Formation 4: Parables and Miracles Jesus Teaches and Heals

1. Formation 4: Parables and MiraclesJesus Teaches and Heals St. Mary’s Confirmation Zanzig, Thomas. Confirmed in a Faithful Community. St. Mary’s Press: Mn, 2006

2. LectioDivina 20 minutes • Central to Jesus’s identity, his life, his mission and message, and all his words and actions is the notion of the Kingdom of God, or Reign, of God. • His parables proclaim and describe the Kingdom. • His miracles are signs of the Kingdom’s presence in the people’s midst.

3. LectioDivina 20 minutes • Please get into your LectioDivina group. Make sure you have your Bible. Let’s now pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us through the Scripture. • Proclaim Mark 10:46-52. After the reading, take a moment to identify a word or phrase that catches your attention. Then share. • Proclaim the Scripture a second time. Pause and ponder whether God might be calling you to say a word or two in your small groups. Is there an insight or lesson in the passage? Two or three short responses only. • Pray a brief prayer from your heart. • We will now spend a moment or two in quiet to simply let God love us and to bask in the wonder of this kind of love.

4. Jesus as Teacher 10 minutes The title teacher as a direct reference to Jesus is used in the Gospels at least thirty times. Virtually all of Jesus’s teachings related in one way or another to his proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

5. Most of the other respected Jewish teachers of Jesus’s day (called rabbis) backed up everything they said referring to the Scriptures and to the teachings of other respected rabbis. But Jesus often indicated that he was the sole judge of the truth of what he taught.

6. Jesus had a unique relationship with his disciples. Normally, disciples chose the rabbi to learn from. Jesus, however, chose his own disciples, and he called them into a lasting relationship with him.

7. One of the most striking features of Jesus’s teaching was his use of parables. The word parable comes from a word meaning “comparison.” Using everyday situations, Jesus would commonly compare the Kingdom of God to another reality –for example, a mustard seed, yeast in bread, or a sower in a field. Jesus would often add a surprising twist to his stories, something that would catch his listeners off guard and make a strong impression on them.

8. To best understand the meaning of Jesus’s words, we should take these steps: 1. Look at the central message. Don’t get lost in the details. Try to name the key lesson he is trying to teach. For instance, in the long parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus’s intent is to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” 2. Look especially for any questions posed in the stories. These often signal Jesus’s primary intention. 3. Compare how we react –or think we might have reacted if we had been there –with how people in the stories reacted. Does their response surprise us? Would we have reacted differently? Why? Finally, we fight the urge to think that we’ve heard this before. That attitude shuts off the possibility of further growth and understanding. The stories of Jesus are so filled with wisdom, insight, and often surprising lessons that we can listen to them over and over again –and we should.

9. Scripture Search: The Wisdom of Jesus 20 minutes 1. I will assign you a partner. 2. Each pair will receive a slip or slips of paper. The slips include words that Jesus spoke in different settings. 3. You will quickly read the passage and then notice key verse, phrase or question that best reflects the central point Jesus is trying to make. 4. As soon as you find it, go to the closest poster on the wall and write or print the selected text large and clearly enough so all can read it from a few feet away. Now, let’s all look at the posters and identify a few phrases that catch our eyes. What do you notice? Step 2: Are there any questions posed in the stories? Step 3: Compare how we react –or think we might react had we been there –with how the people reacted in the stories.

10. Presentation: The Miracles of Jesus 10 minutes Perhaps no image of Jesus intrigues us more than Jesus as “the miracle worker.” Our imagination is caught up with the scenes of power and awe –people raised to life with a simple word, blindness cured with a touch, sickness and disease rendered powerless in the presence of Jesus’s power.

11. Jesus’s miracles are signs of the powerful, loving presence of God in the world. They show that Jesus is divine, truly the Son of God, the promised Messiah. The miraculous events helped those who walked with him realize that Jesus Christ and God’s Kingdom are linked –you cannot have one without the other. Jesus says, “Even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:38).

12. Kinds of Miracles found in the Gospel Healing miracles: Jesus relieved the physical suffering of people. fever paralysis deafness muteness blindness leporsy Exorcisms: Evil spirits or demons were driven out of people at Jesus’s command. Restoration of Life: On three occasions Jesus conquered death itself by “raising people from the dead. Nature Miracles: Jesus demonstrated apparent control over the natural world by walking on water, calming the storm, feeding the thousands with just a few loaves and fishes, and so on.

13. The miracles worked by Jesus are signs that attest that God the Father has sent him. Those who witness to hear of such miracles are invited to believe in him, and those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask.

14. We hear in the Scriptures or miracles performed by Jesus that free people from the evils of hunger, injustice, illness, and death. These miracles are messianic signs –they testify that God the Father sent his son Jesus to free us from sin, which impedes us in our love of God and neighbor (CCC 548-549)

15. Often our modern minds want scientific proof of why things happen, but scientific proof does not explain the mystery of a miracle. The grace of an open heart and a willingness to place our trust in something we don’t understand can help us grow into a deeper appreciation and understanding of miracles.

16. Miracles aren’t “hocus pocus.” They are rooted in love and the mercy of God.

17. Forced –Choice Exercise: Miracles 1. In your groups, review the handout that lists the parables and miracles of Jesus. 2. Put a plus sign “+” next to any parables or miracles you may have read about or heard of. 3. Listen carefully as I read a miracle story 4. How would you judge the story according to the five options? (posters) 5. Brainstorm answers to the two questions on the posters: Why did you respond to the story as you did? What is the chief lesson to be learned from the story? 6. Move the poster and be ready to share responses.

18. Journal Activity The Good News Proclaimed to Me Jesus proclaimed that in and through him healing was available for people in painful situations. Poor people will hear the good news; brokenhearted people will have their brokeness mended; people in captivity will experience liberation; and people in mourning will find comfort. Of these five promises Jesus made, which one speaks most to your heart and life right now? In what area of your life do you most need healing?

19. Closing Prayer Jesus and his followers are called to “bring good news to the poor? (Luke 4:18) Jesus and his followers are called to “recovery of sight to blind” (Luke 4:18) Jesus and his followers are called to “proclaim liberty to captives” (Luke 4:18) Jesus and his followers are called to “release to the captives” (Luke 4:18) Jesus and his followers are called to “let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18)