The Miracle of Christ - Talk by Swami Paramatmananda - Part 5

[Guest guest]

What happened next? The fishermen came back to the shore and followed

Christ, leaving their homes. They had such faith in him that one

miracle was enough to inspire them. They were mere fishermen, yet they

took nothing with them and followed Jesus. Sometimes miracles are

needed to convince people that what's happening is divine. Some people

cannot just listen and then believe. They need something unusual,

highly unusual.

A big crowd gathered around Jesus, who was visiting a house. They

brought a man who was completely paralyzed and had been lying in his

bed for years. They wanted Jesus to just touch him, but they couldn't

get into the house. They were pushing to get in and Jesus was

wonderstruck at their faith.

Christ went over to the sick person and said, " Man, your sins are

forgiven you, " in other words, because of some past bad karma, you are

suffering from this terrible sickness, but I forgive you for that.

When the priests heard that, they thought, " Who is this who speaks

blasphemies? Who can forgive sins except God? " And when Jesus heard

their thoughts, he turned to them and said,

" Why are you reasoning like that in your heart? Which is easier to

say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so

that you may know the Messiah has power to forgive sins... "

He turned to the paralyzed person, and said, " I say to you, get up,

take your bed and go home. " He did not say " By God's grace you're

going to become all right. " He said, " I am telling you to get up and

go home. " He is identified with God - he's got the authority. He

didn't need to say anything else. The man immediately got up, took his

bed and walked out. They were amazed and filled with awe. They were

filled with fear also. " Who is this person? " they wondered.

The Jews believe that God created the world in six days and on the

seventh day He took rest, and therefore everyone is supposed to take

rest on the seventh day which is called the Sabbath. That doesn't mean

that you should sleep twenty-four hours on the seventh day. It just

means you're not supposed to be doing any selfish work. You can do

some things, but the priests were taking it to the extreme. They

thought you shouldn't do anything.

One day Christ entered the temple and was giving satsang when a man

came in whose hand was withered up. The priests were watching and

thinking, " Is he going to do something on the Sabbath day? Is he going

to go against the rules of the Sabbath? " Christ turned to them and

said, " I'll ask you one thing. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good

or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it? " They did not answer

him, so he told the cripple, " Stretch out your hand, " and when he

stretched it out, his hand became normal. The priests were filled with

rage and decided that they must get rid of Christ when they saw that.

Christ taught his disciples many things, just as Amma teaches us. He

wasn't just all about miracles. He was about a lot more than that. He

said,

" Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are

you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep

now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when

they exclude you, and revile you and cast your name as evil for my

sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for indeed your reward is

great in heaven. For their fathers did the same to the ancient

prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your

consolation here. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe

to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when

all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false

prophets. But I say to you who hear, love your enemies. Do good to

those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who

spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on one cheek, offer the

other also. For from him who takes away your coat, do not withhold

your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him, who

takes away your goods, do not ask them back. And just as you want men

to do to you, you do to them also. But if you love those who love you,

what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them,

and if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to

you, for even sinners do that? And if you lend to those from whom you

hope to receive back, what greatness is that for you? Even sinners

lend sinners and receive it back. Love your enemies, do good and lend,

hoping for nothing in return and your reward will be great, and you'll

be the children of God. For He is kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Judge not and

you won't be judged. Condemn not and you won't be condemned. Forgive

and you'll be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. For in the

same measure that you use it, it will be measured back to you. "

I'm sure that everyone knows about the Dalai Lama, and what a tragedy

happened to his country. Somebody asked him, " Are you angry with the

Chinese? " The Chinese occupied his country and tortured and killed his

people. He replied, " Many times I'm asked if I am angry at the Chinese

for what has happened. Sometimes I lose my temper, some of my temper,

but afterwards I get more concerned, more compassionate towards them.

In my daily prayer, I take in their suffering, their anger and their

ignorance and give back compassion. This kind of practice I continue

to do. "

This is putting Christ's teaching into practice. Here's a man who's

had everything taken away from him, and who had to run away from his

own country. His people are slaughtered; his culture is being

destroyed. Yet, instead of being in a rage all the time, he tries to

absorb the anger and hatred of his enemies and give them love and

compassion. This is what Christ is talking about.

 

(to be continued)

[Guest guest]

Ammachi , " daughterpranada "

<daughterpranada wrote:

>....

> This is putting Christ's teaching into practice. Here's a man who's

> had everything taken away from him, and who had to run away from his

> own country. His people are slaughtered; his culture is being

> destroyed. Yet, instead of being in a rage all the time, he tries to

> absorb the anger and hatred of his enemies and give them love and

> compassion. This is what Christ is talking about.

>

> >>>

 

Thanks Pranada