Reflective/Annotation: “Miracles” from Peace Like A River

Introduction

I chose to reflect on the miracles motif in Peace Like A River, because it caught my attention and by annotating and reflecting about it I will seek to have a deeper understanding of it. So, in order to begin my reflection, I must first annotate the word miracles. This is an important word since it gives meaning to one of the major motifs in the book. As we read in the beginning of the book Reuben, the narrator and the son of the Jeremiah Land, says “I now think of my survival as my father’s first miracle” (p. 5). His survival was the first out of many miracles he later describes in the story. But what is a miracle? The New Oxford American Dictionary defines miracle as, “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency: the miracle of rising from the grave” (New Oxford, p. 1089). In the story, Reuben has witnessed his father perform many miracles throughout his life and he express on page 4 that it is his purpose to be a witness of those miracles. This is how miracles become a major motif in the story.

Reflection

 Reuben describes miracles as, “Real miracles bother people, like strange sudden pains unknown in medical literature. It’s true they rebut every rule all we good citizens take comfort in. Lazarus obeying orders and climbing up out of the grave -- now there's a miracle, and you can bet it upset a lot of folks who were standing around at the time. When a person dies, the earth is generally unwilling to cough him back up. A miracle contradicts the will of earth” (p. 3).  I also agree with Reuben, it seems to me that miracles do confront every rule we think of. I say this based on the fact that I am also a witness of a miracle. No only a miracle, but I should say the greatest of all miracles. More specifically I mean the miracle of salvation through Christ, which is often the one most ignored. I once heard someone say “God does not intend to make a bad man good, but to make dead man alive.” This is true salvation. As we see in the Scriptures, “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (KJV, 2 Corinthians 5:17). This is what I have witnessed and experienced as I came to Christ in repentance of my sins. As the Scriptures says, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).  In the beginning there was an inner peace and a healing from all guilt conscious before God. Later it became evident to all, as I became a new creature. Everything was different about my life, which is why I say this is the greatest miracle. My parents couldn’t believe the perverted, alcoholic, rebellious, young man they knew, now became a saint through Christ. Thus, it confronted every rule we take comfort in, as Reuben said. It also contradicted the statistics made by the wise man of our days, so called psychologists and doctors.  During High School I would see a Psychiatrist who tried to teach me a different way to handle things, which was a failure. By the law I have been sentenced to a two week Rehab, that was a failure also. But by God, I was introduced to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who showed me His wounds for me and how great love He has for my life and only asked of me that I would come to Him and repent of my sins that only caused hurt to Him and to those around me. And so, it became true as the Word of God says, I became a new creature.  Likewise, any miracle is intended to change us. As we also read in the book, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed—though ignoring them will change you also”(p.3). This is we see throughout the Scriptures as well, God never does a miracle without purpose. But His miracles always produce fruits, whether be in favor or against those who witness them. This (the Bible) is where, the author Leif Enger got his ideas on miracles.

Symbolism

All the miracles described in the book are a symbolism of those seen in the Bible. As the author describes in the beginning, the father tells the son “to breath” just as God breathe on Adam’s nostrils when he was still clay, which is the name of that chapter in the book. We also see on page 17, when Reuben sees his dad walking on air, he says:

“He went on pacing--God my witness--walking on air, praying relentlessly, a good yard of absolutely nothing between the soles of his boots and the thistles below. As he went, the moon threw his strangely separate shadow to the earth; a sleepy pigeon cooed from the barn; Dad's boot touched the tops of a thatch of tall grama growing up among the thistles, and they waved as if stroked by wind.” This one is a symbolism of the miracle we see in Scriptures that the Lord Jesus walked on water in Matthew 14:25, “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.”   

There are also other miracles described in the book that are even a more obvious symbolism to those in Scripture. As when Jeremiah heals his boss right after being fired, just as we see in Scripture many different healings. We also see Jeremiah being compared to Moses on page 167 when they were looking for Davy and the police could not see them, which was a symbolism of Moses opening up the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape from the Egyptians.

Lastly, but not the least, the greatest of all miracles we see at the end of the book when Jeremiah gives his life for his son, in symbolism of how Jesus gave His life for us. This we see on page 307, when Dr. Nokes tells Reuben, “Your father should not have died, Reuben. Did you know that?”, and he continues saying “ I examined him, you know. No organs were damaged.” This perhaps could be a symbolism to John 19:36, how none of Jesus’ bones was broken. And on Reuben’s vision, page 304, the Dad left Reuben instructions as to what he should do when he died, such as “Work for Roxanna”. This, perhaps, is pointing to the scene where the Lord Jesus is on the cross and tells his disciple, “Behold thy mother!” (John 19:26). And just as the Lord Jesus, told His disciples after that he would be back (John 14:3), Jeremiah tells Reuben that he would be with him soon on page 304. Perhaps the miracle of Jeremiah dying and Reuben living is a symbolism of salvation. As I first mentioned, the Lord Jesus died for my life, therefore I choose to live for Him. So does the Scriptures tells us about this marvelous salvation we have in Christ, “But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).  In the words of the Methodist writer Charles H. Gabriel, “He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own; He bore the burden to Calvary, And suffered and died alone” (I Stand Amazed In The Presence, 1905).

