PENTECOST 2006 SPECIAL EDITION

ISSUE 7 - ISSN 1448 - 6326

ON MIRACLES - THEIR RELEVANCE AND NECESSITY TO HUMAN EXISTENCE:

A REFLECTION

PETER BLAKEY*

"Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!

 Hamlet: And therefore as a stranger, give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy". (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene V)

A miracle may be described as special positive supernatural event  - it originates from the Latin 'miraculum' - as in ' wondrous'. To accept that miracles exist and can occur, however requires more than just an appreciation of the possible. It may moreover presume the acceptance of potential illogicality in existence over which humanity neither has the understanding or the capacity to either explain or replicate. The advent of a developed concept of logic presents initially in the Cartesian pronouncement on thought as the primal determinant of humanity. It has travelled circuitously to the post modern dialectic that assumes that nothing exists without thought and related internal constructs that defined that thought, questions the very ability of the supernatural or unexplainable to exist.

But what can be said of a miracle is that it’s always reported as a wondrous event. It status is not governed by the act itself, but the meaning derived and developed as a direct result of this reported event. Thus questioning the objective factual nature of the event, in terms particular to personal and spiritual enlightenment - somewhat misses the point. It is the effects or interpretation of the act, its positive effect that is at issue, and not the act itself.

Is the idea of the miracle in itself of a spiritual or religious dimension of life - and if so when does this become apparent? The idea of the miraculous as an act seems to be something that happens as a result - direct or obscure - of the actions derived from an 'other'. Thus making the miraculous event, something that is a part of the relative societal history, rather than something that was recorded and accepted as being within the immediate present.

A 'for instance' would be to take one of the Christian classics as an example, as in - here I am sitting in a country somewhere listening to a 'teacher'. The lesson is presented in the age of traditions of elders instructing the pupils, gathered together, using story and other known examples to explain the teaching. Socrates did it by asking questions, others used techniques suited to the subject and the style of the teacher. There are a few of us, and after a while we start to get a bit hungry. So during the break I see a few of the organisers get a bit worried and then baskets of bread and fish pieces appear. We eat - the organisers clean up the mess and produce twelve baskets. We then go off back to wherever we came, we're all fed, happy at having a good day out. We don't really know where the food came from and someone tells of the day as something that is later described as the "miracle of the loaves and fishes".

Now would this have struck any chord in our modern spiritual or religious psyche? Even if we'd taken the post-modernist trouble to de-construct the meaning of the event - probably not. There is a desire to seek a rational answer to what appears to be an irrational series of circumstances. What makes it appear miraculous is that it is not logical - but we eat the fish, so it obviously happened. There is a sense that it is no longer possible to accept the unexplainable without having our sanity challenged, and our intellectual integrity questioned.

Acceptance of the unexplainable

Within the present context of information availability, the idea of there being things that cannot be explained, is - to put it simply - an unacceptable concept. The development and refinement of what has been called as "western thought" - requires an explanation that can be objectively measured and verified in some form. Such a view places the mythology, emotional understanding and the general tenor of religious and spiritual understanding into a nether world where the existence can neither be proved or disproved and generally regarded - it may be suggested as regression of our primitive forbears.

And yet the existence of these experiences, feelings and such cannot be dismissed, for they are as real as anything that that can be tangibly evidenced to physically exist. So where does this place miracles?

For the concept of the miracle as event or experience, requires an acceptance of the existence of the external other - a being that may be described as 'God', 'Allah' or 'Blessed be the name' - to conceptualise the matter. This presence, in some traditions is described in myth and legend - Hanuman's exploits in saving the Goddess Siva, as described within the Hindu Scriptures is as much a part of the Hindu mythology as the deeds of the Christian "Jesus Christ". Further, the Jewish traditions, with their recording of the 'incident of the receiving of the Ten Commandments" and the "Burning Bush" speak of the miraculous in similar terms. The creative force or presence involved is being to "put on a show" to make a point, to the community and its spiritual underpinning.

The 'miracle' is therefore that capacity to achieve the 'wondrous', the unusual and 'super-natural'. This is not to require a specific set of intellectual constructs, but simply to describe the spiritual sense of the external 'Other'. It may be elaborated on in terms of the "alpha and omega" of existence, but this would be a means of rationalising something that may not be able to fall into a category that can be easily explained. A event that is seen as a miracle may usefully blend the tangible and intangible - in that this was developed by a palaeontologist trying to join his intellectual and spiritual belief into some form of united sense of understanding. Life having developed from one source - one of extreme simplicity - mutated and developed into a state of unimagined complexity, and still ever changing.

This view can be seen as an attempt to express the personal spiritual understandings within the 'fact' of known existence. Where is this 'other', how is it expressed, and what should be learned from this? The presence of the 'other' is, it may be contended - visible and evident in the miracle. The appreciation of the 'miracle' as event however requires a refined appreciation of what is the sense of Self, with respect to the existence of this 'other'.

The sense of Self being seen as not merely an expression of the ego, but an appreciation of the integral self knowledge derived from going within the mind, body and spirit of your very person. Paring away the trappings of 'who', the attachments that make and 'describe', through to the essential elements of existence. Some would describe this as being at one with this 'other'.

