JR. Forasteros - October 18, 2015
Zombies
Zombies are mindless creatures who follow their most basic desire - to eat and eat and eat. They represent our fear that humans are most basically animals driven by destructive instincts. We distrust our cravings, our loves. But Scripture tells us if we follow God, God will give us the desires of our hearts. How can we learn to trust our desires as the path to life? How can a zombie learn to trust in God and be transformed - braaaaaaains and all?
From Series: "Monsters"
Why do we love stories about monsters? Vampires, werewolves, zombies and ghosts fascinate us - which is strange. Monster stories aren't really about monsters - they're about us. Monster stories externalize our deepest fears about ourselves. If we're willing to face our monsters head-on, we can find freedom and hope. Let the monsters die that the humans can live!
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In the years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, I went to the city to do relief work several times. It was during those trips I learned that what victims of disasters want most isn’t necessarily the relief work. Every trip went more-or-less the same:
A big group of us would show up and get to work. Maybe we were gutting a home so it could be cleansed of mold and rebuilt. Maybe we were cleaning up vacant lots to beautify a city block for the other residents. Mostly we were gutting homes – tearing out sheetrock and ripping up flooring. It was brutal, exhausting work, particularly in the New Orleans summers.
The residents would always be nearby, helping if they could or in their FEMA trailers making lemonade for us workers.
And inevitably, over the three or four days we were there, each of us would end up just sitting and talking with that resident. Despite the fact that we were on a schedule. Even though we were working hard to get their home finished.
What they needed most wasn’t a new home (though, obviously, that was important).
What they needed most wasn’t our strong backs and hard work. What they needed most, every time, was human interaction. They needed to tell their story, to be seen and heard, to know they’re not alone in their grief.
Again and again, what gave them hope was not the pounding hammers and loaded wheelbarrows, but a person sitting with them, being present with them.
What does it means to be WITH someone in times of grief? The final movement of Lament is hope, an anticipation that grief is not the final word.
