STAND FAST IN THE FAITH

New Zealand Tablet, 16 April 1914, Page 3

STAND FAST IN THE FAITH

(A Weekly Instruction specially written for the N.Z< Tahiti by ‘Ghimel’.) v

THE MIRACLES OF OUR LORD When the' disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus to ask Him who He was, He answered by reminding them of the prophecy of Isaias in regard to the Messiah and by pointing out how He Himself was fulfilling it to the letter: = ‘ He said to them : Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen; The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the Gospel is preached.’ (St. Luke vii., 22.) Seeing that none but God can work miracles by his own authority, our Lord’s complete mastery over creation was a proof of His divine mission and of His divinity. He would have it so Himself : I speak to you and you believe not; the works that I do in the name of My Father, they give testimony of Me . . . though you will not believe Me, believe the works.’ (John x., 25-38.) His mission, in fact, 1 required the corroboration of miracles: jit needed supernatural proof of its superiority to Judaism. Without miracles the presumption was entirely against .Christianity. The ancient system had established possession, it was of divine origin, it was founded with miracles, it had a splendid history illustrated by the holy lives of Moses and the prophets, and by the great deeds of the national heroes. A new system, of obscure origin, unscriptural, too (as it seemed), opposed to the formed habits and high aspirations of the Jews, now claimed their allegiance. It needed an exhibition of the same divine power which had been manifested in Judaism ; miracle was its only decisive proof. The human mind has a natural craving for contact with . the supernatural, 'which is not quenched even by the loss of faith. Such an argument as miracle, transcending the laws of nature, is the clearest evidence of divine authority. It, is an argument patent to all men, and especially to the multitudes who have not the time or the faculties for intricate argument.’ (Bellord.) Some forty miracles, wrought by Christ are described in detail by the evangelists. Eight were performed to free the possessed from the power of the devil, ten were proofs of His power over the forces of nature, sixteen cures are recorded, and there are four cases of raising the dead to life (including His own resurrection). But these were not the only signs performed by the Wonder-Worker to Whom all power in heaven and on earth was given. St. Mark draws a sweet picture of a scene that must have been a fairly common one in the life of the Divine Physician: * And when it was evening, after sunset, they brought to Him all that were ill, and that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were troubled with divers diseases, and He cast out many, devils.’ (i., 32.) ‘There are also many other things,’ writes St. John at the end of his Gospel, ‘which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself,-! think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written,’ ' ’ The two prominent features of our Saviour in these His miraculous works are His modesty and- His sympathy. There is nothing pompous or showy about them, and very often He seeks to throw a veil of silence around them. Knowing what is in man, He will not work miracles simply to satisfy idle curiosity or enkindle the fickle enthusiasm of the crowd. On the other hand, ‘ He went about doing good,’ answering in His gracious and miraculous way the cries of the unfortunate, satisfying the needs of His fellows, proving the truth of His doctrine, and strengthening the faith of His disciples. .- His miracles * are always beneficent, and have a beneficent end in view. He heals the body and converts the soul. “ Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee.” (St. John v., 14.) His mission

is mainly to the souls of men, but the Divine Healer does not forget the claims of the sacred human body. It is the channel through which knowledge comes to the soul, and the instrument, by which the soul finds outward expression. In His sacraments, as in His teaching, Christ ministers to the soul through the body. It is not wonderful, then, that He makes bodily healing the type and symbol of the work He will do for the soul. i; It is not easy for us to understand how those who saw our Lord’s miracles were not drawn to Him, and forced to believe in Him. Pride, prejudice, passion, obstinacy, all had a share in this impious incredulity. They were inexcusable, as our Lord plainly told them, for they closed their eyes and their hearts to the light of grace, even as their fathers in the days of the prophets had done, and their children in the time of the apostles would do, and as unbelievers of our own days do in presence of the Church, the extension of the Incarnate life. ‘ Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil.’ (John iii 19.) When they could no longer deny the facts, they attributed them to the power ofthe devil. They even went so far (as certain moderns have done) as to dictate to the Almighty the terms of their submission; ‘ Let signs in the heavens be wrought, let Him come down from the cross — and then we will believe.’ But as our Lord told them, and as subsequent ©vents proved, ‘ neither will they believe if one rise again from the dead.’