"You have to ask yourself what kind of person are you. Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles...or do you believe that people just get lucky. Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"Former Episcopal priest, Graham Hess had lost his faith in God through the tragic death of his wife. His family was dealing with a number of personal issues and life seemed to be hitting a wall. Then to make matters worse, the crop signs appeared.
The the film, Signs, from M. Night Shyamalan in 2002, seems to focus on invading aliens and their attempt to invade planet earth to harvest humans for food. Sounds like your typical sci-fi film right? But actually this movie centers around Graham and his faith that there is a God and that God personally has his hands on even the most inconsequential of our lives.
The same tension enters into our own daily journey as well. We don't need aliens to push us to the brink of our beliefs, but we do have layoffs, cancer, bill collectors, hurricanes, and divorce. In the midst of it all we begin to wonder if life is all about luck and coincidence. Where are the signs that God cares for ME?
On the surface, Graham's life was overrun with what seemed like inconsequential problems. He lived on his farm in Pennsylvania with his two children and brother: His son, Rory, who suffers from asthma, his daughter Bo who has a fetish about drinking only partial glasses of water, and his brother Merrill who is a former minor league baseball player. He holds the record for the longest home run ever in the minor leagues and hangs the cherished bat in a place of honor in the living room of his brother's house. And then there is Graham who suffers from doubt and hatred toward a God that took his wife away. Graham talked to his wife when she tragically died after being hit by a car. Just before she died she tells Merrill to "Swing away." Each of these circumstances seem unrelated and problematic in their own way. They do not make any sense. They each are mysteries that feed a coincidental and skeptical worldview.
Yet in the film's final dramatic conclusion each one of these prove significant in a confrontation with an alien in their house. Each sign plays a part in defeating the alien who is about to kill Morgan with poisonous gas (see the clip from You Tube below).
I am always intrigued with science fiction movies that have suspense and subplots that matter. As one of my favorites, Signs asks the same questions to us today as we daily face living the Godlife. Is God really involved in my life? What are the signs of his touch? Where are you God?
Awareness is developing a keen sensitivity to the fact that God is with us at all times. When we are looking for them, the signs of his touch are unmistakable. We may view challenges and disasters and struggles with questioning and doubt. But when we look closer, every half glass of water, asthma attack, car accident, and forgotten award mean something because God uses it all in the shaping of our personhood. While we may not always understand the meaning or how it all fits, God still wants us to trust him even when the signs are a mystery.
"In God's reign everything belongs" (Rohr, 2003).
There are no coincidences.
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