• Editor’s note: “Spiritual leaders answer on…” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i’s religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrines’ perspectives on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Submissions are edited for content
• Editor’s note: “Spiritual leaders answer on…” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i’s religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrines’ perspectives on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Submissions are edited for content and length. Thoughts or suggestions for future topics are always welcome. Next week’s topic is death. The topic at the end of the column is for the following week.
Kahu James Fung
Lihu‘e Christian Church
In biblical times people did not have a world view based so thoroughly aligned with the laws of science and physics. They lived in a world where they saw that there were forces at work in their lives that they didn’t understand.
They looked with wonder upon people being healed, cured of diseases, freed from the paralysis of guilt and shame. Once in a while there were also stories told of a person who had died and who was restored to life. Some saw these as the result of a miracle worker. But most saw these events as a sign of a powerful divine intervention. It gave them pause to consider that God was revealing something worth paying attention to.
Many people don’t believe in miracles. They read about them in the Bible but dismiss them as mere superstition, exaggerations or as illustrative stories told by inspired authors who took creative license to make a spiritual point. But there are others who accept miracles as a break in the natural flow or order of things because of some greater power at work.
When Jesus took a little boy’s lunch of two little fish and five barley cakes and turned it into enough food to feed 5,000 plus people — wasn’t that a miracle? Or consider if Jesus used a little boy’s extravagant generosity to inspire a large crowd of strangers to share their food with each other and these strangers shared their prayers, their food and conversation with each other and 5,000 people had an unforgettable experience — was this any less of a miracle? Either interpretation of this passage in John 6: 1-14 reveals a God who can do fantastic things!
Maybe the greatest miracle of all was not Jesus turning water into wine or healing a paralytic or restoring sight to a blind man. There are many stories like these in the Bible. But maybe the greatest miracle of all happens when we who are dying from loneliness, anger, sadness or fear are brought back to life by a God who gets our attention, wins our heart and shows a new and better way to live.
Lama Tashi Dundrup
Kaua‘i Dharma Center
In our practice of spirituality, disciplining one’s mind and associating it with one’s heart as compassion, loving kindness and other positive human qualities, insight into one’s true nature arises. When this, together with insight into the nature of phenomena is acquired, then spiritual power is produced. This in turn produces extraordinary results, physical and mental. Events, which some call miraculous, but are actually not dependent on any exterior beings, divine or otherwise. They are only a result of spiritual practices and should be considered only as worldly accomplishments. There are 26 categories of these psychic and physical results such as healing by touch, levitating, predicting future events, having control over natural elements, such as water, wind, fire and earth, seeing past lives of self and others. The Dalai Lama is a good example of this kind of power.
Pastor Wayne Patton
Anahola Baptist Church
A miracle is a supernatural act in which God interrupts the natural course of human experiences by exercising His authority over His creation for the purpose of revealing Himself.
Frequently in the Bible God employs this special work to accomplish two purposes. God does miracles, first of all, to meet human needs. This purpose was particularly common during Jesus’ earthly ministry, which was characterized by compassionate supernatural deeds designed to relieve human suffering. Each of these miracles also served a higher purpose — divine testimony. God does the miraculous to verify that an accompanying revelation is true and divine in its origin.
Historically, most miracles have taken place either during the ministries of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, or Jesus and the apostles. In each period the supernatural works were designed to convince those who saw them that God was indeed at work and that the message that these men spoke was from God (John 5:36).
It is only natural for us to wonder whether we may expect miracles today. The Bible seems to indicate that we may if we keep the right purposes in mind. The Bible condemns those who seek a miracle to satisfy skepticism, idle curiosity, or a desire for fame and power. However, there is no biblical evidence that God will not work a miracle today to relieve suffering or to verify His presence and work in the world.
God is at work in the world through every event and situation. Though His deeds often mystify us, the Bible assures us that the goal to which He is working all things will accomplish His glory and our highest good.
The Baha’is of Kaua‘i
Baha’is believe that the manifestations of God are capable of performing any miracle asked of them. However, the proof that a manifestation is of God rests with the benefits their teachings bring to mankind and not with miracles that are witnessed by only a few.
The Baha’i Writings state it as follows:
“The holy manifestations are the sources of miracles and the originators of wonderful signs. For Them, any difficult and impracticable thing is possible and easy. For through a supernatural power wonders appear from Them; and by this power, which is beyond nature, They influence the world of nature. From all the manifestations marvelous things have appeared.
But in the Holy Books an especial terminology is employed, and for the manifestations these miracles and wonderful signs have no importance. They do not even wish to mention them. For if we consider miracles a great proof, they are still only proofs and arguments for those who are present when they are performed, and not for those who are absent.
But in the day of the manifestation the people with insight see that all the conditions of the manifestation are miracles, for They are superior to all others, and this alone is an absolute miracle. Recollect that Christ, solitary and alone, without a helper or protector, without armies and legions, and under the greatest oppression, uplifted the standard of God before all the people of the world, and withstood them, and finally conquered all, although outwardly He was crucified. Now this is a veritable miracle which can never be denied. There is no need of any other proof of the truth of Christ.”
Rebecca DeRoos
Science of Mind practitioner
My mother would repeatedly remind me, “Where there’s a will there’s a way.” So, giving up on things is not my choice — there’s always a way. Science of Mind teaches: “With God, all things are possible.” With this, I agree.
Miracles are a fact of life. It’s in the “knowing” and “accepting” that with God anything is possible. The catch is, your miracle may not happen in the time or way you might expect. Once you ask and let go, it really does happen. But, as Emmet Fox says: “Don’t hurry the chicken.” His story relates of a child who was told that some day a tiny chick would appear from each egg in his father’s nest. Each day he would check, but the eggs remained unchanged. After several days he thought he had been deceived, but out of habit he checked on the eggs anyway. “And behold what was his joy to see a flock of chickens running about!”
Wonderful changes take place within all the time. We just don’t see them. Don’t give up. The boy gave up, but the mother hen didn’t. Emmet suggests: “Give your demonstrations time to hatch.” Galatians 6:9 reiterates by saying: “And let us not be weary: For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Topic for two weeks from today
• Will you speak to us on giving?
• Spiritual leaders are invited to e-mail responses of three to five paragraphs to afrainier@thegardenisland.com.
• Deadline each week is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
