A line in the sand

Now in chapter 5 of the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel is called upon by God to shave off all his hair and his beard. He is to weigh the hair and divide it up into three piles.

When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword. But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.  Ezekiel 5:2-4

There is no actual point to this. This act in itself will make no difference to anything. But it is a symbol. A potent symbol. A visual reminder of what is actually happening.

This is Jerusalem. Jerusalem is rebellious and wicked and evil.

God is to inflict punishment on Jerusalem. God is to shave Jerusalem and divide the people into thirds.

A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.  Ezekiel 5:12

That’s why Ezekiel shaving his head and beard is significant. It symbolises so much more.

When my husband read yesterday’s blog, he felt that something was missing. It’s here today. I could make out I did that deliberately, but I never know what is coming next. Anyway, it’s this whole point about physical symbolism. Physically doing something can give a whole new depth of meaning to our words. That’s why leaving parties are important, my husband says. Everyone knows when someone is leaving, but having an event to say goodbye marks the moment in time and gives it a significance beyond just walking out of the door and never coming back.

He remembers a time a while back when we were chatting to a vicar about a particularly difficult period in our lives. This guy identified that we were struggling to let it go.

Go to a beach and draw a line in the sand. Physically do it. Then take it each other’s hand and actually jump over the line together. This may help you to move on.

I didn’t even remember the conversation. I don’t remember if we ever actually jumped over the line in the sand or not. But for Andy, that symbol was obviously really significant.

There’s loads of symbolism we engage in. We throw a handful of dirt on a coffin at a funeral. We exchange rings in a marriage ceremony. We splash water on a baby’s head at a Christening. We eat bread and take wine at Communion.

And maybe like the line in the sand, there are other acts of symbolism at other times of our lives that could help.

So I’m thinking I’d like to find a way to symbolically leave all my baggage from the day and all my anxieties and thoughts at the bedroom door before I get into bed. I’d like a symbolic ritual for that. I could do with something.

How about you?

Have a think.

Be creative.

Let God inspire you.

Don’t be afraid.