Spirituality of Miracles describes how miracles can be asked for, happen, and be recognized from a Christian perspective with references from the Bible in the Armenian Orthodox Tradition

Spirituality of Miracles

Miracles happen all around us every single day. We just don’t seem to recognize them! Why? For a variety of reasons, but the two most important ones are either that we expect too much from miracles or we do not pay attention to them at all. There are those who expect the miracle to be earth shattering and catching the neighbors’ attention – such as the weeping pictures, icons, or statues. Or they expect to see an angel of God or a supernatural light to be convinced that they experienced a miracle. This is partially reasonable to expect because the miracles in the Gospels are so fantastic and extraordinary. Yet this is not the true purpose of a miracle. There are also those who do not recognize the miracles around them because they do not take the time to reflect on God’s presence and intervention in their life. Consequently, they either deny God’s presence or His responses. In order for us to be more aware of the miracles that take place in our life, we need to address the ‘Spirituality of Miracles.’

First, what is the purpose of a miracle? The purpose of a miracle is to help us grow closer to God by recognizing that He is present and active in our everyday life. The miracles that Christ performed are not called ‘miracles’ in the Gospels. Instead, they are called ‘signs.’ Signs of what? Signs that God is present and helping! Perhaps this was one of the important frustrations of Christ when he multiplied the bread, and then had to separate himself from the crowd because they wanted to make him a king. [cf. Gospel of St. John 6:15] Christ did not multiply the bread in order to impress the people and become their king; rather he did it to show how God can help human beings at a time of need. He expressed a similar frustration when he said: "How long am I to be with you?" [St. Matthew 17:17] Perhaps Christ illustrated how short sighted and self-centered people are when he healed ten lepers, and of the ten only one turned around and thanked him. [St. Luke 17:12 ff.] Although ten experienced a miracle, only one recognized and acknowledged it as such! If we were to place the illustration of Christ in statistical form, it points out that 90% of the people would not recognize and/or acknowledge a miracle when it happens in their life. The miracle of the fish in St. Peter’s boat is another illustration. Although he had not caught a fish all day long, St. Peter reluctantly agreed to the request of Christ to go out into the sea and fish. [cf. St. Luke 5:4ff] St. Peter had no expectation of a catch, nor an inkling of the size of the catch he will witness. However, as the nets became full and he started gathering the fish, at the beginning he lost sight of God Who made the catch possible, and instead concentrated on the gains he had just received. Of those who know that miracles take place in their life, many of them get carried away with the result of the miracle rather than thank God for the miracle! They concentrate on the gift rather than the Giver of the gift! This is exactly what happened initially with St. Peter.

The second question is: How would we recognize a miracle in our life? The answer is: We can only recognize a miracle spiritually! How do we discern and recognize events spiritually? By considering the action, thought, and intent of that event. A miracle takes place when the following combination of three circumstances take place simultaneously: (a) The event that takes place is beyond our ability to bring it about, or beyond our deserving of that outcome, (b) the same event is beyond our imagination and ability to plan, or any other human being’s ability from whom we expect a response, and (c) the end result is beyond our intent and expectation. Let us illustrate these three from the miracle in St. Peter’s boat mentioned earlier. Regarding (a), St. Peter had already told Christ that they had labored all day without catching a fish. There was no question that when all those fish were caught, it was not due to St. Peter’s plan or that of his co-workers. As for (b), by the exuberance of St. Peter it is apparent that he had not seen such a large catch. If he had, he would not have lost himself in jubilation. No question this was beyond his imagination. Finally (c), it would have been impossible for St. Peter to intend to meet the Messiah, the Savior in his fishing boat while performing such a routine daily chore! In fact, it took him a while of reflection to realize that more importantly than the large catch of fish and the profits from it, he had come face to face with his Savior. The response that St. Peter gave is descriptive of all of us who experience a miracle: "Go away from me O Lord: I am a sinful man!" [St. Luke 5:8] This is the ultimate miracle: Coming face to face with God!

So when we are wondering if miracles take place in our life, and that if God is present and helping us in our daily activities, let us reflect on some of the most routine chores and ask: (a) Was the result of an activity beyond my own ability to perform, or someone else whom I have paid to do? (b) Was the resultant activity beyond my ability and imagination to plan? (c) Was the outcome beyond my intent? If the answer to all three is affirmative, then you have experienced a miracle, a sign from God that He is with you! As you share this with others, do not expect that people ask for your autograph or make your home into a shrine. This is not the purpose of a miracle. When you experience a miracle, can expect to have greater trust in God and be more aware that together you are on a journey of a lifetime!

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