Thus the miracle is an expression of faith. The fact can be rationalised into multiple constructs, but the interpretation of the act - The Miracle - is of itself that act of belief in something other than the immediately rational and logical. So a multitude in ancient Israel were fed on bred and fish, after hearing a teacher - what made it miraculous is as much to do with the situation as the context in which its was recorded.

Miracles are not just random events, but are seen as positive physical expressions of the virtue of the faith that supports the belief in the 'other' - from which this event arose. For the event to seen as a miracle, there needs to be an intellectual and spiritual context that accepts this a possible and something which can be seen to benefit, not just the immediate observer, but those with whom may here of the occurrence. The occurrence of itself is not at issue - how it is interpreted within the personal spiritual context is. And that interpretation presumes a focussed purity of spirit to accept without question, and to sparingly use a reflective rationalisation that seeks to justify the occurrence.

Logic has nothing to do with it - faith and belief can border on the irrational - and yet as part of the human condition can produce a capacity to inter-relate such as to encourage peace and harmony. The matter of acceptance comes from a solid faith in the capacities of the "other" - and not seen as a end product of some spiritual negotiation process.

And after that

What are miracles supposed to do - or to be more specific, why all the fuss? The simple answer, within the Judeo-Christian context of the "Burning Bush" or "Walking on Water" is rather more complex than initially expected. Unlike Robert Flaherty's record of Nanook the Inuit, in his documentary "Nanook of the North" on hearing the sound of gramophone record, began biting the disc, to bring the source of the sound out, the presence of the miraculous is not set within the need for instant gratification. For a miracle to be experienced, a purity of spiritual belief must be in existence to absorb and appreciate the message presented.

The relevance to the Self, as in the Soul and spirit, is to bring that observer closer to that point where it will achieve a nearness to the spiritual of creation. Something that is not readily achievable by using a global positioning device - as it is not something that can be objectively seen and logically determined. To see a miracle - the mind, soul and spirit need to be in such a state as to accept such as possible and in doing, see and experience the positive effects of the event.

A miracle can occur in many ways, the observer needs to be ready to receive and understand the experience within the terms of their spiritual existence. In terms of history, it doesn't matter that a group of children saw what they believed was the Virgin Mary in grotto in France - that some people claim healing powers from the waters of the grotto, and so on. It is the effects this event had on the encouragement of spiritual reflection in this place of spiritual power and presence. To expect to be cured of whatever you are seeking a cure from – here or a result of something that happened - is therefore pointless. The matter of the miracle does not deal in delivery on demand, no matter how hard you believe. The benefit is less tangible and seeks to address matters far deeper than the physical and the psychological.

A miracle adds the necessary spiritual colours to the canvas of the soul, given that readiness to accept and learn from its message. The message is beneficial as it enhances the journey to a greater understanding of the Self and all that this entails. Even the odd random and indiscriminate act of kindness - in itself not likely to change the world or the course of mighty rivers - is an example of the basic and in-built love that humanity has for itself. The Act itself may be nice - but the teaching it provides can rank with the major teachings on the presence of the 'Other' in our existence.

Therefore to be concerned about the presence of statue exhibiting strange behaviours is more a comment of the need for rational explanations than for a greater appreciation of the presence of God in the many manifest forms that this concept may exist. The event is irrelevant, what comes out of it isn't.  How do we know that is miracle exists - the author has no criteria on which to reference this.

There are no real means of determination as wondrous events of positive spiritual import, are rare and require an appreciation that is removed from the ego and the limitations that this has. It is not about what you as observer got from the event, and whether it conforms to your formal understandings of the matter, but how your soul and essence are changed for the positive by this event.

Therefore, to conclude, a miracle is something that occurs, and in its appreciation and interpretation, the presence and essence of the spirit can be seen. The matter is not something that requires a logical appreciation, complete with the necessary array of forensic evidence to determine that it actually happened. Its relevance is more in the insights that it provides and the confirmation of the existence and omnipresence of forces that of their very nature defy rationale explanations. And that so terribly wrong - to see past the physical and into another place and time that awaits your discovery?

The miracle is of itself an experience related as much to the human spirit and its capacity to accept the unique, the different and unexplainable. It can be seen as part of the on-going act of deepening the spiritual understanding that is part of our on-going journey to wherever it is we believe we are going.

The challenge they present is to be part of one - to express without thought the special essences that are unique to those who seek to dwell in the Spirit, seize the moment and to join the dance of life and all that this entails.

To conclude, the miracle is a random act that is interpreted through an appreciation of the cause of the act, being seen to be beyond logic. It is an expression of the ‘Other’ in who we know of but have never seen. Its relevance is more in the capacity to challenge the acceptance of this ‘Other’ and how this concept aids in the appreciation of the Self and the spirit in which this occurs.

* Dedicated to Bridgette

Author:

Peter Blakey, a member of the Australian Catholic University Online Unit, is an occasional contributor to the Ejournal. His acitivities include working in the development of online educational material, political activities, most recently working to defend the rights of the employed against the proposals of the present Federal government, and exploring spiritual matters that effect the manner in which he relates to those around him. He has run for political office, and held positions of responsibilty in community and professional organisations. He is using his reflections as an expression of his ongoing spiritual journey. This article is dedicated to his wife, Bridget.

Email: p.blakey@mcauley.acu.edu.au

© Copyright is retained by the author