When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 8:1-3

Over the last few weeks I’ve been listening to a series of sermons based on Matthew’s gospel. This week the pastor used the word “supernatural” to describe Jesus’ ministry among the people. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, but what do we think of most often when we hear the word “supernatural”?

My guess is that most of the time supernatural is most often associated with things that are darker and more sinister thanks largely to the popular culture found in movies and other media, but our faith is anything but dark and it is most certainly supernatural.

Do not attempt to water Christianity down. There must be no pretence that you can have it with the Supernatural left out. So far as I can see Christianity is precisely the one religion from which the miraculous cannot be separated. You must frankly argue for supernaturalism from the very outset. . . .

The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left.

C.S. Lewis

So, as you read the passage above, don’t miss the miracle.