Every now and then we come across stories of religiously significant events that do not seem to be adequately explained by natural laws, but which seem to be trivial or silly or even harmful to the non-initiated. In Christianity, these often happen around supposed “Eucharistic Miracles” such as where the consecrated host appears to bleed, or stigmata appear on the hands of the priest, or when communion bread or wine is suddenly multiplied. I have also seen stories on icons that weep sweet smelling oil, or bodies of saints that appear to never decompose. But events like this also happen in other religions, such as in the late 90’s when Hindu statues miraculously leaked milk.
To those who are initiated into these forms of spirituality, they take on important significance and seem to indicate a special appearance of the Divine. However, for those on the outside, they beg the opposite question: If God exists and has the attributes of power and knowledge and goodness traditionally ascribed to God, why would God do something so trivial when there is so much need in the world? And I say this as someone who believes miracles are possible, and I even believe that Jesus is really present in the sacrament (it’s not just a “symbol”). But with that said: When we consider miracles like miraculously multiplying wafers of communion bread at a small American parish, it really seems to trivialize Christ and his presence in the sacrament.
I mean, if God can manifest a few hundred wafers out of thin air, why not manifest actual food to feed the hungry in their empty cabinets? Why not eliminate tumors from children with cancer? Why not manifest money into poor people’s wallets, or just suddenly add digits to computer bank accounts? And above all, why do a miracle in a place that is relatively affluent by world standards, instead of somewhere in greater need?
This opens the door to a whole host of questions about Divine Providence and the problem of evil and suffering. And all of these questions resolve down to a kind of dilemma: If God can eliminate needless suffering and does not, is God worthy of worship? And if God cannot eliminate needless suffering, is God worthy of worship? And are there any good reasons why God might choose not to eliminate certain kinds of suffering?
If we go that final route and say there are good reasons for God to hide Godself and make us take responsibility for healing ourselves and our world, then this does not go along well with trivial miracles like this. If God’s hiddenness serves a redemptive person, why then “un-hide” Godself to do something that can seem kind of silly?
Let’s assume that “trivial” miracles such as “multiplication of communion hosts” actually happen, and we cannot find an easy explanation that fits with the laws of physics as we understand them. In light of the report of a miracle like this, I think there are four possible reasons why trivial miracles like this may happen:
1. Fake Miracles: It could be a mis-perception in which people have just forgotten to account for relevant causes. It could also have been faked to legitimize a person or religious group, or perhaps to fleece people of money. Many miracles, perhaps even most, are simply misperceptions or hoaxes.
2. Divine Humor: God may enjoy the surprise and comedy that ensues from certain trivial miracles. It may delight God in much the same way a granddad is delighted by "taking" a child's nose or thumb, or causing a coin to appear. So, trivial miracles may actually be an expression of Divine Joy and Humor. If this is the case, we miss the joke by treating them overly seriously or too reverently. We acted seriously when we were supposed to laugh.
3. Micro-Providence: It could be that certain trivial miracles function as Divine reminders to someone who may need assurance that God loves them and has a purpose for them. Such micro-providential miracles could then nudge them into deeper commitment to God's mission for them, and spur them to do more good in the world. If this is the case, then these micro-miracles are very private and personal for a select audience, and we do a disservice by broadcasting them widely.
4. Demonic Counterfeit: It could be that such trivial miracles are supernatural, but not from God. They could come from evil spirits seeking to counterfeit God and lead people to believe or act in ways counter to God's Love revealed in Christ, or to validate a religion that is essentially anti-Christian (even while claiming to follow Christ, cf. 2Co 11.4). So, in this case the relevant question would be: What fruit does this miracle bear? Does it lead people to be more Christlike (in which case it is good), or less Christlike (in which case it is evil)? Does it create more health and flourishing for people (in which case it is good), or does it cause people to serve and sacrifice in ways that harm them (in which case it is evil)?
For my comments to make sense, I think I need to create and define two categories of miracle:
Substantive Miracles are (a) Empirically measurable events, (b) which cannot be adequately explained by any currently known science or technology, (c) which result in significantly increased empirical measures of health and wellbeing in individuals and communities. These might include physical healing of a disease or handicap which would not respond to medical treatment, or measurably significant decreases of violence or drug abuse in a community being prayed for.
Trivial Miracles are (a) Empirically measurable events, (b) which cannot be adequately explained by any currently known science or technology, (c) which do NOT result in significantly increased empirical measures of health and wellbeing in individuals and communities. This supposed Eucharistic miracle is a great example. These kinds of miracles may even result in decreased wellbeing and health. Examples are when someone forgoes needed medical treatment because of a "miracle" they experienced. In the famous example of Hindu statues that weep or excrete milk, the result was that many people made offerings of milk to the statues, rather than feeding their own children with the milk. People went hungry to serve the statues.
When trivial miracles are not hoaxes or counterfeits, I think they may often fit into the category of "micro-providence" I outline above. I hope and pray that God is using such “signs” to confirm people’s faith and urge them toward greater commitment to living into the mission God has for them. If this is what God is doing, then I can get behind that, even with all the problems of theodicy that entails. Sometimes people need to be touched in a very specific way to stir up the faith within them. I also can understand if every now and then God plays a miraculous joke on people. Just as God regularly gives us experiences of random and lavish beauty, just because that is God’s gracious character, so also it seems that God has a sense of humor and will express that in unexpected ways.
But other than what is outlined here, I have not done a lot of work thinking about prayer and trivial miracles. Because they are, well, trivial. I have however done a bit of thinking about prayer and substantive miracles. And I do think these happen from time to time (perhaps more often than we realize). And I do think that prayer plays a key role in opening the door to experience these divine healings. After all, the first step to experiencing God’s involvement in healing a problem is to ask God to be involved in healing a problem. It does little good to be upset at God for not acting in a situation we never asked God to help with in the first place. However asking God does not mean God answers prayer in the way we expect, or brings about the healing in the way we expected.
My basic answer about what prayer “does” is found in this SHORT ESSAY, which sets the stage for everything else I write about prayer and its effects on our wellbeing and our world. This understanding of prayer is rooted in a certain understanding of providence and miracles that is found in this absurdly LONG ESSAY on miracles and minds, prayer and probability. And it leads to a few particular applications in specific situations, such as HERE and HERE.
Thus, I think prayer is the most fundamental act of anyone who claims to believe in God. As Evagrius Ponticus has said “A theologian is one who prays”. I think prayer is powerful and God answers prayer. But I also think that God is infinitely wiser than we are and thus, God answers our prayers (or forms US to be the answer to our own prayers) in ways we could not expect or predict.
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