My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
Divine Miracles (Gk. Θεία Θαύματα)
"Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things
which you hear and see:
The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the
and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the
gospel preached to them" (Matthew 11:4-5).
During His earthly Ministry Our Lord Jesus Christ performed numerous miracles through which He revealed the prophecy by Isaiah who predicted that at the Coming of the Messiah the "blind" would "see", the "lame" would "walk," "lepers" would be "cleansed" , the "deaf" would "hear" Jesus Christ fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah, bearing the fruit which ONLY the Messiah can produce. These were the signs that Saint John the Forerunner was waiting to hear when he asked Him, "Are You the Coming One or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3).
Miracles mentioned by Christ in the New Testament are: The Leper cleansed, the paralyzed servant of the centurion,The Gergesen Demoniacs, the Paralytic, the healing of the woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, the ruler’s daughter who was resurrected, the healing of the the blind men, the feeding of the five thousand, Jairus’s daughter raised, the Barren Fig Tree, the miracle of the abundance of fish at Lake Gennesaret, Calming of the Storm, first Sign at the wedding feast in Cana, and of course the greatest of all miracles of our Savior is His Resurrection from the dead. Christ’s Divinity works together with His humanity to accomplish His miracles. All miracles manifest the grace of the Holy Spirit our God. They are the action of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the GodMan came down from heaven to bestow healing and to save all of mankind. The wonders or miracles performed by our SaviorGod were acts of Divine Love. Fatherly love for His children who are suffering. It is also referred to as God’s mercy for man. After Jesus Ascended into Heaven, the Holy Apostles continued to preach the good news and to bring healing to those afflicted with various infirmities and demon possession. The grace of God works through His Holy Church, the Head of which is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Physician of our souls and bodies. Therefore, His miracles will continue happening unceasingly and without end.
As a priest of our Holy Orthodox Faith I have personally witnessed many awesome wonders over many decades. Our Almighty and Benevolent God has healed many of my parishioners over five decades of ministry. Orthodox Christians who were suffering from cancer, from aneurysms, complication of the delivery of a baby, from bombing of a house during war, of drowning, of finding a bone marrow donor, the manifestation of a consecrated eucharistic host at a small chapel dedicated to Saint Nektarios, and the bringing back to life a young man who was declared dead by physicians and corner in a local hospital. Miracles are the direct intervention of God when people have lost all other hope.
Our faith is a living faith! Our Heavenly Father reaches out in His love and mercy to save us and to restore us back to health from dreadful and incurable diseases. Are illnesses the result of sin? Not all, but most. The ailments of the paralytic and of the man who suffered pain in his legs (as recorded in the Book of Kings (see III Kings 15:23) were caused by sin. There is no greater Physician than our Lord Jesus Christ, the Physician of our souls and bodies. All of the Divine Mysteries (Sacraments) of our Holy Church grant us forgiveness, healing, and eternal life. Our church is a hospital where we all gather to meet with our Lord, to seek healing from Him, to find mercy and forgiveness of our sins, to reconcile with Him through repentance, to be cleansed, and to be united with Him through the Holy Eucharist.
"Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). Belief in Christ is essential and He honors whatever faith we have and He will increase our faith when we sincerely desire Him. God’s power is released through faith. Jesus seeks to elicit faith from us. We receive the incarnate Son through faith, and then live by faith. We should always be personally involved and actively participate in God’s righteousness through our proper response of belief and obedience. Living by faith in Christ, we exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17; 15:13). We entreat God to help us, to heal us, to guide us, to forgive us, to save us, through prayer and humble obedience. We are not just bystanders waiting for the Lord to do everything for us without any effort from us.
The Orthodox answer to the Protestant question to us, "Are you saved?" is the following: (a) I have been saved, being joined to Christ in baptism, (b) I am being saved, growing in Christ through the Sacramental life of the Church, (c) I will be saved, by the mercy of God at the Last Judgment. We who believe are granted entrance into His Kingdom by His grace. Through His mercy we are justified by faith and empowered by God for good works or deeds of righteousness which bring glory to Him. We do not merit or earn salvation, salvation is His gift to us. It is His Cross that saves and not ours. What the Lord asks His followers is, "deny himself and take up his cross and follow" Him. (Matthew 16:24). The cross is a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ. Self-denial is for the sake of Christ and the gospel for a more perfect life. Similarly Divine miracles cannot be claimed by anyone for they are given by God Who determines in His wisdom and love when to grant them.
The Mother of God, the Theotokos, at the wedding feast in Cana asks Him to work a miracle for she knew that her Son, the Son of God, had power beyond that of ordinary men [Luke 2:19, 51). However He resists at first by saying to her, "Mine hour is not yet come" (John 2:4). According to Saint Theophylact, "When the Lord says, "Mine hour is not yet come," is is not because He is subject to the constraints of time. How could He be, having created the ages and time itself? His statement means that He does everything at the time most beneficial for us and our salvation." The Lord does not flatly ignore His mother’s request and He does what she wanted Him to do, to perform the miracle so that the wedding celebration would continue. This was the first of Christ’s miracles, and no one could yet imagine His great power. Saint Theophylact says, "Understand the wine to signify the Evangelic Word, and the water, all the ordinances which preceded the Gospel."
As human beings we have many limitations and constraints. If we are honest with ourselves we will accept that very fact and put aside our prejudices and pride and with faith and humility ask for help from our Divine Creator and Heavenly Father. His love for all of His children is true and infinite. However, we must trust Him and to wait patiently and prayerfully to respond to our request when He determines is most beneficial to us. God’s wisdom is perfect and beyond our understanding, "Therefore, do NOT be like them. For your Father KNOWS THE THINGS YOU HAVE NEED OF BEFORE YOU ASK HIM" (Matthew 6:8). When we pray, we do not lecture God or make demands, but we are humble and sincere. It is not repetition per se, but VAIN repetition which Jesus condemns. Many of our Saints encourage us to continue praying for His aid and mercy. As Orthodox Christians we witness our constant entreaties and petitions to our Savior, to God the Father and to the Holy Spirit "for the salvation of our souls, for the peace of the whole world, for the union of all all mankind, for the abundance of the fruits of the earth, for our deliverance from all affliction, wreath, danger and necessity, etc. (Divine Liturgy).
When you pray, be truthful to Him and always be yourself. You are speaking to your heavenly Father who loves you and cares for you. Don’t ever doubt either of His love for you or of His willingness to help you. Be patient and reverent. One needs to only look at the Crucifix and see Him on the Cross, if one doubts, and see how much He loves us, unworthy as we are. What greater proof of His love than that! Be strong and face all your problems in life with faith, courage, and know that God is with you always and whatever you’re facing, He is there with you, and you are never alone or forgotten. Jesus said, "…If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; AND NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU" (Matthew 17:20).
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 