Bearded Gospel Men--Isaiah 10:33

Day 2

Approaching Scripture through the silly conceit of bearded Gospel men is as good an organizational principle as any, I suppose.

And beards I know. Mostly.

I can grow a full beard if I want, pretty much in about a week, but I’ve never gone the full neck beard, two-footer, that seems popular now with a certain subset of dudes.

When my beard gets to a certain length, I can’t keep my hands off of or out of it. It itches and I play and pull at it continually.

But I like facial hair. I’ve kept a light beard or mustache and goatee for DECADES now. And yes, I think a beard is masculine–maybe even more masculine than being clean shaven–but I’m sure that’s not true. There’s a difference between being able to grow a beard and choosing to shave it, than not being able to grow a beard at all.

There’s a psychological nest of what it means personally, societally, and culturally to be bearded or clean-shaven–but in Bearded Gospel Men: The Epic Quest for Manliness and Godliness, Jared Brock and Aaron Alford explore the connection between being hirsute and holy.

And one of their profiles is about Saint Boniface–who I’ve covered before through a series of reflections on Andrew Isker’s book The Boniface Option: A Strategy for Christian Counteroffensive in a Post-Christian Nation.

Saint Boniface is always pictured with an axe, which coupled with the beard, makes him about as masculine as any early Christian could be.

His legend is either the heartwarming and courageous story of the Christian faith overcoming long odds to exist and flourish–or from other perspectives–a story of pushy Christians usurping the local power structure and installing their own.

Basically, Boniface, (before he was martyred by the same group of Germans he converted), sought to demonstrate the power of the Christian God over pagan deities–mainly Thor and Odin.

In the Hessian community, there was a giant oak tree, called Thor’s Oak that was a sacred symbol of the pagan religion.

So Boniface, in a full-bearded, masculine, Christian fervor decided to take on the pagans and their religion by chopping down the symbol of their pagan beliefs.

As he started chopping away, a strong gust of wind blew through and toppled the tree. The pagans, who thought there would be divine retribution from Thor and Odin for this transgression, were amazed that none came.

And so Boniface proclaimed the superiority of the Christian God–who he claimed had power over the false gods of the pagans.

You think this sort of thing is silly now–but strife between faiths–particularly between Jews and Muslims and Muslims and Christians is every day, brutal, and real.

I mean the United States military just chopped down Iran’s nuclear tree a couple of weeks ago–but not to change their faith, presumably, but to keep them from trying to change ours–or Israel’s.

But I don’t think there’s much we can do about global intrigue. We live our lives on a far smaller stage.

Aaron Alford, one half of the Bearded Gospel Men duo makes an interesting point that I can relate to about Saint Boniface and maybe even apply to what I’m doing as a Christian man:

“St. Boniface understood the Germans' love of trees not to be intrinsic evil, but something to be baptized, transformed into a new, Christ-centered life. As if to further exemplify this, St. Boniface did not merely destroy Thor’s Oak, but transformed its remains into something beautiful. He used its timbers to build a chapel dedicated to Jesus.”

When I cast around my life, I see that even if I don’t tote an axe around like Saint Boniface, I’m still at odds, but mostly quietly, with the secular elements of our society–some characterized by pagan beliefs–but mostly just unbelief–in anything.

In The Boniface Option: A Strategy for Christian Counteroffensive in a Post-Christian Nation, Andrew Isker considers the secular nature of our society and the lessening importance of Christian belief to be as formidable as Thor’s Oak:

“They want everyone uprooted and alone. They want you to be only concerned with satisfying your immediate desires. They do not want you to care about the future. They do not want you to have children. They want your entire purpose in life to be “Consume today, for tomorrow we die.”

I’m not sure who “they” are in Isker’s formulation, but I recognize the huge cultural divide there is right now in our nation.

We are culturally and spiritually split right in our own families and friend groups.

In Isaiah 10, God reminds the Israelites that even the powerful leaders of Assyria are not beyond His reach:

Isaiah 10:33 Behold, the Lord, the God of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power;Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down, And those who are lofty will be brought low.

I’m sure this is the same guiding principle of Saint Boniface, alone in the German forest, trying to convert the pagans to Christianity.

And it's my guiding principle too. Those seeking power always overreach. ALWAYS. It may take years to correct, maybe decades, maybe centuries, maybe not in our lifetimes, but the powerful don’t remain that way if they are not just and righteous–and godly.

The remnants of Israel from Isaiah's day, just like Saint Boniface, just like Christians today, including me, are bound by our choices.

Like Elizabeth Esterhuizen writes in A Trauma Reading of Isaiah:

“Although the remnants are not saved from trauma or judgment, there is the possibility of hope through resilience. Although they are threatened by the Assyrians and later the Babylonians, they will return. The importance of the message of the remnants in the beginning of the book is to emphasise the choice they all have: either they listen to the word of God, as the “we-group” do, or they can carry on in their sinful ways”

We either listen to the Word of God–or we don’t.

If I do listen, I can baptize the small bits of my community that I touch during the day. My friends, my family, the people I meet.

Not to chop them down, but to build what I can WITH them, while I can that would be pleasing to God.

Lord, teach us to trust in Your divine justice, not to rely on earthly strength or glory.

Lord, guide us to walk in humility, to seek Your strength in our weakness and to proclaim Your glory as the true source of power.

Amen.