[Blog reposted from 2010]
Cinco de Mayo!
Castanets and heels of dancing feet click; hands clap in dissonant rhythm; tongues trill a predictable cry of exultation. All, of course, are included in my merely mental image of colorfully-clad mariachis and dancing maidens celebrating. Ariba y ariba!
Until 2010 – when I was writing my first blog – I didn’t know what the celebration was for – so I looked it up. The internet is an amazing tool! I found out that it is a celebration of the Mexican army’s surprise victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862. The date is most celebrated in the State of Puebla in Mexico – and rightly so – but it has spread to be a voluntary celebration just for the fun of celebrating – or a good reason for Mexican restaurants to offer specials! Take your pick! The whole story is a history lesson worth reading. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in the Southwestern United States than it is in Mexico. Isn’t that fascinating? Of course, over the years it has spread north….
O K. I admit it – that was a bunny trail – before I even got started – but how can I write May 5 and not acknowledge the date?
[Just a little insert for 2017 – that was some storm we had in our area last night! No power at the church so we couldn’t have Worship practice – and I am grateful that all materialized before we were out on the roads trying to get there…. No power at home from shortly after 5 p m until this morning. Damage reports will be coming in today I am sure!]
It occurred to me that before Jesus’ death I referred to the messages He gave His disciples as ‘final words’ – but the reality is He shared additional final words with them after His Resurrection, when He walked on earth for 40 days prior to His ascension.
My ‘final words’ are something still to be done as part of my bucket list. I want to leave my kids and grandkids a legacy of family history and family faith in written form. I have concluded that my blog provides me both motivation and opportunity for doing just that!
In 2010 we had a special speaker in Sunday morning worship who has been involved in some terribly frightening aspects of missions, in being one who takes supplies into some very scary areas following disasters. Some call him 'the Indiana Jones' of missions. He told the story of one young man who came to faith in Jesus – and in doing so, rejected his Muslim past – and soon after was captured and placed in a metal shipping container with 300 other men who had become Christians. They were given a little bread and a cup of tea as their daily rations. They had buckets for elimination of personal waste – and he was one of the ones allowed to carry the buckets out once a day. Lucky him. All of the rest of the time, they were confined.
Finally, eighteen of them were taken out one day and told to dig their own graves. He was one of the eighteen. Once the graves were dug, they were ushered back to their container, and one at a time each man was taken out to stand by the grave he had dug. Each time a man was taken out, the men in the container heard the shots of the assault rifles, and when the next person in turn exited the container to stand next to his open grave, he could see the filled-in graves of the men who had been taken out before him. Each man was told if he would reject Jesus Christ he could live. Out of the eighteen men, only one denied his faith. Seventeen men faced death and remained true to the faith they professed.
The rest of the story: When the first man stood beside the grave he had dug, he was given the ultimatum – and stood firm in his faith. The shots of the rifles rang out – but the captors shot above his head, then ushered him off to a cave away from the area. The assailants filled in the freshly dug grave so it appeared he had been killed and buried; then they brought out the next person. That scenario was repeated over and over until the last of the eighteen had come face to face with his demise. None were actually killed – but each one who faced the firing squad was convinced the others had been.
It happens all the time in other countries. People are being killed for holding fast to their faith in Jesus Christ. It could happen here. It probably will before time ends. It isn’t something to fear – but is worth assessing if it is truly well with our soul.
Live Ready. Die Ready. And if I go before you – be strong. Stand firm!
Those are some of my final words!
The world can be a scary place. I’m so glad to know who holds my hand . . . and my future.
TRUST = walking – not just talking – our faith….
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