What's in a name?

It's an amazing thing to be able to overhear how young people speak with and to each other. 

In general, teenagers are in the throes of navigating space, personal and social, and finding order in a chaotic world. Often, their discussions reveal a desire for understanding - both their own, and how they can be understood. In our contemporary world, teenagers catch a lot of flack for all sorts of things, but are they really any different than any other generation? Aren't they trying to find their way in a world that is completely different than the one their parents inhabited?

So they communicate through images. And in these images, their stories are written and told: memes and emojis express how they are feeling and how they want to be known and understood. They (and we) post how we want to be seen and also the things of which we are most afraid.

For people of all ages, one of our greatest fears is to be called names.

The other day, I had the opportunity to hear a discussion after a group of fifth-graders (roughly ten or eleven years of age) were having after we disembarked the bus after an excursion. They were ebullient, joking, doing what kids do (and practicing the craft of communication that they will need even more as they enter their teenage years). One of the students had a white, fluffy bunny attached by a keychain to her bag. Here is the brief description of their conversation as I walked behind them:

Student 1: "Hey! I really like your white bunny!"

Student 2: "Thanks. I like having it on my bag."

Student 3: (running up behind them) "You shouldn't say that. (He's laughing) You're being racist to that bunny."

Student 1: "What?"

Student 3: "Yeah, you're a racist!"

Student 1: (now slightly upset) "I'm not racist. I just said I liked her white bunny."

Student 3: "That's racist."

Student 1: "I'm not racist! I'm not racist! It's just a stuffed bunny."

To say that I was flabbergasted would be an understatement. What I was expecting to hear was a thrilling discussion about Lego, or bus-riding, or... or... ANYTHING but a defamation of a young girl who had the gall to correctly identify the color of a stuffed rabbit.

This young girl was adamant about not being a racist, because in our contemporary world, there are few names that carry with it more negative connotations than 'racist.' And yet the term was bandied between eleven-year-olds as if it was a commonplace thing for eleven-year-olds to talk about.

This brief interaction helped me to realize two things we, as adults, need to be tremendously careful with.

Firstly, the words we speak in front of our children will be absorbed quickly and unconsciously. Whether we speak graciously or we practice a particular innocuous brand of slander, kids (as they always have done) will repeat what they hear. For us, a word filter should be fitted the moment we get up in the morning until we put our heads down for sleep at night. Not only is this a good thing for our kids, but it also changes how we see the world.

Secondly, no matter how much filter we have over our own words, unless we help children navigate the tumultuous online world, kids will be unable to understand the importance of their words on other people. I'm not talking website filters or nannying the internet, and I'm certainly not advocating censorship, but I am encouraging active participation in listening to kids and what they experience while online. For the kids in the above narrative, in all seriousness, they probably did not pick up the finger-pointing-racism from their parents, but have been osmotically gathering ideas online. Without guidance on how to correctly speak about racism, it just becomes a name (and unfortunately) a joke.

Some who read this may think I've overreacted. I wonder that myself. They were just playing around. It's just a white bunny. But somewhere deeper inside of me, I feel there is a modern metanarrative occurring that reveals this is not simply a one-time event, but will be a greater issue as the years pass. 

Each name we are about to stick to someone else is an opportunity: for them and for us. I hope we can stick to choosing a graceful name.

When Giants Appear

The world is shaking with giants.

Giant fears. Giant anxieties. Giant obsessions and addictions. Gigantic problems with escapism. While these 21st century Titans of Despair may seem much larger than David's Goliath, the pathway to victory is the same.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the David and Goliath story is Israel's incredible devolution of a country devoted to hearing God through the Judges, to a nation quaking in fear at the thought of one man who would stand against the king that they'd chosen - a large man himself. Saul.

One would expect that someone like Saul would have charged headfirst into glorious battle, donning his own armor and carrying his own weapons, to defeat his greatest challenge. But as we read Saul's narrative closely, charging headfirst into battle has never been his modus operendi. 