Conclusion

After considering that all the miracles were a symbolism of some that we see in the Bible, and how miracles kept on occurring throughout the story. It is fair to say that miracles are indeed one of the major motifs in Peace Like A River. What is left then is what should we learn from it? As I have reflected over it, I believe, we should look to the Lord Jesus Christ as the author of all miracles especially salvation. As we saw in the end of the story, this is also true to everyone who comes to Christ, that He gave His life for us so that we may live. How much more should we give for Him? I finish my reflection with these words from the apostle Paul, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Works Cited

The New Oxford American Dictionary, 2001, edited by Elizabeth J. Jewell & Frank Abate

I Stand Amazed In The Presence, 1905, Charles H. Gabriel. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/s/isaithep.htm

Week 8 Reflective Peace Like a River

Is it possible to have peace in mist of such consequences as we have read in the story so far?

As I think about the father and all that is happening to him and His kids I think about how God bless those who belong to Him with peace whenever they pray and put their trust in Him. As we read in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  This truth comforts and encourages me to pray and put my trust in God.

I know in my own life I have experienced times where it seemed that the whole world was against me with all its powers. Especially when I came to Christ, I remember the conflicts with friends, work, and family. For I have obeyed the Lord’s calling to follow Him and forsake all the sins in and around me. This caused great distress for me. However, when I prayed, I truly felt the peace of the Lord in me. This is beyond comprehension, but I know it to be true.

There were other times that I have seen brothers who truly love the Lord go through deep pains, such as the lost of a loved one. However, in the mist of their pain they always had peace in the Lord. This is one of the mysteries of God. John Piper said “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” This, I believe, is one of the reasons why the Lord allows His children to go through trials and yet still have His peace.

Week 7 Annotation: The Road

As I worked on my questions for Reading 3 on The Road, I noticed something that really grabbed my attention. The “fire” in this part of the reading seems to be representing “love”.

 As we read on page 145, the old man said, “I’ve not seen a fire in a long time, that’s all. I live like an animal. You don’t want to know the things I’ve eaten.” This I believe, is referring to the fact that the old man had not experienced love in a long time as he said "I live like an animal." and he was feeling loved as they were feeding him , which no one else had fed him before. As we read on page 143, when the father is questioning the old man, the father says “People give you things. Yes. To eat. To eat. Yes. No they don’t. You did.”

We also see it earlier in the story when the old man looked at the boy, the author also mentions the fire on page 143, “Nobody wants to be here and nobody wants to leave. He lifted his head and looked across the fire at the boy. Then he looked at the men.” This could be showing that the old man saw love in the boy. In addition to that, on our reading 4, the Father mentions that there could be a Father and a boy on the other side of the ocean, the boy asks “And they could be carrying the fire too?” And, we have seen through the story that the fire is something they are carrying and others aren’t.

I think, this symbolism of the fire could be important to our reading because this could be the author's implication of love in his own relationship with his son and how he views the lack of love in the world. This could mean that, according with the author the world around us is lacking that kind of love and perhaps the author only sees that love through his son or in their relationship. As it is told that he wrote this book in dedication to his own son.

We can also use this symbolism to reflect in the author's implication to the idea that no one is carrying the fire to think about the world around us. Does the world seems like it needs love? Perhaps we could ask ourselves are we carrying the "fire", the true "fire"?

Week 6 Reflective Post: Death Be Not Proud

Alive In Christ!

A reflection from "Death Be Not Proud", by John Donne, and class discussion.

After our discussion in class I felt comforted by the reminder that, as one who follows Christ, death does not have power over my life.

As we discussed in class, the Word of God says, “O Death, where [is] your sting? O Hades, where [is] your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). This made me think about what the Spirit of God is referring to in this verse. So I continued reading, the next two verses says, “The sting of death [is] sin, and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56,57). So I concluded that the Spirit is truly referring to the spiritual death that comes from sin… as we know, “the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). This many would argue that is the only true death, because sin will cause someone to be dead (without God) in this life and in Hell. On the other hand, repentance from sin through Christ will cause as to be alive to God in this life and in Heaven. Hallelujah!Praise the Lord! Our Lord Jesus Christ has delivered us from sin so that we may not experience death, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:57. In conclusion, the next verses confirmed my thought and made me praise the Lord even more so.

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For [the death] that He died, He died to sin once for all; but [the life] that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:8-11)

Week 5 Creative Post: In Reaction to the Poem Pomegranate

Heaven or Hell?

