guest blogger: Keila Underwood
I imagine that people back in the day thought of Rizpah much like I thought of Cindy Sheehan back in 2005. After all, didn’t her son sign himself up for the military? Wasn’t he fulfilling his patriotic duty? Wasn’t her unrelenting stand outside of Bush’s ranch considered traitorous?
Oh, but the love and suffering of a mother can speak words that others can’t speak and can be heard even by those who don’t seem to have ears to listen.
Like Sheehan, Rizpah was a mother of sons who had lost their lives in war. Their deaths were so meaningless that their bodies were left to rot in the spot in which they had fallen. Rizpah took a stand too. She set up camp next to their bodies and protected them for the season. Her mourning and courage reached all the way to King David’s ears… and he heard. Her suffering caused him to feel again, and he was moved to gather up the bones. And then God healed their land.
During a peacemaking trip to Iraq, during the 2003 bombardment, a bunch of us read this story and prayed that once again mothers would set up camp beside the bodies of their dead and wail so loudly that word of the travesty would spread thoughout the earth. Maybe people from around the world would hear and come out with them on the rock beside the bodies. And we would groan together so loudly that even the kings would hear. Perhaps the kings would be moved to be human again, and then God would heal their land.
In 2005 Cindy Sheehan started camping outside of Bush’s ranch. This is what happens when people pray. This is what happens when mothers mourn. This is what happens when kings cry. And someday God will heal our land.
Keila Underwood is an amazing wife, a busy mother of four fun kids and a refreshingly honest voice. You can read more of Keila’s thoughts at her blog, Mosaic.
Filed under: Jesus For President, Shane Claiborne, books, church, in the news, prayer | Tagged: ecclesia
great post!
Beautiful!
I’m reading this in a public place and crying my eyes out!
There are two things I think of when I think about war and ‘the people who follow God’. Both are in the bible.
1) Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called sons of God
2) The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace….etc.
I’m sure there are more, much more. I love the Beatitudes, they are great for meditation, for putting my heart and mind in a positive frame for the day. My conclusion is that the followers of God or those who claim a family connection with God are makers of peace. It’s so beautiful!
I’m a vegan. Being a vegan is one of the primary expressions of my personal belief system. I love life, and the lives of others, all life is sacred. I am not a mom, but everything in me cries for the lives of sons and daughters lost in war.
It makes perfect sense that to me that when a country chooses to celebrate life instead of destroying it, the ‘life’ of that country will be revived.
Keila – your excepts and thoughts are good ones. It goes along with some of my thoughts but my slant is somewhat different.
As you describe the deep love of a mother who can get things done by touching the hearts of others because of the depths of her feelings and expressions – I really saw God from this light in these pages.
God is so unimaginably faithful. It is written over and over that the people rejected him. For me, rejection will break my heart and send me heading in the other safe direction. God never relented. He kept loving, kept seeking, never let go…
In my margin I even noted something related to this as being beyond all rationality. It makes no sense that God would stick by us. I was/am profoundly grateful.
Faith- you wrote “it is my conclusion that followers of God or those who claim a family connection with God are makers of peace.” I love that… and wish it were true. For all of our anger and protesting against abortion, we seem, as Christians, all too happy to go into war. I just don’t get it to be honest… and I even used to think that way. I am completely against the taking of life, but for some reason my belief system didn’t carry into war… at least not if it was our side doing the killing. Thanks for your comments on your love of life!