“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5)
That question, found in the gospels, comes to mind. And though there is the context of looking for the dead body of Jesus in the tomb, there is something so inherent to the human condition that I must start with just that statement.
Humans are wired to seek life, and avoid death. Humankind fell out of God’s grace of life in the Garden of Eden, and there, very real issues of knowing good from evil and eternal life were set in motion.
Last night and this morning, I read expressions online that left me wanting to write something along the lines of “The Gospel Doesn’t Need Your ‘Word Salad’ as a Side Course to the Meat and the Milk.”
Oh, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. Word salad.
Word salad is a psychological phenomenon of schizophrenics.
But the idea of it…the idea of having a variety of linguistics chopped, diced and sprinkled into someone’s spiritual expression of influence. Sometimes I read something and think to myself, “I’m not even sure what that means…”
What is that I’m eating (or being force-fed)?
I think it’s a diced carrot and a marinated egg, a pickled raisin and dried peas.
I think it’s a glob of bacon, smothered in whiskey.
I think…but I can’t be sure…that you are ‘talking around some new flavor’ and extracting natural preservatives…
I think, but I can’t be sure because there are so many diced and chopped and whole and color-dyed, frozen and fresh, pickled and rancid and…and…it is being served up in some type of salad…along with quotations from various people and thinkers and Pastors and lay people…
I don’t know.
But, I’m getting heartburn.
BURP.
Maybe I can clarify at least something here.
This morning, I also saw a posting by a mother who is suffering. And it had many responses from other suffering parents, and heart cries for their children who are suffering great evil and harm.
This mother was looking at old pictures, and asked others to join her in “calling aloud her grown child’s ‘dead’ (given) name.”
This resonated not only with others, who began replying with a cascade of their own beloved ‘dead names’ to call out for one another, but it resonated deeply with me. Last fall, I wrote a piece called ON ELECTION DAY, WE SPEAK THEIR NAMES. It is a piece about speaking aloud ‘dead names’ rather than voting for anyone.
These are spiritual issues, and evil and evildoers exist on all political sides.
Biblically, there is a lot of precedent for calling out names.
To begin with, we call out the name of God routinely. When we call out to YAHWEH–or Jesus–we call out to LIFE ITSELF.
I could go on with free association of names being called out and floating through the “spiritual air”–how about when the Lord was calling out to the boy Samuel? Samuel, whom Hannah asked for and dedicated over to the Lord? (I Samuel 3)
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
~ I Samuel 3:10
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
A great evil is marching through the Christian Church, seeking to steal children who were dedicated to our God, likely and often with this quotation from I Samuel being used:
For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me my petition which I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”
~ I Samuel 1:27-28 (RSV)
And they worshiped the Lord there.
Notice it says, “as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” Our enemy, Satan, wants these children dedicated to God by Christian parents to be “dead.” To be given (or to take) a different name that concurs with this spiritual “death.”
The so-called ‘dead name’ is one of the most piercing symbols and realities of this evil.
Cults come first for the NAME. Because, if one’s name with its richness and intention and sacredness can be stolen, then, one’s entire identity can be stolen.
I think of this verse: This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
And, I think of Jesus going to the tomb of Lazarus. Mary, who had sat at His feet in earlier times, did not come out upon her brother’s death. But Martha–pro-active Martha–was there. And when Jesus showed up (finally) she said to Him:
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.”
~ John 11:20-27
And then, after Jesus weeps at the tomb, he called out his name: “Lazarus, come forth!”
And this grown child, wrapped in grave cloths, came forth.
As I conclude this expression here, a line of an old song comes to mind: “I am He, He said…”
I’m not sure why, nor how it connects. I think (though I’m not sure until I re-listen) that it has to do with the POWERFUL, LIFE-GIVING BREATH of the words of Jesus. The powerful, life-giving, resurrecting words of our Lord and great King.
And so….while others munch around and put out various word salads at the proverbial church pot-luck—and to what end I do not know–there are people suffering and calling out for MEAT. They are calling out for the deepest things of God–for LIFE to triumph over DEATH.
They are sitting upon the watch tower, and blowing the “shofar” of NAMES aloud, in the NAME of their God. They are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, clergy and those within the contemporary prophetic roles of speaking and affirming the most basic truths of the Judeo-Christian faith.
Be it far from us to advocate for anything that causes further pain and death to enter into our broken world–to cause any of these children to stumble and come into great harm. Far be it from us to advocate for anything that causes more names to be called out by mothers.
Far be it from us.
This is not political, this is spiritual. These are the matters of life and death. This IS the work of the gospel.
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