In the paralysed man miracle (Luke 5:18-25) Jesus healed a paralysed man by just speaking to him. At that time paralysed people would have been seen as outcasts because people believed that they had been taken over by demons. This shows Jesus’ universalism. This miracle also shows that the friends of the man had a lot of faith as they brought their friend to Him and trusted Jesus to heal him. Also Jesus heals him spiritually (forgiving his sins) and physically (curing his sickness) without even touching him. This then shows the power of God. The friends of the man made a journey to go and see Jesus to get their friend healed. This miracle of the paralysed man can teach Christians today to accept all people and have more faith because Jesus can heal both spiritually and physically without any touch.
This miracle can also encourage Christians today to go on a Pilgrimage to show their faith to God e.g. to Lourdes in France. A Pilgrimage is a special journey made to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion. Some other places for pilgrimages are: St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Santiago de Compostela in Spain, St. David's in Wales and Canterbury. People see pilgrimages as cures for the sick and of all your sins. People go on pilgrimages to seek inspiration and to show that they are willing to dedicate themselves to God and to show that they love him. Some Christians go to Lourdes because it is considered to be the most important centre for international pilgrimage. It was here that a girl called Bernadette had a series of eighteen visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus in 1858. A lot of people who go to Lourdes are severely handicapped or seriously ill. This is because numerous people have been healed here in the past. In Lourdes you can for example attend a mass in the Chapel of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, get an introduction to Lourdes and the Message of Lourdes. Although most people spend their time praying, singing hymns, lighting candles for the sick, visiting special sites and taking part in bible readings.
In the woman with the haemorrhage miracle (Luke 8:43-48) Jesus heals a woman who would have been seen as an outcast at that time when she comes and seeks Jesus’ help because no one else can cure her of her bleeding. This shows the faith of the woman in that she would trust Jesus to heal her.
This miracle shows the power of faith in God which can teach Christians today to have great faith because they will be rewarded with great things e.g. healing spiritually and physically. This miracle also shows that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah because he is fulfilling the Jewish scriptures by healing the sick. In this miracle, the fact that the woman had so much faith that she thought that if she just touched a piece of Jesus’ clothing to get healed is inspirational to Christians today.
Some churches today run healing services for those who are ill and some people even get healed by these services. A lot of these services are held at the time of Pentecost. Pentecost is a time when the Holy Spirit appeared on earth. It is celebrated 50 days after Easter and is the time when the Holy Spirit appeared to the twelve disciples. There was a sound like a rush of wind and tongues of fire appeared above the disciples. They could then teach the gospels in all languages. Some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and humility. Some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, healing, knowledge, faith, courage, awe and speaking in different languages. Charismatic churches emphasise the importance of the Holy Spirit in modern life.
Another healing miracle is one in which Jesus heals a leper (Luke 5:12-16). In this miracle Jesus heals the leper even though he was an outcast. This shows that Jesus is universal and treats everyone the same. Jesus also forgives the man of all his sins as well as curing him physically, which shows Jesus as the son of God. This miracle can teach Christians today to treat everyone equally and help anyone in need. Christians can also join an organisation like the Samaritans which helps people in need. Its aims are to provide confidential non-judgemental emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which might lead to suicide. Organisations like these can help Christians become closer to God by following His teachings and being more like him.
People within The Roman Catholic Church believe that if you perform a miracle after your death then you can become a saint. If it can be confirmed that a miracle has happened because a sick person prayed to the saint, then they can get canonised. The proof in the occurrence of the miracle is very important. People could just fake getting healed because they think that person should get canonised. If a saint is canonised several things would happen. For example, the saint would be invoked in public prayer, churches may be dedicated in the saint’s memory, feast days may be celebrated in the saint’s memory and the saint’s relics might be enclosed in vessels and publicly honoured.
In summary, some people still believe that healing miracles actually happened whereas others think that the people who got healed were just lucky. Christians today think about the healing miracles that Jesus performed and believe they still mean something and that the messages and teachings behind the miracles should still be followed.
Bibliography
Websites
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/miracles-of-jesus.htm
http://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/
www.dictionary.com
http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?contexte=en&id=405
http://www.pilgrimsprogress.org.uk/pilgrim1.htm
http://www.samaritans.org/
www.swanshurst.org/.../attach%2F24_544_Pilgrimage_to_Lourdes.doc
Books
Linda Smith and William Raeper, Luke – A Gospel for Today
The Bible – Luke’s gospel
