By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
As of this writing, tiny Israel (which is surrounded by neighbors who are trying to make it even tinier) is trying to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year,” and is one of the most fascinating of the feasts. It is a burst of joy and sweetness to be followed by several days of repentance, meditation, and reflection. It culminates in Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Atonement, (or as a former pastor would say, “At-ONE-ment”) whose intended result is that God and man become so intimate that you don’t know where one stops and the other begins. It is a time of getting things straightened out, both horizontally and vertically, and I think we can agree that the entire planet needs exactly that, and right now.
What is wild is that Israel, once again, is attempting to celebrate, then meditate and finishing with divine mediation in the midst of being attacked by a nation that does not just want to make tiny Israel even tinier, but to utterly destroy it. They are smack dab in the middle of what I call “the hard hallelujah.” What is that? It is the rational decision to do the irrational; to praise God in all things as well as for all things. Does that sound nuts? It does. Is it what believers are called to do? It is. How do we know? “Little David,” who was no stranger to the demonic actions of those who would destroy him out of jealousy, and thus is a perfect picture of Israel said it best: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Joseph said to his jealous and dysfunctional brothers, “What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good,” Paul admonishes us to remember that God will work ALL things together for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose, along with Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Does that mean that we never weep, we never mourn, or we deny that negative, hateful, horrible things sometimes singe the hair right off of our souls? Of course not. Jesus would not have said, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” if it wasn’t true. What it means is that BEFORE heartbreak hits, you have determined by grace to develop a mind and heart set that begin to move toward the understanding that God’s got this, and that He has indeed made all things beautiful in His time. Therefore, the worst becomes the raw materials for the best, when you let God get His hands on it.
I know that when I am in the presence of someone who has both undergone and lives this process, and has ultimately found great beauty coming out of the biggest, nastiest ash heap, I am drawn up short and challenged to the core to access a realm whose password at times is the hard hallelujah. Therefore, let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for all who are in great danger in this new year.
December 20, 2024
