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Am I Truly Open to a Miracle?

Sometimes I wonder, am I really prepared for a true miracle? Would I trust something miraculous if it happened to me? Every time I read the Gospels, I wonder what I would truly do if I was offered, face-to-face, with Jesus presenting miracles. One of my favorite miracles is from the Gospel of Mark. 

Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and [Jesus] preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way?* He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”— he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this." (Mark 2:2-12)

Now there are multiple reasons why this moment really stands out to me. First, it is the determination of the paralyzed man and the men helping him to find a way to get to Jesus in the crowd. It makes me question, when I am asking for Christ's intervention, healing, or guidance, am I willing to do my part - am I willing to climb to Him? How many times is it so easy to cut prayer time short because I have some chores to do? How many times do I try to justify missing a chance to pray the Rosary because I'm sleepy? For this man in the Gospel of Mark and his friends, it was in no way a simple task to come from the roof above. Yet, there were no excuses given when they saw that the crowd was an obstacle. They knew that making the trek was worth it. And they knew that miracles awaited if they only tried and believed.

The second thing that I love about this passage is that when the man arrives for help, Jesus gives him the gift he truly needs - for his sins to be forgiven. How many times do we look at the challenges we face and the difficult times we encounter and think, why doesn't God help me? How many times are we asking for one thing, so we fail to see what God IS doing in our lives to help us. After all, look at the amazing gift that God has already given us! He has given us a chance at the greatest miracle - forever forgiving us of our sins! He gives us the miracle of eternal life. Really think about that. That miracle is available for anyone, it is promised to us if we accept him. Everything else is truly just icing on the cake. 

The third thing that blows me away is when Jesus tells the man to pick up his mat and walk. When I put myself in that man's place, I wonder, if Jesus looked on me with my one leg, in my wheelchair and told me to get up and walk, would I confidently stand up without question and walk? Would I accept his miracle and stand? Or would I stop and question how that was even going to work? Sadly, I think many times I don't leave my heart truly open to accepting miracles from God because I put limits on myself. And by putting hard limits on me, I am putting limits on the Holy Spirit. If we are going to ask for miracles, we have to trust that they are possible in the first place.

So I use this scripture as a reminder that even if I am willing to go the extra step and work towards a connection with Jesus, I have to make sure that I have true faith that whatever I ask can be given to me by God. There are no limits. It doesn't mean that everything I ask for will happen, but what's the point of asking if I don't think it could happen anyway? 

As I grow in my prayer life, I pray:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your limitless mercy and the miracle of forgiveness that you bestow to all of your children. Please, God grant me the grace to continue to learn to fully trust in you and all that you give and can give to me. I pray that as I open my heart to your mercy and strength, that you continue to work miracles in my body, mind, and spirit. Amen. 

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