In 1 Samuel 9, Saul's task was to go search for some lost donkeys. What we find from Saul, '...a handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else,' (9:2) is an unprepared, fearful boy who wants to turn away from the task because it becomes too difficult.

After this episode, Saul meets with Samuel and is convinced that he will be the first king of Israel. For some people, this would be a thrill - to have power, riches, people bending to every whim - but when Saul is announced to the crowd, he is '...hidden among the supplies.' (10:22b)

Although he looks the part, Saul is no giant killer. 

So when Goliath appears on the scene, it really is no surprise that Saul is paranoid, unprepared and fearful. 

It is here we understand that Saul's anointing, although serving a purpose, also serves the point that God does not '...consider appearance or height... the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at outward appearance, but the Lord Looks at the heart.' (16:7)

So David, the youngest brother, a shepherd - good looking with healthy cheeks (as if that's a prerequisite for royalty) - passes in front of Samuel. This is the one that will be king.

Interestingly, David is anointed king when there already is a king. David also is unwilling to lift his hand against the current monarch. He shows his integrity and his fearlessness - the anti-Saul, if you will. Then, the giant shows up. The time has come for Israel to see the future.

Giant's will fall because of God's faithfulness, power and unyielding mercy for his people.

So, how did David kill the earth-shaking giant?

I. Belief in God and belief in himself. 

       "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the Living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of the Philistine." (17:36,37)

II. Using his strengths and advantages.

       Everyone expected David to fight conventionally. To use a sword or spear would have been expected, but it would also have played into Goliath's strengths. For David, his strength was his size and speed and his ability to fight from a distance.

III. Faith in God.

        "All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." (17:47) It is a tremendously freeing thing when ultimately we realize that the battle's victory is God's responsibility and the part we play is following his direction.

IV. Being prepared and realistic.

        It's always made me smile that David's faith in God was extreme, but he picked up five stones. Sometimes I have thought, 'If David really believed in God, why didn't he just pick up one stone?' But a true leader/warrior is prepared for the unexpectedness of battle. Flinging stones can be affected by all sorts of things - wind, movement, nervousness, sweaty palms - so best to be ready for anything. I'm positive that God doesn't see our preparedness as a lack of faith. Yet far too often I (maybe others, too) bluster about faith and pick up one stone because of laziness rather than faith.

So how does this translate to our contemporary giants?

I. Belief in God and yourself.

    Look, much of the world believes that there is a God, but treats this God as distant and hands-off-ish. With our words we exclaim that we trust this Lord who Saves, but with our handwringing and our worry, we look for someone else to protect us from the giants. Like Saul, we ask around for anyone (Beuller? Beuller? Anyone? Beuller?) who is willing to stand up. 

   The LORD will rescue us from the hand of our 21st Century Philistines and can use all of us to do so.

II. Use our strengths and advantages.

    We keep expecting to solve problems by fighting these giants of fear, anxieties, obsessions and addictions by doing the things we've always done: We battle with swords of words, cutting down people and histories in the process; we put up the armor of online anonymity; we retreat into another world and submerse ourselves in the swirling battle of social media, biased news and distorted talking heads. Yet the strength of the faithful person is not based in a war of words, but by care and compassion in acts of service.

III. Faith in God.

    I keep hearing the phrase 'Post-Christian world' and it makes me feel like someone is standing over my grave and talking about me, but I'm not dead yet. Christian and secular authors alike write both obituary and epitaph about Christianity, "She was a good person, well loved, but she got old..." yet the heart of the body of Christ, Jesus himself, never grows old. When it feels that we are at our weakest and frailest, there it is that God's strength is most magnificently revealed. We are given the courage and strength to stand in the battle with the Lion of Judah at our back, and pick up our stones.

IV. Being prepared and realistic.

    Unlike Goliath, our contemporary giants quickly shift shapes. They are wily and agile and can slit us to death rather than stab us. So what is the tactic - the polished river stone - of the contemporary giant killers? 

Retreat.

