Category: Uncategorized
origins: playoff beard
Throughout history, there have been several misunderstandings about our hair. When I was in college, I remember Troy Martin giving lectures on the ancient biblical understandings of hair. It was believed that human hair was somehow a part of the reproductive system. That longer hair was a sign of greater fertility, as the hair was involved in drawing in/up the elements needed to produce a baby. Funny as it may sound, it was the logic behind several of the urgings for men and women in Corinthians chapter 11. It makes sense, if it’s considered a sexual organ, hair should be covered by women, especially in worship services.
Of course, today, we’d hear about all this and laugh a bit. Hair on our head is definitely NOT connected to the human reproductive system. (Unless it’s an obvious connection between a young high school boy and his wannabe ponytail completely ruining his chances at developing relationships with the opposite sex. Ah well, survived that one okay eventually.)
But to go straight from that understanding to the one that currently exists today, would be not only missing out, but entirely unfortunate. Hair was not intended for mere fashion. To be trained, trimmed, and teased at will, molded into whatever form desired, with little respect for God’s intended purpose. And what was God’s intended purpose?
Throughout scripture we see people shaving in mourning the loss of a loved one. What we don’t see, or read in scripture, is what happened before the mourning began. Traditions and historians vary on their view, but it’s widely believed that the reason for silence in this area is due to the extreme powers that it has involved in the past. Think Samson type stuff.
There was a man, Abrabeard. Abrabeard was once praying fervently for someone else, and in his prayer he asked God to give him something more to occupy his interceding. God smiled on Abrabeard, and promised him that if he would continue to not shave his face or head, blessings would come to the person he was interceding for.
Fast-forward to today. Sure, not shaving is sometimes incorporated in Lent and other seasons of prayer. But the only realms still connecting purposefully to this ancient practice would be what is popularly being referred to as the “Playoff beard”. Often looked over or scoffed at by those who deny its’ practice, its’ power goes well beyond what simply shouting at the television could achieve. Fortunately for the fairness of the NHL, it seems playoff beards are being used by most of its 30 teams and their fans. In some cases however, someone’s distance from God produces an inability to grow quality facial hair, as seen most recently in Cindy Crysby.
And so, as we move closer to the playoffs, there are many who have chosen to begin interceding on their teams’ behalf. As we join the generations before us, we yell “Game On!”, knowing the history we connect with…
(portions of this post are entirely fabricated for purposes of being a fan, but a surprising amount is still actually true.)
savin the nard.
John 12:3-7 “Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”
Besides just being a really fun title to put on this post, I think here is a great illustration/reminder for most of us. The type of thinking/assessment of our relationships that happens when someone is close to dying, or having a major surgery can bring us to a point that we may benefit from reaching before that point.
My dad is going in for a splenectomy as I write this. For a man who has been through what he’s gone through, it could be a pretty serious operation. He’s been ridiculously strong through so much, and has some pretty awesome family cheering/praying him on, so it’s not a large worry. But concern for sure. It’s brought up thoughts and feelings I probably should have expressed simply in daily living throughout the past few years.
The kind of love Mary expresses here, real love and not eros in this kind of emotional disguise…(funny how horribly wrong “romance” has become, often causing more damage and emotional dullness than anything life-affirming) is something we could use a bit more of. But we usually need life circumstances to prompt us. The kind that lets go of economy, turns the value system of this world upside down, and Loves well. Takes expensive fragrances worth a years wages, and dumps them as a message of Love that is unmistakable.
There’s a difficult issue this brings up also. Obviously, this challenges me to be a better shower of Love to my wife, my children, my family, my close friends, the teens I love and work with, etc. Not so obvious, or easy, is the call to love my enemies, to love the least of these, to love the forgotten and overlooked in the same way Mary models for us here. Before the earthquakes and fund-raising concerts. Before they’re reformed and placed back in positions that give back to society. Before they reach out to us, pleading for someone who will Love well.
To stop saving our “nard” for “some day” in the future, but to break our vessels and pour out our message of Love to those we would normally look over or even deem un-lovable without thinking.
May God help us…
words from wick 