From the Natural to the Supernatural

By Thomas Creen, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

February 10, 2016, is the 40th anniversary of the death of Paul Murphy, MJ, one of Miles Jesu’s first and best members ever. A man who knew Paul when he was alive told me about how holy he thought Paul was. He shared with me that he and Paul were driving one day and, out of the blue, Paul asked him, “Would you like to have a glimpse of the greatness of God?” When the man responded affirmatively, Paul continued, “God made the density of ice to be about 90% of that of water. If it weren’t that way, ice would sink and kill off most animal life in the bodies of water in freezing climates. Instead, it floats.”

When Paul’s friend told me this story, it reminded me of Jesus. Paul uses a natural phenomenon to draw the mind to the supernatural reality of God Who has designed the universe and keeps it in existence. Jesus often spoke of natural realities, too, in order to lead us to understand supernatural realities.

Jesus talked about what a shepherd does when he loses one sheep in order to explain what God does when a soul is wandering around lost and devoid of His grace. Jesus also recalled what an ordinary father does when his son asks for bread, eggs, or fish in order to describe what our extraordinary Father does when we ask Him for the things we need to survive, starting with His grace.

Paul’s example of evangelizing was based on Jesus’ methods of teaching. On this 40th anniversary of Paul Murphy’s death, this is a good reminder for all of the laity about how to evangelize effectively. Start with the natural and then move to the supernatural.

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