Visions: Miracles or spiritual mirages?

By Frank "Buzz" Trexler
for The Knoxville (TN) Journal, Dec. 19, 1988

What you see is what you get ... or, is it?

They come from all around to see it, marveling and wondering what it might all mean.

In past years, "it" has been the face of Jesus Christ in the clouds on a tape of the Challenger explosion, on a tortilla, an oil storage tank and even the side of a refrigerator.

Recently, an image of the Virgin Mary has been sighted on the wall of a black glass building in Clearwater, Fla.

Police say thousands have flocked to the site in a single day, with some saying they drove as much as 200 miles to catch a glimpse.

An Associated Press story says the image, about 50 feet wide and 35 feet tall, bears a striking resemblance to a mantle-covered figure, head slightly bowed. It stretches across nine panes on the outside of the building. Shades of purple, blue, yellow and green wash across the mirrored surface like a stained glass window, swirling into a robe-draped figure with downcast head.

So far, no one has stepped forward with an explanation, though glass experts were to examine the panes to determine if the image has been caused by chemicals or mineral deposits from sprinklers.

Whatever the case, whenever there is rash of such occurrences, I ponder a twist of the phrase, "What you see is what you get." I prefer to say, "What you want it what you see."

There is undoubtedly a thirs for spiritual things -- not necessarily Christian, but spiritual. An increase in the number of baby boomers returning to church, coupled with the rising popularity of New Age sects and interests -- indicates people are tyring to fill a common spiritual void. The void is what many Christians would call a "God-shaped hole."

It’s this same "hole" that leads many people to turn to alcohol and other drugs for fulfillment, while others seek to fill it through careers, hobbies, material acquisitions or even sexual conquests.

It could be said that some of those who choose other routes do so for lack of empirical evidence that God exists. Taken further, maybe those who long so much for such physical evidence eventually find it somewhere -- maybe even in a tortilla, or in the clouds.

Whatever the case, this longing to find a reason for existence exists.

But why the visions, or appearances?

Take for instance the 6-inch plaster figure of the Virgin Mary in south-central Kansas. Recently, Margarita Holguin turned the lights on in her Lewis, Kansas, home and saw what looked like tears in the eyes of the statute of Our Lady of Guadalope.

The phenomenon lasted through the following day, when the tears turned blood red.

These apparitions may fall under the heading of counterfeit miracles. The bible speaks of darknesse coming disguised as light. It’s possible -- maybe even probable, given the ridicule the people involved have to undergo -- these things occur for the benefit of Satan.

On the other hand, it’s equally possible these and other occurrences are authentic miracles.

Scripture speaks of a time when God says, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your hold men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." (Joel 2:28)

A specialized team from the Vatican sometimes examines cases in which miracles are visions are cited and subsequently rules on the authenticity of such claims. herewith man is put in the peculiar position where the human mind decides the validity of what could be an event beyond human comprehension.

Should we judge such claims publicly, or should we merely accept that some are bog8us and others are valid. It would seem that as in so many areas of faith, the interpretation might best well be left to the indivisuals involved.

For if I look out into the word and see the hand -- maybe even the face -- of God, who can tell me differently?

Ah, well, maybe the American Civil Liberties Union, with the Supreme Court’s backing, maybe even the Vatican. But whose decision is more valid.

For instance, one day as I drove along the interstate my then 4-year-old son David pointed to the sky and shouted, "Look, Dad, there’s Jesus!"

I looked.

The Rev. Frank "Buzz" Trexler is managing editor at The Daily Times and pastor of Green Meadow United Methodist Church, wwwthemeadow.org. You can e-mail him at PastorBuzz@nxs.net.