The natural world we inhabit can be so convincing of its primacy over the spirit world—the heaven—many have gone down the perilous path of even denying the existence of the divine. This disposition is a new, modern consciousness. Only a few centuries ago the natural world was seen as a proof of God. In the ancient world they likely couldn’t distinguish so easily between what we would describe as miracle and natural phenomena like rain and lightening, metamorphosis.
The most incredulous type of miracle is Form change. Form change is when a thing becomes another thing or a thing comes into being in the natural realm by divine fiat. The material of the seven days of creation is the primordial example as God speaks all the elements of our world into existence.
There are many types of miracles in the Bible. Some of them could artfully be explained as “natural”. Lot’s wife being turned to a pillar of salt could be an example of Form Change or it’s more easily explained naturally as being struck by an ember of whatever natural phenomenon levels Sodom.
It’s not always so easy to decipher the miraculous types in the Bible—nor is it in our own lives when we experience the miraculous. For our purpose we will focus on a seemingly quiet miracle. The miracle of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana.
Although the natural world could ostensibly be manipulated to split the waters and resuscitate the dead, water become wine has no explanation without true supernatural intervention. Wine is actually 85% water. Jesus brought forth the supernatural alcohol component from the heavenly realm which transformed the water into the most superb wine anyone has ever tasted on this earth.
It is true that the sorcerers of Egypt possessed powers of form change over the snakes like Moses and Aaron. Water into wine is still different than rods to snakes because the matter quantity of the rods was the same whereas in the wine something that wasn’t in the world was let in from Heaven to produce the form change.
The incarnation is the greatest form change. God required that there be a preexisting matter to come into, the womb. This is similar in that Jesus didn’t bring wine from the air. He required the water.
We can see a similar type of miracle in the loaves and the fishes. Jesus again requires a small amount of fish and bread to multiply and produce the miracle.
I believe this kind of form change is to teach us how God’s own form will change. From creation God became spirit, wind, light, rainbow, bush then He tabernacled in the ark until the ark became flesh so He could incarnate as flesh. When He received his glorified body he ascended back into the Heaven. Before he left He showed the new Priesthood how to bring him back in the next form. The confection of the Eucharist.
If you don’t believe in form change you don’t believe in a God who works in history. At best you are a deist. You cannot be a proper Jew or Christian without belief in form change.
If you believe Jesus turned water into wine but is not body, soul and divinity in the Eucharist you are being inconsistent. More importantly you are not fulfilled. Eat real food and drink real drink and never thirst again.
Importantly, if you struggle to believe, the Sacraments allow us a way to profess faith overriding our internal disposition which can be transient and fickle. The sacraments are the Emunah of Jesus. A shortcut to faith is to request intercession for this supernatural gift from the Blessed Mother. Like the miracle of the wine at the wedding of Cana, Jesus will oblige her.
