16. The Miracles

Miracles as Signs

When someone escapes from an accident by a hair's breadth, he may exclaim: '`It was a miracle I didn't get hurt!" A poor student who receives good marks in an exam is said to have done ''miraculously" well. In our everyday speech we often use the word miracle in such a weakened sense. We must, therefore, begin this lesson by asking ourselves, What is a miracle in the technical sense of the word?

It is important for us to realize that not everything that is wonderful or extraordinary may be called a miracle. Three things are required to make an event a true miracle:

1. The event must be visible 2. The event must go beyond the powers of nature (that is, it must have God for its author). 3. The event must be the sign of a divine message.

All these three requisites must be there, otherwise we cannot really call the event a miracle. Perhaps, we can illustrate this with the help of an example: the road sign. Suppose we find by the side of the road a signpost with the notice, "No Parking!" If we neglect this notice and we park a car in that place, the police may fine us. In other words, we have to obey the road sign. But what qualities should a road sign have to impose such an obligation? The same three qualities as the miracle:

(i) it must be visible; (ii) it must have been put up by the competent authority; (iii) it must be the sign by which I understand an order or a prohibition.

Let us look at the three aspects one by one.

VISIBILITY

It is obvious that a road sign does not put any obligation on me if I cannot see it, e.g. if it has been buried or put behind a tree. But the same applies to a miracle. Miracles should be visible events, such as we find in the Gospels: the walking on water, the instantaneous cure of leprosy, the change of water into wine. But other things which we cannot see, however wonderful they are and however much they may require God's direct intervention, are not miracles in the true sense of the word, such as grace, the forgiveness of sins, the changing of bread into Jesus' Body in the Eucharist, the ordination by which a person is made a priest. These things are certainly extraordinary and they come about by God's own action. But we cannot see them and, therefore, they are not miracles. The Commission on Road Safety may have passed a decision to forbid parking in a certain place; but as long as they have not put up a visible road sign I am not bound by it. God does many things in the secrecy of the heart and in the sacramental order, things we firmly believe in, since we know them from Christ's teaching. But we do not call these things "miracles", as they are not visible to human perception.

GOD'S POWER AND AUTHORITY

A traffic sign that was not put up by the police does not bind us either. Otherwise anybody might just scribble instructions on the wall or erect sign posts. The same holds good for miracles. In order to be true miracles they should go beyond the powers of nature. They should be such that only God could perform them with His power and authority. Raising a person from the dead, calming a storm or healing a paralysed man in a matter of seconds: these things certainly required God's direct intervention and, therefore, we may call them true miracles. On the other hand, it is not necessary to hold that all Jesus' cures were miracles. Jesus cured so many people (cf. Mt 4:23; Mk 1:32-34; etc.) and sometimes He may have used the normal psychological powers by which some gifted people even today can bring about healing. His true miracles are those cures by which He did what goes beyond human power such as restoring Malchus' ear (Lk 22:49-51) or giving sight to the man born blind (Jn 9:1-8).

SIGNIFYING A DIVINE MESSAGE

No road sign is put up for its own sake. It always aims at conveying a message, at pointing to something that is signified by it. As a matter of fact, that is why we call it a sign. We should remember that the miracle is also a sign. It is always a sign. God does no miracle without wanting to convey a message by it and through it. God never does a miracle for the sake of the event alone. He does the miracle to communicate something through it. Suppose that a Catholic journalist is travelling in a plane. In normal circumstances the plane is doomed to crash as its petrol tank suddenly bursts. But God wants the journalist to be saved and He supplies petrol by creating it. Here we have: (a) a visible event, (b) which goes beyond the ordinary powers of nature. May we call it a miracle? No, unless it becomes at the same time a sign by which someone (perhaps the journalist) understands that God is communicating a message to him (of love and care). As a matter of fact, as far as we know from the history of salvation, God will not directly interfere with the normal course of events, unless He wishes to communicate something to us. For all practical purposes, therefore, we have to investigate every direct intervention of God is a means by which God wants to communicate something to us. All the miracles in the Gospel are signs, pointing to a truth which God wants to establish. When we read the account of a miracle in the Gospel, we should not stop at the mere fact alone. We always have to ask ourselves: What did Jesus want to signify by this miracle? What is He teaching by it?