Heaven or hell is the question I ask

Knowing this life will soon be past…

We worry about the choices we have to make

But are we thinking about where will they take?

Some will say I believe in Christ and I am saved

But if we believe would we stay the same?

Heaven or hell is the question I ask

Knowing this life will soon be past…

Imagine a man who strived all his life

To have a good job and find a pretty wife

His wife has children, and they get a house

But one day he dies and leaves his spouse

Heaven or hell is the question I ask

Knowing this life will soon be past…

It is never too late to ask that question

Is it worth to live of a false impression?

Many claims to be sure, but how can they know?

There is only one who can tell where they will go

Heaven or hell is the question I ask

Knowing this life will soon be past…

The one who can know is not hard to find

It is only hard for those who still blind

Disobedience to God will cause us to sin

The only way to avoid is to live for Him

Heaven or hell is the question I ask

Knowing this life will soon be past…

To live[for yourself] is to die and to die[for yourself] is to live

It is more than to say that we just believe

To love means more than to say good words

But love in action produce good works

Heaven or hell is the question I ask

Knowing this life will soon be past…


Meditation:
Luke 6:44-46

44. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
46. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Week 4 Annotation- A Raisin in the Sun (Act III)

Reading Raisin in The Sun Act 3 made me search for the root of the meaning on one specific passage. So, I took the time to meditate and dig from the Scriptures where this teaching has come from. So, I found that behind MAMA’s sermon to her daughter is actually a part of the Lord Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain.

"MAMA: There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing. [Looking at her] Have you cried for that boy today? I don't mean for yourself and for the family 'cause we lost the money. I mean for him; what he been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most; when they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain't through learning- because that ain't the time at all. It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in himself 'cause the world done whipped him so. When you start measuring somebody, measure him right child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is."

Let’s analyze:

MAMA’s sermon above was in response to her daughter. When she said, “Love him? There is nothing left to love.”

So, MAMA starts, "There is always something left to love."-  meaning, her daughter should still love her brother regardless of what he had done to her.

The Lord Jesus taught in Matthew 5:43-44a, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you…” – meaning, we should still love regardless of what others have done to us.

MAMA kept on saying, “And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing. [Looking at her]” – putting a strong emphasis why her daughter should know this.

The Lord Jesus taught, in Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – putting a strong emphasis on why we should learn this.

MAMA said, “Have you cried for that boy today? I don't mean for yourself and for the family 'cause we lost the money. I mean for him; what he been through and what it done to him.” – showing how her daughter should love her brother.

The Lord Jesus said, Matthew, 5:44b “do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” – showing how we should love one another.

MAMA said, “Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most; when they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain't through learning- because that ain't the time at all. It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in himself 'cause the world done whipped him so.” – making her daughter think on why she should love her brother at that time.

The Lord Jesus taught in Matthew 5 :46-47 “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?” – making us think why we should love one another.

MAMA said, “When you start measuring somebody, measure him right child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is."- saying that her daughter should not judge her brother for what he is going through.

The Lord Jesus also said in Luke 6:36-37, which is a parallel verse to what we just read in Matthew (parallel meaning it is Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mountain), “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:” – saying we should not judge one another for our failures.

This is very significant to the story,  because it gives authority to what MAMA is telling her daughter. But, it is also important because it tells something about the author. This shows that Lorraine Hansberry may have been a Christian who was trying to pass a biblical message to her audience, or she had a good knowledge of the Bible and she wanted to portrait MAMA’s character as a good Christian. Taking this in consideration, and looking at the whole story, we can  pull out other times where MAMA have acted as a good Christian.

We also see another hidden Christian message on Walter's final response to the rep. of the ‘Welcoming Committee’. Walter says. “We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes- but we will try to be good neighbors. That’s all we got to say.” Is this how a Christian should behave? Is that another biblical message behind this scene? I say yes, I believe that all these hidden mesages conclude to the point that the author had the intention to get the audience to think on their actions and influence them to consider biblical principles on how they should behave.

Week 3 Problematize: A Raisin in the Sun (Act II)

In our reading for class tomorrow, A Raisin in the Sun Act II, I passed by a sentence that have challenged me, and I am sure challenges us, and our culture at SEU.

On page 1666, Beneatha answers her mother as she asked if the man from the “welcoming committee” had threatened them, “He said everybody ought to learn how to sit down and hate each other with good Christian fellowship.”

My question is, Is that true about our lives? Are we ”sitting down and hating each other with good Christian fellowship”?

