Where's My Miracle, God?

I recently watched a special about Linda Ronstadt and I really enjoyed listening to the excerpts of her musical performances which offered some of her most popular songs.

Having those songs flowing through my brain, I suppose, is the reason I thought of the first line of her song When Will I Be Loved when I read today’s reading.

She sings, “I’ve been cheated.”

I wonder how many of us feel like we’ve been cheated when we read about swift, miraculous healings in the bible like that from today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 5, Verse 13.

A man was suffering from leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was.  He fell down before Jesus, pleading with him, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”  The gospel tells us that Jesus “stretched out his hand, touched him, and said ‘I do will it. Be made clean.’”  The man was immediately made clean.

I think it is important to recognize that some of us might feel cheated after we have pleaded and pleaded with God to cure us, or someone we love, or to take care of a problem, and nothing, zero, nada happens.

What’s the deal with that?

Honestly, silence from God after we have tried so hard to negotiate a cure, or some other miracle, can have a significant impact on our faith.  We wonder why we bother.  We ask, “Where is God?” and we have a lot of doubt flood over us.

Well, here’s the key.  Our pleading, our prayers, our fasting and our sacrifices should not be used as a form of manipulation to get God to do whatever we ask.  Any of these things we do are done as an offering to God because of our love for him, not because we expect something in return.  It is not an, “If I do this, I expect you to do that,” sort of arrangement.

The covenant God made with us is that he will always be our God and we will be his people.  When we fail to follow his will, reject or ignore him, he does not leave us.  

Are there legitimate healings, miracles?  Of course.  Is our every request answered with one?  No, or course not.

When we do not get what we want from God, we should not leave him or lose our faith and trust in him.

 

Consider this:

“Theologians have identified three categories of divine interactions under the general heading of miracle: (1) physical (the traditional notion), (2) moral, and (3) intellectual. Moral and intellectual miracles are no less wondrous, but they do not occur in a physical way. The fact that they are miracles only becomes known after people perceive that what has been accomplished is beyond human capability. Moral miracles occur in the areas of virtue and right conduct, and enable people to overcome obstacles that would otherwise stunt their moral or spiritual growth.”

and this . . .

“Miracles will always have as their primary purpose the glorification of God and the calling of people to salvation. The signs worked by Jesus attest to His divine authority and invite belief in Him (cf. Catechism, no. 548). After His Ascension and Pentecost, Christ's disciples worked miracles in the name of Christ, thus giving the people signs of His divinity and proofs that He is who they said He is. In the same way later saints worked miracles to testify to a higher authority and that people are called to His kingdom.” Catholic Education

If you have not been given the miracle you desire, do not let it impact your confidence in God.  Miracles are beautiful, but our ability to trust in God’s wisdom in the face of personal trials without a miracle being given, is yet another example of his grace working in us.

Besides, is it possible that you have been witness to a miracle and not even realized it?

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
janetcassidy.blubrry.net