Grief to Joy—Life from Death!
Read: Luke 7:11-17 He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” (v. 14) What is it like to lose the person you most depended on? Your grief may be exceeded only by your loneliness, your loneliness only by your loss, and your loss only by your helplessness to find a remedy. In today’s reading, Jesus […]
A Miracle of Transfiguration
Read: Matthew 17:1-9 Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. (v. 9) When people think of the miracles of Jesus, they don’t usually think of the one in our reading today. That’s because the transfiguration is not a miracle about what Jesus does, but a miracle of who […]
No Sign but Jonah
Read: Matthew 12:38-42 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (v. 39) When I read this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, I’m at first surprised that Jesus turns down an opportunity to prove himself. However, throughout the Gospels, […]
Miraculous Compassion
Read: Matthew 14:13-21 They all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. (v. 20) What is less fun than balancing a budget—at home, at the office, at church? The world shows us that scarcity dwells in every corner of our lives. No matter how much we […]
Claimed by Jesus
Read: Mark 5:25-34 She said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” (v. 28) Have you ever felt like the woman in today’s reading? Or do you know someone who has suffered much, spent all they have trying to find relief, without result? The reality is that medical care can’t cure everything, […]
Believing Is Seeing
Read: Mark 5:21-23, 35-43 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” (v. 41) We sometimes believe we must have some extraordinary “amount” of faith for God to work in our lives. The Gospels are clear: it’s not the amount but the object of […]
Healing Follows Forgiveness
Read: Matthew 9:1-8 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . (v. 6) There are times in my life when I’ve had to forgive someone who hurt me. There are other times when I’ve received the gift of forgiveness from someone I hurt. But I’ve never forgiven […]
A Miracle of Deliverance
Read: Mark 5:1-15 They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man . . . sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (v. 15) Have you ever felt divided against yourself, unable to accept constraint, even wanting to end your life? Maybe you have, or maybe you know someone who has felt this way. […]
A Prophecy Fulfilled
Read: Matthew 8:16-17; Isaiah 53 He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (v. 16) To fully understand Jesus’s miracles we have to go beyond a simple retelling of the events. In performing miracles, Jesus was fulfilling the word of God’s prophet Isaiah. Long before Jesus was born, Isaiah told […]