Definitions

A Survey of Jesus' Miraculous Signs

Raising the dead to life (4)

Power over inanimate nature (9)

Different kinds of cures (19)

Exorcisms ( driving out the devil ) (4) .

Foretelling the Future

THE MEANING OF JESUS' MIRACLES

1. Jesus' miracles were Symbolic Actions which explained the nature of His mission.

In daily life we often use "symbolic actions" to explain what we are doing. For instance, we hoist the flag on a national feast day to show that we are honouring the nation; rather, by the symbolic action of hoisting the flag we actually do honour the nation.

The Old Testament prophets quite frequently expressed themselves by symbolic actions. When Jeremiah was sent to announce the destruction of Jerusalem, he took an earthern flask and smashed it to pieces in front of the people, saying:

"This is what the Lord says: As one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended again, in the same way I will break this people and the city!" - Jer. 19:1, 10

Such a symbolic action was thought to be more than a mere demonstration to make something visual: the symbolic action itself was the beginning of putting the prophecy into operation. Jesus' miracles have to be considered as such "symbolic actions". Consider the following examples:

CURSING THE FIG TREE

During the last days of Jesus' preaching in Jerusalem, He performed a symbolic action that was meant to warn the Jewish people. On His way to the city, He "went to a fig tree to see if He could find fruits". When He did not find fruits, but only leaves, He cursed the treeso that it withered (read Mt 21:18-22; Mk 11:12-26). It is obvious from the circumstances that Jesus did this miracle with a spiritual purpose; it was not the time for figs (Mk 11:13) and, moreover, a tree has no free will and, therefore, cannot be punished. By cursing the tree Jesus expressed a warning to the Jews: that, unless they would produce fruits, they also would be cursed. Read also the parable in Lk 13:6-9!

HEALING THE BLIND MAN

In the neighbourhood of Jericho Jesus cured Bartimaeus, a blind beggar. To understand the miracle we have to remember that, just before this event, Jesus had tried to explain how He was to redeem mankind by His suffering. But the disciples did not understand it. St. Luke repeats this three times:

"They did not understand any of these things. The meaning of the words was hidden from them. They did not know what Jesus was talking about". (Lk 18: 34,)

In other words, they were still blind. To teach them how they might get a better understanding, Jesus lets the blind man come to Him and asks: "What do you want?" Wasn't this question superfluous? Everyone could guess what the blind man would want! Yet, Jesus does not think it superfluous and so He waits for the blind man to exclaim: "Lord, that I may see!" Then Jesus says: "See! Your faith has made you well!" And the man was able to see. By this symbolic action Jesus demonstrated that He had come to make man see, that He could take away our blindness. But like the blind man we have to ask for it!

THE LARGE CATCH OF FISH

When Jesus prepared to call Peter, He wanted to explain through a symbolic action, what Peter's work was to be. Peter had spent a whole night, trying in vain to catch some fish. On Jesus' word he threw the net and caught such a great number that the net broke; Then Jesus says: "From now on you will be a fisher of men. The miracle expressed very powerfully the meaning of Peter's mission: working to bring men to Christ; working at Christ's command and with His divine help: working with a guaranteed result. That was the meaning of the miracle.

RAISING LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD

The raising of Lazarus took place at the end of Jesus' public life. He had received news of Lazarus' sickness in good time (Jn 11:3) and if He had wished He could have prevented Lazarus' death easily enough (as also the Jews remarked, Jn 11: 37). Jesus allowed Lazarus to die, so that by raising him He could demonstrate a most important aspect of His mission (see His words in Jn 11: 15) He wanted to prove by a symbolic action that all men would receive everlasting life through Him.

"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, will live, even though he dies Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die" (Jn 11:25-26).

The raising of Lazarus demonstrates this point more convincingly than words could ever have done.All the miracles of Jesus dramatically symbolize Jesus' whole mission of bringing salvation, life, happiness or one of its aspects.

