GOD’S DIVINE MIRACLES

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

GOD’S DIVINE MIRACLES

"And when John heard in prison about the works of Christ,
he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are You the
Coming One, or do we look for another?’
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 deaf hear; the dead
are raised up and poor have the gospel preached to them"
[Matthew 11:2-5].

The Holy Prophet Isaiah predicted that a the Coming of the Messiah, the "blind" would see, the "lame walk, lepers" would sbe "cleansed," the "deaf" would "hear" (see Luke 7:22). Our Lord Jesus Christ the One and Only True Messiah fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah, bearing the fruit which the Messiah can produce.

When we speak of Divine miracles we must begin with the great miracle of God’s creation. "In the beginning God made heaven and earth. The earth was invisible and unfinished; and darkness was over the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw the light’; it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day; the darkness He called Night; and there was evening and morning one day…" (Genesis 1:1-5).

In the Orthodox Creed ("Symbol of Faith") we confess, "We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible." These opening words of the Nicene Creed, the CENTRAL DOCTRINAL STATEMENT OF CHRISTIANITY, affirms that One True God is the Source of everything that exists–both physical and spiritual, both animate and inanimate. The Holy Scriptures begin with a similarly striking assertion: "In the beginning God made heaven and earth." Saint Basil the Great declares:

"In the fear that human reasonings may make you wander from the truth, Moses has anticipated inquiry by engraving in our hearts, as a seal and a safeguard, the awesome name of God: ‘In the beginning God created.’ It is He–beneficent Nature, Goodness without measure, a worthy object of love for all beings endowed with reason, the beauty the most to be desired, the origin of all that exists… —it is He who ‘in the beginning created heaven and earth.’

The ever-existent Almighty God was not forced to create the universe. Rather, in His goodness and loving kindness, He freely chose to do so. And that fact that the Lord created the universeS ‘OUT OF NOTHING’ stands in clear contrast to the creation myths of the surrounding cultures in the ancient world.

The central role of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Logos/Word of the Father, in the creation of all things is plainly started in the first chapter of the Holy Apostle’s John’s gospel, where it is written, "In the beginning was the Logos/Word, … All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." And the specific role of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Undivided Trinity, in the creation of the world is seen in Genesis 1:2 (see also Psalms 103:30; 32:6).

The repeated affirmation "and God saw that it was good" in Genesis 1 underscores the intricate, fundamental GOODNESS of matter and the whole created order, even after the Fall. This understanding is the basis for a sacramental world-view–that the created order not only is good, but also can be a means for COMMUNION WITH GOD, BY VIRTUE OF BEING CREATED BY THE ALL-GOOD GOD. Moreover, the astounding beauty, intricate odr, and sublime harmony of all aspects of Creation, as well as the tremendously vast expanse of the universe are intended to draw mankind to ans awareness for the Creator, and to the worship of Him–and Him alone (see Psalm 18:1-4; Romans 1:20).

In Orthodox Christian Theology, miracles or wonders are Divine interventions that reveal God’s power and mercy, superseding natural laws to manifest His will and lead people to faith. While miracles like healings, weeping icons, holy relics, are considered genuine signs of God’s grace and presence, the core of faith lies in trust in Christ’s teachings and the witness of the Church, not in a constant pursuit of supernatural proof. The Orthodox Church emphasizes humility, discernment, and the spiritual transformation of the soul as the true "miracle" of Chistian life, reminding that not every supernatural event is divine and that God’s action is not limited to the Church’s boundaries.

The Holy Scriptures are a true witness to the countless and never-ending miracles of God. Our All-Merciful and Loving God uses every means to reveal to us His presence and compassion. Jesus assures us, "and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). We know Him directly, here and now, in the present, as our Savior and our Divine Friend. He is with us now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. AMEN.

In the New Testament (Covenant), after the Incarnation of the Savior, there was an elevation not only of the concept of man in Christ, but also of the concept of the body as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Himself, the Logos/Word of God, was incarnate and took upon Himself a human body. Christians are called to this: that not only their souls but also their bodies, sanctified by Holy Baptism, sanctified by the reception of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ, might become true temples of the Holy Spirit. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you? (I Corinthians 6:19). And therefore the bodies of Christians who have lived a righteous life, or who have become holy through receiving a martyr’s death, are worthy of special veneration and honor.

Our Holy Orthodox Church in all times, following Sacred Tradition, has shown honor to holy relics. This honor has been expressed (a) in the reverent collection and preservation of the remains of the saints of God, as is known from accounts of the 2nd century, and then from the testimonies of later times; (b) in the solemn uncovering and translation of the holy relics; (c) in the building over them of churches and altars; (d) n the establishment of feasts in memory of their uncovering or translation; (e) in pilgrimages to holy tombs, and in adorning them; (f) in the constant rule of the Church to place relics of holy martyrs at teh dedication (consecration) of altars, or to place holy relics in teh holy antimension upon which is performed the Divine Liturgy.

This very natural honor given to the holy relics and other remains of the saints of God has a firm foundation in the fact that God Himself has deigned to honor and glorify them by innumerable sings and miracles–something for which there is testimony throughout the whole course of the Christian history.

Even in the Old Testament, when saints were not venerated with a special glorification after death, there were signs from the bodies of the righteous. Thus, the body of a certain dead man, after being touched to the bones of the Prophet Elisha in his tomb, immediately came to life, and the dead man arose (IV [II] Kings 13:21]. The body of the Holy Prophet Elijah was raised up alive into heaven, and the mantle of Elijah, which was left by him to Elisha, parted by its touch the waters of the Jordan, for the crossing of the river by Elisha.

Going over to eh New Testament, we read in the Book of Acts of the Apostles aht the handkerchiefs and belts ("aprons") from the body of Saint Paul were placed upon the sick, and the diseases of the sick were cured, and evil spirits departed from them (Acts 19:12). The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church have testified before their hearers and readers of the miracles occurring from the remains of the saints, and foten they have called their contemporaries to the witnesses of the truth of their words… The miracles of antiquity have been renewed from the time when, through the Coming of the Lord Jesus, there has been poured out upon the earth a most abundant Grace! You see many who have been healed as if by the shadow of the saints. How many cloths have been handed down from hand to hand! How many garments, laid upon the sacred remains and from the mere touching become a source of healing, do believers entreat from each other! All strive at least a little to touch (them), and the one who touches becomes well. Similarly testimonies may be read in Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Saint John Chrysostom, Blessed Augustine, and others.

Already from the beginning of the 2nd century there is information on the honor given by Christians to the remains of saints… The remains of the saints (in Greek, ta leipsana) are revered whether or not they are incorrupt, out of respect for the holy life or the martyric death of the saint, and all the more when there are evident and confirmed signs of healing by prayer to the saints for their intercession before God. [Resources: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology and Orthodox Study Bible)

_________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George