Thursday, October 29, 2009

The New Normal

Here's a challenge for a snowy day: flip through the gospels and make a list of all the miracles of Jesus.

You won't be half-way when you realize there are more than you thought. You won't be half-way when you come to terms with the truth that he was more often healing and delivering than teaching. You won't be half-way when you take pause about what you think is "normal life."

That is, if Jesus is alive and active today, in your life. We are called "little Christs" (that's what the word "Christian" means). He said we'd do the things he did, and greater.

All this may not be normal. It's not to me... but I want a new normal.

Matthew 15:29-31

After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

2 comments:

  1. Zach Dills

    I love the challenge and wanted to share a thoguht with you. I'm not sure Jesus was performing more miricles than he was teaching.

    I admit that I didn't recount today but I think there are 34 or 35 miricles that Jesus performed as recorded in the gospels. Now it is hard to measure 34 or 35 miricles against how much he taught. But I feel like most of his miricles were accompanied with teachings while not all of his teachings were accompanied with miricles. Just a thought

    Love your writing

    zach

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  2. I've been hesitating to respond because my first thought was to go and count... I'm grateful to you, Zach, for pushing me to be accurate. And, you're right: Jesus generally accompanied his miracles with teaching, while there are times where he certainly doesn't accompany teaching with miracles.

    At the root of this thought, however, was not the size of the lists of miracles and teachings, but rather the collection of passages like the one I included at the end, which mention in passing the idea that Jesus was healing/freeing anyone and everyone who came to him with an infirmity or a demon possession. Matthew 15 is one of them, but also Luke 6:17-18; Mark 3:9-10; and Matthew 12:15... I don't think this is a complete list. Many of these are in the context of teaching, but aren't tied directly to the teaching. Jesus (and/or his biographers) doesn't seem to be using them to make a point... rather, it appears to be his modus operandi.

    But all this misses the point. The point is that when Jesus is doing what he claims is his big goal (see Luke 4:18-19), he's not JUST teaching, which is pretty much what I do, but expressing a holistic, multi-faceted proclamation of what he claims is the ultimate Good News... that the God of Israel is now calling all people unto himself for redemption and relationship, which includes physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration. That is where I fear I have missed the boat (though I'm swimming furiously to catch up), along with many of my counterparts.

    Miracles are uncomfortable to me right now, because the vast majority of miracles I pray for don't happen. I suppose it all comes down to believing in the resurrection more these experiences. If it happened, then I'm willing--or hope to be willing--to keep seeking them, and encouraging believers around me to seek them too. My big point was tied to the previous blogs: I'm trying to figure out life WITH Jesus... and the first thing it makes me think is "if Jesus is here, he'll keep doing what he did." Here's where I'm at right now: Every time he does, I rejoice in the "already." When the healings don't happen... I lament the "not yet." That sounds like the sort of safe-guard that makes many cringe, I know. But being a safe-guard doesn't necessarily make it untrue. That could be the reality of our "in-between" time: the night is far gone, as Paul says, but the day is not yet here (Rom 13).

    Thanks for your thoughts.

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