The climactic scene...

...from Raiders of the Lost Ark. That's the visual I've been trying to surface that tells you, my dear, how it looks when I think of doing this thing. It's funny. When you practice doing what is wrong, your understanding of what is right and what is wrong is crystal clear. No gray anywhere...all black and white. But when you practice doing what is right, suddenly everything becomes cloudy. You begin to catch a glimmer of the power you're tapping with your commitment, and suddenly you become one of those that might be used in "ways mysterious" and you lose all comprehension of what is right and what is wrong for a while. That's where faith kicks in, I suppose.

The scene I'm thinking of is the one where Indy and "the girl" (and isn't there always a girl) are present for the "unwise" opening of the Ark. Horrific fire, brimstone, whirlwind destroying everything around them because these who would "use" the Ark's power foolishly thought they could harness the power it represented. Only Indy and the girl had the good sense to show that shred of reverence that kept them alive. When I consider our "calling" it seems to me that you are inviting me to stand with you in the eye of that fiery tornado and believe that we will be OK while everything else is consumed. (And not only do you make invitation. "He" has been, too, of course.)

Our friend's dream reminds me of the story I was reading the other day. I want to record the story and our interchange about it. I want to honor your wisdom. The story is about this very Ark. Long ago, when the people of God became "superstitious" about the Ark, and turned it into an idol of a sort, God permitted it to be captured by Philistines. When it was being returned to Jerusalem, it was put on a cart to bring it home. Specific instructions had been previously given as to how the Ark was to be transported. It was to be carried on poles by priests, not taken on a cart. But King David lost sight of the purpose behind the regulations for the safe movement of the Ark, he'd forgotten what it might cost, this playing with the power found in unadulterated "holiness" (a thing few of us today believe even exists, we're so prone to identify God's meek and mild side as His sum total.)

In his defense, David knew that previously, the Ark was moved safely on a cart by the Ark raiders of his day: Philistines. But they moved it by cart as a test to see whether the "bad luck" it brought them was really from this Hebrew God or not. So they hitched the cart to cows who had newborn calves, and then they placed the calves such that if the cows went toward the Ark's home amongst the Hebrews, these Mama cows would be leaving their baby calves behind. This made the cart a sacred prayer, in a way. God honored that prayer. The cows did indeed pull it back to the Hebrews, abandoning their babies.

But later, when David continued with this mode of cart travel it was not as a prayer for God to reveal Himself. It was for convenience maybe or for the sake of "easier work" for the priests. Whatever the reason, it was no longer sanctioned by God. When the oxen stumbled, a man who was walking alongside reached out to steady the Ark and was immediately dead because of his irreverence. This man, Uzzah, whose name means "strength" by the way, was sincere in his desire to protect the Ark, but the Ark was only to be carried on poles...and never touched. He broke a cardinal rule. He underestimated the power of God and its interdependent relationship with His laws. These laws were in place for protection as much as anything else. Power in its rawest forms is a treacherous thing. God had locked His power into that thing. Man would do well to respect that. In fact, the next time David attempted to move the Ark, he was indeed careful to follow regulations, but it was too late for Uzzah.
I see here a theme we've talked about so much lately: one person's rash unthinking act causing another to pay a painful price, with the result being a seeming situation of injustice. Uzzah's death made David mad at God. The same happens to many of us when we see these injustices. Then it made David afraid. This also happens to many of us when we recognize the tremendous power that is carefully managed by this God of ours, yet left in places of such easy access that many are either trapped by their foolishness in "playing with the matches " or else they are made to be glorious displays of that same power.

I shared the story with you, along with my fear that we were considering doing the same type of thing: grabbing the tottering Ark, and inviting a similar fate. You made a very astute comment. God never appeared to this man (like He did for you) and said "Here is what I want you to do. Grab the Ark." His reaching out to grab the Ark was a knee-jerk reaction to a bad situation. So much of religion now is exactly that: a knee-jerk reaction to what appears to be a tottering God. We try to fix His "problem" by methods He never ordained. I look back at the things I knew and wrote about your dreams on Palm Sunday: the priests will be told to move the Ark across the river in ways you've never traveled before. Follow them. Just this morning, my devotion had this question to finish it: How will you make today a Day of Remembering? I guess I just found my way of remembering.
Thanks for reminding me not to have that knee-jerk reaction. Thanks for reassuring me that you're not Uzzah, set up to die an unjust death. You're Indiana Jones.
Love,
Your wife (you know: the one tied to the pole with you, waiting for the conflagration to sweep on past us.)