The "Staff of God" could mark "Labor Day," but "Grace" to follow

Last night, I was struck by the news report on Gustav, reported as a Category 1 in the Caribbean, to be headed for the US this weekend. Since it looked like it might be headed for New Orleans, I checked weather.com, which said it's too soon to know where it will go. Then, I checked hebrewbabynames.com and learned that "Gustav" means "Staff of God." When it struck me that it is headed to the US shore "Labor Day" (or LD weekend), the message was ominous: "Staff of God marking Labor Day." This morning I prayed over Gustav and the Lord prompted me to check the other hurricane names, beginning with the current tropical storm, Fay. Fay continues to drench Florida, as it slowly moves across the region in a downpour of flooding. It turns out Fay means "Mouth," even "Speaking," which indicates that God's Mouth may be about to speak a message through the next set of hurricanes. I've checked this year's hurricane names and their meanings and God is an amazing God.

May we pray through the "Staff of God" marked by "Labor Day." May we Your People be prepared for what You are doing, Oh Lord. May we also hope in the "Grace" to follow (Hanna, the name after Gustav, means "grace").

It seems an entire message can easily be read through this year's hurricane names after the Mouth of Fay and the Staff of God:

Hanna: GraceIke (Yikon): He will establish.

Josephine: He will increase (those on the)
Kyle: Narrow path (to)
Laura: Victory (over)
Marco (Mark): War, (as their)
Nana: Grace.

He will
Omar: Command (His people to)
Paloma (Palal & Palu): Pray (for a) Miracle (that they and many other will)
Rene: Be born again (as a)
Sally: Princess.

(The)
Teddy: Gift of God (will be)
Vicky: Victory (by our)
Wilfred (William & Fred): Resolute Protector & Peaceful Ruler!
Amen! Wow God!!

Metaphor 3: The Redwood Tree

Our trip to the Redwoods prompted an interruption to the next metaphor I had planned to write with the latest on my mind: the redwood tree.

The redwood is the tallest and most majestic tree in the world, and yet, it rests on a surprisingly fragile foundation. According to the experts at Trees of Mystery, the roots of a redwood (which can be as tall as 375 ft) go down only 2-3 feet. Their root system is so shallow and so fragile that warnings are placed at the park that too much activity around the roots of a redwood puts it into special danger. Looking at these amazing giants, no one would expect that they – much more than traditional, smaller trees – have such a limited capacity for wear at their root system.

These fragile roots can be easily seen from fallen redwoods. Unlike the strong, dense rings inside a traditional tree, the fallen redwood spreads out with bark that can be torn out by hand. It’s almost like the tree is made of all bark. You can stick your hand into the guts of a fallen redwood and pull out the innards. We didn’t take a picture of a fallen redwood while we were there, but I did find this picture on the Internet:

http://www.terragalleria.com/pictures-subjects/fallen-trees/picture.fallen-trees.usca10080.html

In reflecting on the paradox of the redwood, I came to see that the redwood is the opposite of the mustard tree. Just as Jesus likens the little, humble plant to the kingdom of heaven, the world can be likened to the redwood: strong and majestic on the outside, but fragile on the inside.

If a nation is a tree, ours is the redwood and it has brought us much pride for many years. But much of our majestic height has come from the fragile foundation of debt and similar foolishness. We may have built the most beautiful mansion on the sand, but when the storm comes, our fall will be hard. We may be at the brink of that moment now. As individuals, we can strengthen our own foundation in the humility and love of Christ. May we each set aside our own outer redwood as we nurture the mustard seed within each of us. Amen.