Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/570

 too, He  raised  up  Peter's  mother-in-law  from  a  raging fever,  and  cleansed  the  lepers,  and  cured  the palsied. Here He  healed  the  centurion's  servant,  and the woman  afflicted  with  an  issue  of  blood,  and  here He raised  the  daughter  of  Jairus  from  the  dead. In the little  harbor  the  Apostles  at  His  word  took  the miraculous draught  of  fishes;  farther  out  on  the  lake He stilled  the  storm  at  sea;  on  the  opposite  shore He multiplied  the  loaves  and  fishes,  and  on  the  return voyage  that  same  night  He  came  walking  on the  waters  to  the  rescue  of  His  storm-tossed  followers. These are  but  a  few  of  the  hundreds  of  recorded and unrecorded  miracles  performed  in  or  near Capharnaum. So many  indeed  that  His  native  town of Nazareth  became  so  wildly  jealous  that  on  His  return His  fellow-citizens  attempted  to  fling  Him  over a cliff  for  refusing  to  repeat  among  them  the  wonders He  had  done  at  Capharnaum. Now see  the proofs of  my  contention. It appears  that  as  a  necessary condition  for  miracle-working  Christ  demanded at  least  the  beginnings  of  faith,  which  beginnings He  then  would  raise  by  miracles  to  a  higher, but far  from  perfect,  development. So intimate  with Him as  boy  and  man  were  the  Nazarenes  that  they could see  in  Him  only  the  son  of  Joseph,  the  village carpenter. " Jesus,"  says  the  Gospel,  "  marvelled  at their  incredulity  and  could  do  no  miracles  among them." They demanded  the  carnal  realism  of  miracles as  a  condition  of  faith;  Christ  demanded  faith  as a  condition  of  miracles,  and  on  that  issue  His  own unhappy town  was  the  first  to  reject  Him. But even