Isaiah 15 - "Every head is shaved and every beard cut off."

"Every head is shaved and every beard cut off." (Isa 15:2b NIV)

Today's reading comes at a very fortuitous time. Today, my godson, who will graduate from High School next week, will cut his hair for the first time. His habit has been to wear it in a braid down the middle of his back. I like that braid. But, it is his hair and he can do with it what he chooses.

I, myself have worn my hair long most of my life, except for that pixie cut my mother gave me when I was a teen and that brief period in the early 80's when I got tired of my husband complaining about me not wearing my hair like other women my age - short. He wanted me to look my age! LOL! I had it cut to the length of less than an inch. He hasn't requested I cut my hair since then. The last time I actually had my hair cut was when Maurice, a teen at a correctional facility, was being trained as a barber. I was his first client. That was in the spring of 1998. He cut off about 6 inches. There had been rumors among the boys at the facility that I was a Nazarite because of my long hair and the fact that I do not drink - plus I have a few food issues with things like pork. It makes me ill... so they never saw me eat it. The hair cut was a way to show Maurice that I trusted him enough to give him that much power over me. He was, after all, a young felon, standing behind me with scissors, in a facility where he was not allowed to handle even sharp steak knives. I have trimmed a few split ends since that day. But, nothing more.

Long hair has, in many cultures, been a sign of power and strength. Some cultures cut off the hair of conquered enemies to show their control over them - to shame them even further. It was a sign of great loss - a sign of someone without power. The shaving of the hair or the beard was also used as a sign of the grief experienced from losses incurred during war or even natural death.

In today's reading they are mourning the losses incurred by Moab and so every head is shaved and every beard cut off.

I guess, in a sense, it is fitting that my godson is cutting his hair today. He is making a great transition, from High School into the work force (hopefully) and college which he will enter this fall. He will be taking on even greater responsibilities and he will, as all of the young people graduating, lose contact with many friends. Many things change with graduation. Everyone celebrates! But, even as we celebrate, it is also fitting that we grieve the loss of a childhood as they step out into the world as young men and women with all the responsibilities of an adult.

God's Peace - Pr. J