What About the Miracles?

We all have moments of doubt, maybe even long periods of doubt about the existence of God and the truth of Christianity. What keeps me believing, though, are the miracles. If there are miracles, there has to be a God.

Sometimes Christianity and the existence of God seems so silly. Some unseen, almighty being created and controls everything? What a laugh! That’s okay for ignorant primitives trying to explain natural phenomena, but not educated people.

Let’s get real about that Christmas story—born in a stable, a prophetic star, messenger angels and dreams, being chased by a wicked king? The stuff of fairy tales and Hollywood, but just too much drama and fantasy for any but the most gullible.

Then again, look at what resulted from that Christmas story. The baby in the manger grew up to be Jesus of Nazareth, a man who changed the world so profoundly that his teachings are still followed by billions of people 2,000 years later.

Lord, to Whom Shall We Go?

My Bible study teacher often speaks about a passage from the Gospel of John in which the Apostles declare their belief in Christ. Jesus had just finished telling his disciples that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life.

Sounds gruesome, right? No wonder that “After hearing these words, many of his disciples remarked, ‘This sort of talk is hard to endure! How can anyone take it seriously?’ so, Jesus asked ‘Does it shake your faith?’” (John 6:60-61)

Apparently, it did because “From this time on, many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company any longer.” Jesus then asked the Twelve: “Do you want to leave me too?” (John 6:66-67)

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe; we are convinced that you are God’s holy one.” (John 6:68-69)

At that point, the Apostles had witnessed the miracle at Cana, the mystery of Jesus’ knowledge of the Samaritan woman’s past, at least two miraculous cures, the miracle of the loaves and fishes and Jesus walking on water.

Beyond that, they had heard Jesus’ teachings and watched His behavior. He appeared to be the real deal. In fact, they were convinced that He was the Son of God. Indeed, where else could they go to find someone like that?

That’s the all-important question we all need to ask ourselves: “Lord, to whom shall we go?” Where else are we going to find what we find in Christianity? Another religion? A cult? Do they offer love and eternal life as Christ promised?

In a previous blog, I discussed a very similar question that Christ asked Simon Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/08/who-do-you-say-that-i-am/

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16:16). After all, they had a ton of proof from what they had experienced with Jesus. If you had seen all those miracles, wouldn’t you believe?

We Are All Witnesses to Miracles

The things is, we have seen all those miracles too. We’ve read about the ones in the Bible and others throughout history. Sceptics say that the Bible is just stories; good literature maybe, but who knows if any of that stuff really happened?

Well, a great deal of what is in the Bible has been verified by historical and archaeological research. Long-ago miracles may be legends, but we know that modern miracles are verified with documentation from the Church and from secular sources.

There are still those who say that science can prove “miracles” to be other phenomena, or good medicine, but have these doubters actually investigated or just brushed it all off? If they went through the same process as the Vatican, would they discover that these miracles are truly inexplicable except as acts of God?

Once you accept the miracles, there is no place else to go but to God, as Peter said. Nonetheless, there were those disciples who walked away from Jesus. We see that limited ability to believe around us every day.

People who say they want to believe in God, but not if it means changing their lifestyles, or looking uncool, won’t put any serious effort into it. It takes a commitment to find the Truth though.

In this blog, I have written about a few candidates for sainthood (Charles I of Austria, Charlene Richard, Sr. Blandina) and the database of eucharistic miracles created by Blessed Carlo Acutis. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/11/eucharistic-miracles-that-prove-transubstantiation/

I compile evidence of miracles and share them so others can believe. In the process, I stave off my own doubt and bolster my faith. Miracles are affirmations of God’s existence and His love for us.