was dead. He found her on her bed. verv still. There was no word on her bps; no appeal in her closed eyes; her hand lav white on the coverlet, rot stretched out in supplication. As Jesus looked at her He saw simply her beauty and her helplessness. Xow, observe what a series of coii--1 rests we - have here! The wild shrieking maniac, the little girl, the shv self-conscious woman, the father nltpeether self-forgetful in his grief for his child,’ Welooflied them

yill. And their varied heeds ; one Unhealing ot' the mind, one for hie, one for healing of the body, one tor comfort for li.s breaking heart. Jesus supplied them all. !lhe maniac v.ent home to his house to, tell his own people what the t.ord had done for him. The woman was cured of her complaint-. The child got up at once and. began to walk. Jainis was- lost in amazement and' m joy. 'These things are a parable; they speak to us one of the great truths of the Gospcjj, that there is no map outside the range of Chr.st s help. - There is no man outside the range of Christ's help. That is what Paul' called the mystery of God, which had been hid from all preceding ages, hut was now revealed to men. Many races and many nations were upon the earth, as there are many now,, and there was none,, near or tar, to whom Jesus Christ , d.d not -bring salvation. Christ was for-all mankind. In his eves there was neither Jew nor Greek, .bondman nor freeman, no man was a mere barbarian or ,Scythian. The whole human race were the children of God, the.objects of His love and longing and care, it was realising-this that made Paul a missionary. %c was ‘always v, anting to tell the. story of Jesus where it never had been heard before. “it irked Ids humour to think that men arivwhere should he living who did not know, wliat life contained for them,” who had not been told of the Saviour who saved from sin and sorrow and death. And it is the same realisation that makes a missionary church-to-day. When we feel the truth, when the truth comes home tons, that the Gospel of Christ is not for us only' but for the .whole world of men;; when our hearts and minds take in the fact-.that it was the .world God so loved that He gave His Son to'bo the light and life of it; then we cannot but take what steps, are possible tor us make Christ known- to the world., That is worth remembering every time vc contribute to a missionary collection. There is no man outside the range ol Christ's help. Christ ha's something for everybody. Bet us. take that as a word to ourselves to-night. He has something for you and tor me something that, will meet our deepest and most’poignant need. I believe that Christ meets our needs to a greater degree than we fire inclined to think. 1 believe there is a. far closer connection -.between -faith m Christ and health of body and mind than most of us imagine. llut.T-re-member, too, that Jesus of Xazaretn di(j not heap, everybody who was sick in Galilee and. Judea; But there is no hunger of the , soul. He "\vill. not satisfy. What is the .-deepest desire of your heart? Is.it for forg.veness, for deliverance from some, dark mcinorv that .haunts yt»u ? Is it for comfort, healing The wounds that sorrow has made? Is it lor compensation tor some great disappointment that is hurting... von sorely ? Is it for strength to keep going on? Is it f(<r rest.:your very soul being v.caryr Is it for the renewal of your waning interest in life? Is it tor light on the practical problem of wliat to dot ’Whatever vour need may he, or mine there is that in Christ, which will meet and satisfy , and more , than satisfy it. If we seek Him. and appeal to Him. and give Him His cl i a nee. lie will touch us, and speak to as and send us on onr wav rejoicing.- . 'v. i Seek Him ; appeal to Him ; how.' Anyhow - you like and anyhow you can. It made no difference to Jesus how’ men came to .Hint, shouting and yelling, or silently and secretly. It made" no difference in. what words they addressed Him or by what name they called Him. So long (is there was frith in Him enough to make men turn to Him He was ready to help them: "So come to Him by whatever way or ways you feel you are able to use. Conte: to, Him in the IThio, come to Him in the Church. Seek him ill the common worship of men and w'oiiten who believe in Him, or seek Him pu -toiii own private mediation and prayer. Only he in earnest about it, he sincere and persevering. Seek: aw) v yott shall find, and when vondinve found Him He will he, to von all you expect and far more* even all your salvation ami all vour .desire.,?