Christ Miracle

Why, who makes much of a miracle?

As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,

Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan [or Cape Cod],

Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,

Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,

Or stand under trees in the woods,

Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,

Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,

Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,

Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,

Or animals feeding in the fields,

Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,

Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,

Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;

These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,

The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,

Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,

Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,

The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the

        ships with men in them,

What stranger miracles are there? (end)

Walt Whitman wrote this poem about miracles.  We begin to close out 2021.  Every second, every minute, of this past year has been a miracle – a miracle of life.  We all have existed, and each of us is a miracle of creation – from the womb to where we are now as young men and women or as older denizens of this glorious world we call planet Earth. 

As with Whitman, for me the sea is a miracle without which all life on Earth would perish.  We Cape Codders are fortunate to be surrounded by this miracle reminding us of its power during winter storms and crashing waves.  

Crashing waves also can overwhelm us during our daily lives – waves of despair, pain, or loneliness.  Fortunately, we have the miracle we call Jesus to endure these stormy waters.  There is no stranger miracle than Christ.

Deacon David Pierce