Miracles

Jesus walked through Galilea performing miracles, raising the dead, casting out devils, healing the sick. You would think that if miracles convinced people then the WHOLE of Israel would have been convinced.

How can it be that shortly after the feeding of the five thousand the crowds in Jerusalem are baying for Jesus' blood?

In fact miracles offend, or turn off, as many as they encourage.

So Jesus is before Herod, who wanted to see a miracle and asked for a miracle. Why did Jesus not comply. If he had performed a miracle Herod would have let Jesus free.

But performing the miracle and convincing Herod this way would have cost Jesus his mission. His mission was not to convince some people, or to convince the important people, but to die for all people.

That's why Jesus constantly said something like, "Let those who have ears to hear..."

Christ was looking for people with hearts of flesh not stone, for contrite hearts, for people with ears to hear, for the meek and humble of heart.

Our job is not to convince the sceptics. Our job is to bring the Gospel to those who are hungry for it.

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but shortly after when he allowed Mary Magdela to anoint his feet (for death as it happens) this outraged many of the important people. They were so outraged by this that they conveniently ignored the raising to life of Lazarus.

People don't want to be wrong, they want to be proved right, and so they'll look for whatever facts, arguments, or proofs that will back them up.

One of the problems in trying to prove miracles to sceptics (skeptics to you yanks) is that they will just turn around and tell you that they don't believe in magic, and that your religious belief is just a superstitious belief in the magical.

Then instead of convincing someone you've set them off on a tirade, and they're ranting about spaghetti monsters int he sky, and fairies at the bottom of your garden, and bronze-age religious beliefs, and sky gods etc., etc., ad bloody nauseum, and you're backpedaling trying to defend your religion.

Stop trying to convince people about miracles.

It takes a humble and contrite heart to be proved wrong, and to admit that one is a sinner in need of redemption.




The biggest miracle of all we cannot prove.....

The Eucharist.


Proving miracles takes away peoples' free will, and it's free will that separates us from both the angels and the animals. It is our most god-like attribute and so is the (or among the) greatest gift of all.

Like I said above Christ's miracles offended, dismayed, upset, turned off as many people as they attracted - and if they hadn't, if they had totally wowed and convinced everybody, individual people would not have been free to choose Him or reject him.


Jesus didn't use miracles to prove he was God, or more powerful that anyone else, or to attract more followers (note his discourse with the devil during the temptation in the desert), but in order to serve people, to heal and help them or feed them.

Name one miracle where Jesus set out to amaze or wow people, or convince them beyond rational belief. He often seemed reluctant to "perform" a miracle. The miracles he did perform were to feed, cure, or free from possession.

The best way we can attract the sceptic (Skeptic for you yanks) is to behave like Christ asked us to.

Now if we all did that, THAT would be a miracle