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A young man in Kansas recovers so remarkably that people are calling it a miracle.  The Vatican is investigating.  If they determine that his recovery is indeed miraculous, he will become elevated to sainthood.  http://www.kansas.com/196/story/861812.html

Huh?

I’m not questioning the miracle of his recovery, but sainthood?  I wonder what criteria the Catholic Church uses to determine a miracle?

I remember the first time I saw the move “The Ten Commandments.”  The scene where the Red Sea parts and the people are walking between gigantic walls of water.  Years later, I read that when the Bible speaks of a wall of water (Exodus 14:22, NIV, for example), the term “wall” did not have the same meaning it does now.  Apparently a “wall” back then could be any barrier.  One theory has it that there was a sand bar in the middle of the sea, and weather and water conditions were such that the sand bar was uncovered long enough for the Isrealites to cross.  The “wall of water” was the flat water on each side of the exposed sandbar.

Ok, I wasn’t there, maybe Mr. DeMille got it right.  But, if the sandbar theory is true, does that mean it was not a miracle?  I think if that happened now, especially with such perfect timing, I would be impressed!  The miracle could be the timing, or the fact that the sandbar existed, in exactly the right place, at all.  Some believers don’t like to hear that.  For some, a miracle has to be stunning, unbelievable, mind-blowing.  In short, like real life special effects.

Yes, I am a man of science, but a lot of things go way beyond science.  Some of the most amazing miracles are things we simply take for granted.  Even if you accept the theory of evolution, it’s kind of hard to believe that something as complex and amazing as the human body is the result of random events.  If you think that the Universe started out with a “Big Bang,” then, Who lit the fuse?

Yes, amazing things happen, but miracles happen every day, with the birth of a child, the rising of the sun, the simple fact that this planet is in exactly the perfect position from the sun to support life.

Want to see a true miracle?

Look in the mirror.

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