My Dear Fellow Pilgrims on this path along the Gifts of the Spirit,

I hope you are feeling loved and inspired.

In Corinthians Paul encouragingly lists the Gifts of the Spirit, and we are attempting to unpack that list, and see what it has to say to us in our present situation.
After Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Healing comes Miraculous Powers and Prophecy. So let’s have a look.

It is very likely that in this instance Miraculous Powers, or as JB Philips puts it, ‘The power to do great deeds’ relates to the previous Gift of Healing, and is much to do with exorcisms or the casting out of demons. So many illnesses and diseases were attributed to the work of demons, and it was a spiritual power or Gift to rid someone of them, and that itself was a huge work.

We may have a different understanding of that language these days, but at some stage in our lives most of us have to face up to, or try and conquer our ‘demons’. In a sense nothing has changed, and yet at the same time everything has.
The way that we treat all illnesses, has evolved beyond recognition within our own lifetimes, let alone during the last 2000 years, but we still find that issues get in the way of living our lives to the full, and sometimes these can be overcome by Great deeds.

Sometimes when folk are very poorly, or life is incredibly tough we cry out for a miracle – sadly almost expecting nothing to happen. But you and I have been given Gifts of the Spirit, and equipped with those gifts we have the power to do great deeds.
It may be that we can lay hands on someone, praying over them in the name of Christ, and they can recover, or be helped, or healed. But it may also be that what is actually needed is for us, or them (whoever ‘they are) to be comforted, or welcomed, or loved, or forgiven, or invited, or included or just be able to cope.

I love to use the story of the feeding of the 5000 to illustrate what I mean. You know it well, and you know what I am going to say, but I still want to make the point.
The feeding of the 5000 may have been a miracle of multiplication, whereby Jesus multiplied the number of loaves and fishes until everyone was fed. My faith allows me to see God’s grace at work in this way. 
But it also may have been Jesus setting an example of those who had, sharing with those who didn’t have, and in so doing making sure that everyone was fed. Maybe that was the miracle. It certainly would have been a Great deed.
In that Brilliant film Bruce Almighty, Jim Carey (Bruce) who had been given Godly powers for a while because he had moaned that God (Morgan Freeman) hadn’t helped him, wanted to get back with his estranged girlfriend.  God asks him if he had prayed and he hadn’t, so God said try. What are you going to say ‘Make her fall in love with me?’ Bruce thinks and says .’No. Let her fall in love with the person who will love her and treat her right in the way she deserves’.
Bruce becomes that person, and they are reunited. Bruce goes on with a life in which he encourages people to ‘Be the miracle’.

So, you and I are given the power of the Holy Spirit to do Great Deeds, to transform lives, to make changes, to ensure that things happen, and to Be the miracle. If God translates those actions into Signs of his presence then Praise the Lord for that.

Paul’s next topic is Prophecy, and again this is a really interesting one. Prophecy is a mixture of reading and interpreting the signs of the times, reflecting on what has or is happening, and seeing where it will lead. Some inspired prophecy can give insight into the nature of events yet to happen, or to teach us future truths about the workings of God. Like the prophecies of the coming Messiah.
Others can tell us the consequences of particular actions, practices or events, individual, local, national or global.
It is never like predicting lottery numbers, but more like knowing that if we don’t share our understating of faith we young people, they will grow up with some real joys and great meaning  missing from their lives.
For some, their words will be of a very spiritual and Godly nature, for others their words will be to do with the future of our planet. 
Like all things, the Gift part is the ability to discern what is coming from God, and what is our own human thoughts and ideas. And Paul goes on to address this. I shall pick up on that over the next couple of letters.

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you,

And today – Be the miracle.
As ever,

Fr Marcus