r. Thomas M. Pastorius
May 24, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
IPod Theology
I Need a Miracle

Let us start today’s reflection on music off with a different quote. This quote is from Bono - “Music can change the world because it can change people.” It is therefore important to think about what our music is telling people and what it is changing people into.

"I Need A Miracle" by Third Day
One of my favorite Christian music groups is Third Day. In the first verse of this song we hear the story of a woman who is in desperate need because her husband has not come home yet. She admits that she has not prayed in a long time but now she is on her needs because she needs a miracle. In their book The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham speak about how the beginning of prayer is often a feeling of helplessness. “A spirituality of imperfection suggests that the first prayer is a scream, a cry for help. “O God, come to my assistance / O lord; make haste to help me,” reads Psalm 70, sung for over a millennium and a half at the beginning of each monastic hour.”

God does not despise us because we cannot solve our problems, in fact God wishes that we would let Him help us through life difficulties.

The refrain of the song echoes the above point: “Well no matter who you are and no matter what you've done There will come a time when you can't make it on your own And in your hour of desperation Know you're not the only one Prayin', "lord above, I need a miracle I need a miracle"

As the refrain points out the fact that we all have situations in our lives that our out of control we need to realize the difference between magic and miracle. The following three quotes from The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning speak volumes about the difference between miracle and magic.

Miracle involves openness to mystery, the welcoming of surprise, the acceptance of those realities over which we have no control, to manage everything—it is the claim to be, or to have a special relationship with, some kind of “god.” Spirituality is aligned not with magic and effort to control, but with miracle, “the wonder of the unique that points us back to the wonder of the everyday.” – Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham

We do not create miracles, we witness them. In witnessing them, we must acknowledge that they exist. In acknowledging that they exist, we must admit that we do not know “why” or “how.” Somehow above and beyond human reason, miracle, like mystery, is inexplicable, unsolvable, incomprehensible. – Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham

Underlying the very concept of miracle is the simple assurance that we are not in ultimate, total control. This is also, of course, the inherent, eternal, fundamental message of spirituality: You cannot control everything. You are a human being and human beings make mistakes, and that’s okay—because you are a human being not a God. – Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham

The man in the song we discover is thinking about committing suicide. He too is in need of a miracle. It sounds like his identity has been tied up in his work and now that he has lost his job he feels that he is a failure and no one will love him. He seems oblivious to the idea that God and the woman from the first verse love him more than he can imagine. It is sad how often many people do not realize or aware of all the people who love them. Maybe we should express our love for others more often?

In the last verse he hears the song and decides not to commit suicide. One last quote: “Our destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things,” writer Henry Miller noted. – 138

Let us start today’s reflection on music off with a different quote. This quote is from Bono - “Music can change the world because it can change people.” It is therefore important to think about what our music is telling people and what it is changing people into.