2. Jesus' miracles are also Manifestations of God's Power, revealing Jesus' divinity.

The miracles have been chosen especially with a view to making the Jews recognise Jesus' extraordinary personality and his divine nature:. When considering the miracles from this angle we have to take into account how the Jews would understand them. Again, some examples will make this clear.

GIVING LIFE TO THE PARALYTIC

Life is a gift of the Creator. The origin of all life was always attributed to God as something belonging exclusively to His Omnipotence. God gives life as much as He wills and He takes life as much as He wills. Of this the Jews were firmly convinced and the Old Testament is full of references to it. Psalm 104 sings:

"When you hide your face, (all living things) are dismayed. When you take their breath away, they die and return to the dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created again", (v. 29).

And in Deuteronomy 32-39 God says:

"Understand that I am God; there is no god beside Me. I make the living die and I give them life. I wound and I heal No one can take any being out of My hand!"

Giving life is the exclusive right and competence of the Creator. After Jesus had healed the paralytic Jesus discusses this 'giving of life':

"Just as the Father raises the dead back to life, in the same way the Son gives life to those He wants to... Even as the Father is Himself the source of life, in the same way He has made His Son the source of life..."

Such a truly divine 'giving of life' is implied in all cures Jesus brings about. Not only the instances where He literally raises the dead, but every healing is a manifestation of His divine power over life and death!

3. Jesus' miracles fulfilled the Old Testament promises, so that people could recognize Him as the promised redeemer.

For many centuries the Jewish people had been prepared for the coming of Christ. Anxiously they were awaiting the coming of this promised Saviour. They did not know precisely how He was to save them, but the prophets had sung of the great works of 'liberation', which the Messiah would undertake. By this general 'liberation', they would recognize Him:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" Is 61:1-3). Jesus Himself preaches in Nazareth on these words, showing how they are being fulfilled in Himself. For He has come to preach the good tidings of salvation, which are demonstrated by the works of salvation (the miracles) which He does (read Lk 4:16-22).

"Behold your God will come... Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped! Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy...! " (Is 35:4-6)

When John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the promised redeemer, Jesus answers with a reference to this prophecy: "Go back and tell John what you are hearing and seeing: the blind can see, the lame can walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the good news is preached to the poor!" (Mt 11:2-6) Jesus' miracles, prove that the era of liberation, of salvation has begun, especially for the poor and the lowly.

"He Himself took our illnesses and carried our diseases... He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities" (Is 53:4-5).

After mentioning the many cures which Jesus worked, St. Matthew points to this prophecy from Isaiah. As we know, the prophecy announces that the Redeemer will die for our sins (see Is 52:13-54:12). The illnesses of the people, the diseases of which they suffer are to be understood as symbol of man's sins. Just as Jesus took away people's illnesses, so He will take away their sins by His vicarious death! Jesus' healing and curing is the beginning of His Messianic work of salvation: a salvation that will be mostly spiritual.

4. Jesus' miracles prepared the way for the Sacraments.

Sacraments are external, visible actions (signs), by which an internal reality is expressed and brought about. If Jesus were to have instituted the sacraments without a visible and gradual preparation, His disciples would never have understood the nature of the sacraments.

FORGIVING SINS

When the paralyzed man had been laid at Jesus' feet, Jesus told him: "Your sins are forgiven". The bystanders could not see this interior forgiveness, and so they doubted whether it had really taken place. Therefore, Jesus told them:

"I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins!"

He proved it by curing the man there and then! It is obvious to everyone that if Jesus, with divine power, can cure a paralyzed man, He can also forgive sins with the same power. (Mt 9:1-8)

Jesus passed on the power to work miraculous cures to His apostles: "He gave them power to drive out the evil spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness". (Mt 10:1) Also this was a preparation. For just as He could give them power to heal external diseases (cures, which people could see), so He could give them the power to forgive men's sins (a cure, which people cannot see). "If you forgive men's sins, then they are forgiven...!" (Jn 20:23) In this way Jesus slowly prepared the Church for the sacraments of forgiveness and reconciliation, especially Confession and the Anointing of the Sick.