As I write that, I think, 'There are some pretty negative connotations from that word.' 

1. Retreat is not from the battle, but a retreat from the online world, away from the tech-giants, the media-giants, the fear-mongers and death-dealers.

2. Retreat from fear, not out of fear, but to regroup with fellow believers to remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. The giant cannot get at us when we stand behind the Lion of Judah.

3. Retreat from our own self-addiction and embrace the opportunity to reconnect with others, no matter their political, ideological or religious identification. If there is anything that the world needs most is to circle the wagons. They're all the same wagon.

In this world full of giants, it is the LORD who looks at the heart of his people, the body of Christ, and smiles. As we are prepped for a battle that he has been/is already fighting, breathe a deep sense of relief. It is already won.

Now, just pick up your sling and stones.

Holy Distraction, Batman!

There is an Australian saying that goes like this: 

"Head down - bum up." This adage signifies that the speaker is going to keep one's proverbial proboscis to the grindstone, work hard and long hours until the task is completed.

Over the last two years, as some (if not most) employees have worked from home, perhaps promising to keep the morning raids of the refrigerator to a minimum and time spent on social media in check, they have also signed an unwritten personal contract to keep a head down and a rear end up.

So some (if not most) have worked from home, staring at a computer screen until their eyes swam. They've done meetings via Zoom; conferences held through Teams; purchased equipment and supplies through Amazon, and through it all, they've attempted to keep distractions at a distance. 

It's ethical, right? Just keep doing what we've been doing, but online. Just get the task done so we can move onto the next one. 

You can't spell routine without 'rut.'

In my opinion, Moses, in Exodus 3, was very much caught up in the adage, Head down, bum up. 

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within the bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn up.'

When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!"

And Moses said, 'Here I am.'

Now eighty years of age, Moses had been routinely tending his father-in-law's flock, head down, bum up. From Prince of Egypt to Sultan of Sheep, Moses had taken a prodigious demotion, the mundane task of taking care of his father-in-law's flock. Can you imagine what that was like? The humdrum of following sheep across the wilderness: watering them, grazing them, protecting them. Day after day after day.

One day, though, he took his flock to the far side of the wilderness, to Horeb, the mountain of God. Whether or not he knew this was the mountain of God beforehand is up for debate, but for some reason his flocks are grazing on holy hillsides. Whilst the animals munch away, he sees a strange sight: a bush that seemed to be on fire, but it was not being consumed. He even mutters to himself, perhaps this is a sign of the craziness of the rut: "I will go over there to see this thing..."

It was a holy distraction. Moses was well within his rights to simply keep his head down and his bum up, but instead, he does the opposite. He puts his head up and sets his bum down in front of a sight that he would have missed.

It's here that we sometimes miss the third most important word in the narrative (beyond LORD and God)...

When.

It wasn't until Moses made a conscious decision to deviate from the original plan - to work hard, do the task, feed the sheep - that God could see Moses was ready.

When the LORD saw that Moses had gone over to look 

Then God spoke to Moses from the bush.

This holy distraction had caught Moses' attention, but if he hadn't turn aside, he might have missed God's call on his life to do something different.

Over the last two years - well, let's be honest - over the last few decades, Christian churches everywhere have been working really hard, keeping heads down and bums up, to attempt to grow the church. In doing the same things we've always done, whether staring at a computer screen or looking out over a congregation, we hope that in being faithful to the task, we are faithful to the calling. Somehow, if we can just keep going, things will turn around.

And yet, maybe it's at this point in Christian history when it's time to stop putting our heads down, but actually lifting our heads up to see holy distractions. Maybe it's time for us to turn aside from those routine tasks, to go and have a look at these new and creative things that God is doing in the world. Maybe it's from this new 21st century - almost burning bush - that we'll hear God's voice speaking very loudly to us, calling us by name, to tasks unthinkable and untouchable just a few years past.

What will it take for you to lift up your head and put your bum down? What will be your holy distraction to hear God calling you into something new?