This challenged me to search my own heart, then ask God to show me where I may have been a hypocrite towards someone.  I know the word “hypocrite” sounds harsh, but it is truly what that behavior is. Hypocrite is one who acts out something that is not true about him. We could even say that hypocrite is an actor. The weight of that word in Christian culture is very heavy due to the fact that Jesus has condemned hypocrisy more than any other sin. Not that the other sins are not condemnable. As we read, according to the Lord Jesus himself, on Revelations 22:14,15 :

“Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

So, we are assured that anyone who lives in the practice of other sins will also be condemned to hell or the lake of fire. But, still hypocrisy seems to be a very disgusting sin due to the fact that the Pharisees were harshly rebuked by the Lord so many times because of their hypocrisy. Through those rebukes we find that hypocrisy is the root of all kinds of other sins, as the Lord Jesus mentioned over and over to the Pharisees in Matthew 23, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!...” And every time He mentioned it, he named something different they were doing wrong.

The question for us is, are we hypocrites? Do we pretend to love one another and in our hearts we hate each other? Or, do we hate anyone and pretend to love them?

If so, may we repent and go to the Lord in prayer and ask him for His forgiveness.

P.S.: I quickly would like to make an observation, just so we don’t miss out this opportunity to be challenged. In order for us to be forgiven by the Lord, it is very important that we repent first. As it is written in Acts 3:19, "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” Repent literally means to turn around. We must honestly understand what we did was wrong, make our mind to never do it again, and do what it takes to prevent from doing it again. Of course that must come from a genuine desire to turn around. It doesn’t always happen naturally, in that case we must ask the Lord to help us to repent and then ask Him to forgive us. This we see in the Bible many times when the Lord had forgiven someone. They truly realized what they did was wrong and did not want to do it again anymore, wether they said or not, their hearts had turned from their sin.

May God bless us all!

"Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."
Luke 3:8 

Week 2 Reflective: The Death of a Salesman

The biggest lesson I have taken from The Death of a Saleman is the delusion of the American Dream. Through the scenes, I observed that Loman lived his life chasing after the American Dream.  As he went to work and expected to get more and more sales, he built his house, later in life he died and the mortgage was finally paid off. His sons seemed to have little moral principles; they were just trying to succeed without any training. Consequently, they didn't build a family, if they did would probably this dysfunctional like theirs. The father was so focus on working and was so deluded that the son might be a football player or some kind of sales man because he was “liked”, that he never invested on his sons lives. All these things are rooted in the fact that Loman was chasing after the delusion of the American Dream.

The Death of a Salesman is a dramatic story, but it is the reality of many lives around us. The story shows a lot of things, which if we don’t look for them around us they might just pass by. Such as, the lies in this world and the lusts that men fall under, thus causing great destruction to their families. More than likely, we all have had some experience of this kind in our past. Maybe we are going thru or we know others who are. If we do, what are we learning from it? Just from reading this story, I can think of many situations in my life in the past… so, I would like to share what I have learned from them… This is what I learned, only those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have a true hope. A hope that cannot be faded… a hope that comes from knowing that He lives and He promised us eternal life with Him, if we repent of our sins and follow Him. And I honestly hope that we all do, or we may end up sharing the sad end of Loman and others who are chasing after the American Dream delusion.
 "every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. " Matthew 7:26,27

Week 1 Problematize: Why some Christians chose to seek after wealth prosperity?

As we read in class, Ecclesiastes chapter 2 makes it obvious that to seek after wealth prosperity is vanity.  However, many professing Christians keep seeking after it and some even teach others to do it. This makes me the question “why?” As those who follow Jesus, we should know that we ought not to accumulate treasures on this earth, but rather to have our treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). We should also know that no one cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24). However, there are many professing Christians who still chose to do it.

I don’t mean to be hard, but what comes to my mind is: what is the point to be called a Christian if we are not following Christ? After all, the meaning of being a Christian is that one follows Christ. I know it is easy to think that this is not a big deal or to look for other verses in the Bible and take them out of their context to justify doing what we want to. But, if we do that we may live our entire lives in the assumption that we are Christians and in the end find out we were wrong. Jesus said, “…what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). We also know that He asked some, who were rich, to give up all their possessions to follow Him and because they would not do it they did not become Christians. That being said, I wonder… how many today have denied Christ to surrender their possessions and their own desires but still calls themselves Christians?

This causes me to search my own self and to pray for God to search me as well, as we read on Psalm 139:23-24, because we all could be doing this. The question I think each one of us should ask is “are we?”.  I truly pray that all of us who claim to be Christians would consider this. For those who still chose to go by what everyone else thinks about what is right or wrong,  we should consider that we are living in a post-modern time where truth is relative to what best suits the individual. Most of our culture principles are based on the philosophy of humanism.  The evangelist Paris Redhead said in his sermon Ten Shekels and a Shirt*, “Humanism says all things exist for the happiness of man”, Christianity says “all things exist for the glory of God.”  So, in order to exam ourselves, I ask “Which one do we believe in?”

* This is a really good sermon by the way, if anyone would like to listen to it go to http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=10180222445.