BAPTISM

Jesus had been preaching in the Temple on the light He was bringing to the world. To demonstrate His power to do so, He cured a blind man. He did this cure in a very special way: He anointed the man's eyes and sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash his face. "So the man went, washed his face and came back seeing" (Jn 9:7). The washing was a rite through which the man received salvation. In this way Jesus prepared the disciples for the new rite of washing, for baptism, by which people were to receive the saving grace of His passion. Without such a preparation they would not have understood the full meaning of His final instructions when He said, after His resurrection: "Go to all peoples and make them My disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...!" Mt 28:19.

"Go to the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved..." Mk. 16:15-16 The meaning of baptism had been explained in Jesus' preaching (see Jn 3:3-7), but also by Jesus' miracles. ).

THE EUCHARIST

It would have been quite impossible for Jesus to explain the sacrament of the Eucharist, and Holy Mass, to His disciples, if He had not first worked some external miracles by which He had prepared the ground. It is not difficult to see that the miracle at Cana (with the mysterious wine!) and the multiplication of the bread were specially meant to introduce this sacrament. In fact after the multiplication Jesus expressly announces the sacrament (read Jn 6:2.5-58). Because the disciples had seen the bread multiply in Jesus' hand, they would realise at the Last Supper that His words "This is My Body" conveyed very well the significance. Since they had seen the change in the miracles of wine and bread, they now understood the sacramental change even though they could not see it.

In general we may say that Jesus' miracles are continued in the sacraments. Jesus' power of salvation, which was first manifested externally, is now exercised in its true internal dimensions: all the sacraments are aspects of the power to bring salvation which Jesus entrusted to His Church.

5. Jesus' miracles also indicate the renewal of the temporal world in which we live.

His miracles were all acts of kindness and love by which He made the life of certain people happier in this world. Also, this temporal, this 'worldly' aspect of Jesus' miracles has a meaning. For His work would imply the uplift also of the temporal world - already now during the period of the militant Church, but especially later when man will be raised to life with body and soul. The Church continues this aspect of Jesus' miracles by the work she does in the field of charity and social development. The Church's service of mankind, through its schools, hospitals, orphanages and so on sprung from the same love with which Jesus healed the unfortunate sick persons of His time.

In short, Jesus' miracles had five important functions:

1. they explained his mission
2. they revealed His divinity
3. they proved Him to be the Messiah
4. they prepared the way for the Sacraments
5. they began the world's renewal.

Some Difficult Passages

—In Mk 8:22-26 Jesus heals a blind man, but he is not immediately cured. Jesus has to touch him a second time. If Jesus was omnipotent, He could have cured him at once.

Reply: It is not a matter of having more or less power. If Jesus can cure the man in stages, He can do it at once! The reason for the long process is that Jesus wants to express the meaning of the miracle better: that it takes time to understand heavenly things ( see how blind the disciples are in the foregoing discussion: Mk 8:14-21).

—According to Mt 20:29 and Mk 10:46 Jesus cured the blind man as He was leaving Jericho. Luke (18:35) says it happened as Jesus was drawing near to Jericho. How do you explain this contradiction?

Reply: At times the evangelists are not interested in being exact when narrating such events. What mattered to them was that Jesus cured the blind man near Jericho, and whether it happened while leaving or while approaching is, after all, not important. It all depends on how exact one wants to be in details. Has it never happened to you that you said: "I came home at five o'clock", when it actually had been ten minutes past five?

—In Mark 16:17-18 Christ promises His disciples that they will be able to do miracles: to pick up snakes and drink poison without any harm, etc. But we do not have this power to work miracles.

Reply: Christ's words were meant for the first generation of Christians in a very literal sense. They did work such miracles, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles. They were still in the transitional stage from miracles to sacraments. After the first generation, the spiritual part of Christ's message and of His mission was so well established that such extraordinary 'small miracles' were no longer necessary. Instead, the Church received the 'bigger miracles' of her incomparable charity and service to man, of her inexplicable vigour and strength in spite of persecutions, of her unending flow of sanctity in so many forms. These are the "signs" which were symbolized by the miracles of the first generation. These new signs are even better suited to prove God's active participation in the Church's mission!