Give me a head with hair

Daniel 3:27

And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counsellors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunicswere not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them.

Matthew 10:28-31

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

1 Corinthians 11: 13- 16

Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.

I had my hair trimmed yesterday and I spend most of the time talking with the stylist about how frustrated I feel with my hair. My husband likes long hair (great, let him grow some!) and I don't mind it, but I think my hair looks better in the style it's in now. I hate to grow my hair, only to wear it up all the time. When I go to a new stylist, I always say I have three hair rules: 1) no big bangs, 2) no mullets and 3) nothing that requires more than five minutes or more than one product. I know myself and I know the amount of time I'll spend on my hair. None. (It probably looks like it, too.)

I do shampoo, condition, brush and occasionally blow dry. I ignore it for as much as I possibly can and then (about every 6 weeks) suddenly it's all I can think about. I'm not an impulsive person, but I will do impulsive things with my hair. Perm it. Color it. Grow it (a looooong impulse). Cut it off. All, of course, in accordance with the rules.

So, yesterday, I started think about the Bible and hair. (Which is very different than thinking about the Bible and Hair.) Hair appears many times in the Bible, from descriptions of someone's hair (Samson or the woman who washed Jesus' feet) to injunctions about hair (don't cut the corners) to God's thoughts about hair (He knows how many you've got).

In some ways, the amount of discussion about hair is comforting. When God was with the three men in the fiery furnace, they weren't smoking even a little. They came out with every hair in place. Since I've singed my own ends at least once lighting a gas grill, that's a miracle. It serves to show that God is not only interested in the details of our lives, but that God is present in the details.

Often we think that we have to issue an invitation to God to encourage his involvement in our life. In fact, God is already present, active and inviting us to be as involved in what we do as He is. Many times, we float through life, without regard until we're overwhelmed by life events. We wonder where God was, but God is with us all the time.

I'm not sure that it's really important to God how I wear my hair. I do think it's important to God, though, that I remember my hair is a visible portion of my body, which is a temple housing the Spirit. What I do with my hair reflects on me, which reflects on what people can or may think about a person who says they are a Christian.

There are many strong feelings about hair within Christianity. Ultimately, there's no prevailing custom and we're not called to judge one another on hair, but on... wait, how are we called to judge one another?

When the Body of Christ is Fat

Bitmoji Julia enjoys tea Within a very short amount of time, two people whom I love were called "fat ass". One of these slurs occurred in the church building and the other occurred in the same building and within the context of worship. Both incidents were the result of a person with already impaired judgment lashing out at the person who was in front of them, perceiving them to be unhelpful or denying aid or service. Regardless of the "why", the reality is that the name was uncalled for, hurtful, and aimed to be a deep cut. The reality is that a person who is under the influence of legal or illegal substances and often displays impaired judgment can still tell that body shaming- comments about shape, appearance, or size- is a way to lash out at someone who is frustrating you. That means those words and that way of using them are deeply rooted in our culture. An additional truth is that when we, as a congregation, attempted to console and listen to those who h...

God on the Go Kits

Like many congregations, we have lots of members who travel during the summertime. They may spend three months fishing or camping or traveling or hiking or playing. Given Alaska's long daylight hours, making it back into town on Sunday morning or even Sunday night doesn't always happen. One could rail against that or one can ask for guidance in the Spirit for how to keep community and communion alive in these months of family and personal sabbath in the woods and wilderness. (Still, if you're in town, come on down!) Inspired by Take Out Church, I made "God on the Go" kits for the faithful Alaskan family with kids. The kits and all their contents fit into the 64 ounce Ziplock containers with the lid snapping snugly. This should keep things watertight and just-right-sized for throwing in a duffle bag, backpack or suitcase. Or pushing under the seat of the camper. Or having at the foot of a sleeping bag. I have included below the list of items inside and the...

God's Punctuation

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28 Never place a period where God places a comma. - Gracie Allen Some of you may be familiar with the comedy duo of George Burns and Gracie Allen, who were active together in show business in the middle of the 20th century. George played the straight man to Gracie's comic timing. They were also married and had children. They were deeply in love. When Gracie was dying and George was deeply grieved, she wrote him a final love letter. One sentence that George shared from this letter was this, "George, never place a period where God places a comma." This was Gracie's way of reminding George that his life wasn't ending. There was a pause, but there would be more the sentence God was writing as the life of George Burns. That sentence, which may have been a proverb before Gracie wrote it, has taken on a life of its own. The United Ch...

Faith, Grace, and Hope

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