Stories from the past... preparing for the future...

Last night I went to a play. Not that there's anything too remarkable about that, considering it's me. But last night was different. Last night I went to Things We Couldn't Say, a play about 2 people serving in the Resistance during WWII. A friend of mine played Diet Eman as an older woman telling her story... she was onstage the entire time, watching herself as a young woman in prison and in the Netherlands... watching her fiancee (another friend) in prison, under Gestapo, and eventually dying... telling her story to the onlookers in the theatre. It was an emotional journey to say the least, not just because of the hardships endured and lives affected, but because of their common faith with me, a faith in God so strong because of how much it was tested during that time.

As if that wasn't enough, the director began the show by coming into the audience and asking who among us had served during WWII and asked for their brief stories. My eyes filled with tears as one gentleman, only a young boy at the time of the war, confessed he stole a German gun. He said he thought it would stop them from killing so many people if he could take their weapons. One lady shared how soldiers came and took over their home.

The theatre was silent at the show's closing. As I wandered in thought, I couldn't help but shake my head in retrospect and lament American Christians who think they're doing good deeds by "protesting" prayer being banned in public schools... and like behaviors. I'm not going to knock them for it either, but honestly... we have no idea the realities our brothers and sisters faced then... or what they face even now in the world for their faith in Christ in God. How long will we take our incredible freedoms here lightly? How long will we vote for political candidates based on their claims to faith? This time isn't going to last forever. What will we do when it's a true crime to believe in God? I bet we won't whine and walk around with signs in our hand once a year. Self-satisfied religious creatures won't last too long when the fires arrive. I almost long for that time to come... I crave a wake-up call in our country. God, prepare us for the time as it comes. May we honor and serve You always.

John 15:13

Recently I heard a speaker reference John 15:12-13... "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

He went on to say that the original word "life" used in verse 13, translated, actually means "psyche". So... Jesus isn't actually saying the greatest love is to lay down our physical lives for each other. In some ways, I think that dying for someone could be easier (and most likely quicker) than what He is actually asking us... he's saying we need to lay aside our own personal desires and selfish wishes in deference to others. He's saying we need to live to serve others. Not die for them... live for them. There was no clause to that verse, no clarifications or exceptions... just "lay down your life for your friends." Yikes.

I fail that one countless times each day...

City of God... City of Satan...

I've been typing some articles to help my pastor with his doctoral work (he's one hand down) and this article from the book "City of God, City of Satan" by Robert C. Linthicum particularly intrigued me.

Jerusalem is seen in its idealized form as the city of God. It is introduced in Genesis (14:17-24) in the figure of Melchizedek, king of Salem (Salem is the former name of Jerusalem). The entire biblical drama concludes in the last chapters of the book of Revelation with the vision of “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:2).

The traditional interpretation given to the name of Jerusalem is “city of peace”. But biblical scholars such as Millar Burrows have pointed out that the name actually means “foundation of Shalem.” The traditional interpretation, “city of peace,” is etymologically unfounded.

The first references to Jerusalem in the Bible are found in Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 76:2, where it is called in Hebrew Shalem (in English, “Salem”)... The earliest known names for Jerusalem were Urushalim (the Egyptian Execration Texts, c. 1850 _B.C.E.) or Shalem. Apparently the city received the name Jerusalem only after King David annexed it to Israel and made it his capital (2 Sam. 5:6-12).

Since the root name for Jerusalem is Urushalim or Shalem, we have to ask the question, “Who or what is Shalem?” Shalem was the local god of pre-Israelite Canaan. It was the god symbolized in the planet Venus, the evening star.

Does the name Jerusalem have anything to do with peace? Obviously the Hebrew words shalem and shalom (“peace”) are virtually identical. Is there a relationship? Apparently there is. In the Canaanite language, the god’s name Shalem actually meant “completion”. This meaning evolved from the Canaanites’ perception of Shalem as Venus, the evening star – which completed the day. Therefore, as time went on and language evolved, the word shalem came to be identified with a place – Jerushalem – and with the concept of “completion” of “fulfillment”. This became the base for the later Israelite word shalom or “peace”. But one should not then make the mistake of assuming that the name of David’s city was Jerushalom. It was not. It was Jerushalem.

If the city Urushalim of Shalem means “foundation of Shalem,” of the city of Shalem, what, then, does the prefix Je mean? It is the anglicized version of the Yah and thus an abbreviation for the word Yahweh! When King David conquered Jerusalem, he added the name of his and Israel’s God to the name of a city that previously had been named for the god Shalem. The name Yahweh was not substituted for the name of Shalem; it was added to it!

In the very name Jerusalem is expressed the tension of every city. It is Je-rusalem – the city of Yahweh, of God. It is Jeru-salem – the city of Baal (or Satan). Jerusalem is the city of Yahweh. Jerusalem is the city of Baal. It is a city that contains the power and influence of both forces within its walls. The very name of Israel’s primary (and idealized) city expresses the foundational urban message of the Bible. Jerusalem – and every city – is the battleground between God and Satam for domination of its people and their structures.

How crazy is it that, to date, this city has yet to be one of peace and prosperity? I'm not one to dwell on end-times theology, but I can't help but wonder how Jerusalem will play a part in this world as we continue on through future generations. Something to ponder while I make dinner tonight... :) What could have happened if David renamed the city?