GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 1:29?39
²⁹And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
³²That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
³⁵And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. ³⁶And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, ³⁷and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." ³⁸And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." ³⁹And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

It was a Sabbath Day. First Jesus drove out an evil spirit from the man in the synagogue. Then he cured Simon Peter's mother-in-law who was suffering from a fever. And by the end of the day, everyone in town had heard about it and they brought to Jesus all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And Jesus cured very many people that day.

On this day, people did not come to Jesus to hear the Word of God, but rather to be healed. They did not come for something spiritual, but for something physical. Perhaps they came to Jesus for the wrong reason, but they did come. And many of them saw more than only miraculous healing. They saw the love of God. They saw in Jesus the love of God who cares for them. They saw a love that said that they were important. They saw that God does care for them, both body and soul. And so there must have been much rejoicing in that town that night.

Jesus loved people and wanted to heal them, but Jesus came for more than just healing the people, he came to speak the Word of God. And so the next morning he told his disciples, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." Jesus came to preach the Good News of Salvation. That Good News Gospel says that God forgives sin. Jesus continued to cure the sick and to cast out demons, but he put more emphasis on preaching and teaching about God.

You see, healing the sick was just temporary. All those people eventually got sick again and died. But the Word of God heals the sick soul, and a healthy soul never dies. The people who were cured by Jesus died eventually. Bodily health was temporary. But the death and resurrection of Jesus proves that even death is temporary.

At least at first, many people came to Jesus because of the healing. It made the headlines. It made people interested in Jesus. People came for a cure, but then they also heard the Good News. A lot of people first come to church looking for a miracle. They want to be healed, they want their personal problems solved, they want to make money. They want health and wealth. I recently read an article in a magazine from my seminary which talked about spirituality. The article said that people come to church looking for magic ? not miracles but magic. Magic is something that can be achieved if you have the right formula -- Say the right prayers, make the right gestures, give the right offering, believe right in your heart, etc. Sometimes there are evangelism rallies with great emphasis on healing. Sometimes people go there for the show, to see and to feel the magic. Do not get me wrong. I do believe in praying for the sick, I do believe that God answers our prayers. But answering prayers is not magic. Magic manipulates faith in order to get something done. Then, faith is just a tool in the bag of magic tricks. A real miracle is not a trick. It does not try to manipulate God. It does not make a promise by saying, "God, if you heal me I will change my life." A real miracle relies solely on the mercy and grace of God.

What is the greatest miracle of all? Remember, a miracle is not a magic act, but rather it is something that shows the love of God. What miracle really shows the love of God? I think it is the death of Jesus on the cross. I think it is a miracle that Jesus actually died on the cross. After all, Jesus was both human and divine. It might be natural that people die, but it is not natural that God should die. By definition, God cannot die. It was a special miracle. It was a special something that showed the love of God. It showed that God loves us so much that he gave his one and only Son to die for us, in order to forgive our sin.

I think the second greatest miracle would be the Resurrection of Jesus. It too shows the love of God. It proves that death is only temporary. It proves that life with God is eternal. It proves that God really does love us because Jesus promised that all who believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I think the third greatest miracle is faith. I think it is a miracle that a human believe in God. With our sinful eyes we cannot see God. Scientists cannot find him. The theological expression for this condition is "original sin." Faith is a miracle because the Holy Spirit works that miracle in our hearts. Martin Luther's Small Catechism says it this way in the explanation of the Third Article of the Apostle's Creed. "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Hoy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith."

Do you want to see a miracle? Do you believe in God? Then there is already a miracle in your heart! The Holy Spirit has created the miracle of faith in your heart. What more do you need?

What more do you need? We do not need anything more to prove the love of God. Christ died, Christ rose, and we believe that he will come again.

And yet, we live in this world of sin and pain and suffering. And so we pray. We do not pray for magic. We pray that the miracle of God's love would be shown in the lives and in the bodies and minds of those whom we love. We pray for healing. And that is a sign of our love. We pray with confidence, knowing that Jesus can do what we pray for, and can do even more. We know that Jesus will answer us with the love of God in the best way for us.

I enjoy watching a magic show. It is fun to try to figure out what the trick is, and there is always a trick. I enjoy seeing a miracle, because I know there is no trick. There is only the love of God.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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