The Mezuzah

https://odb.org/MY/2023/03/09/comfort-on-doorframes

If we get to watch Orthodox Jews movies or drama series on Netflix or YouTube like the famous Shtisel, we will notice the practice of the Jews touching something at the doorpost of a Jewish home and saying a prayer before they enter. That ornament, sometimes placed at an angle instead of straight, is called the mezuzah and contains a rolled up scroll of Scriptures in response to the commandment of the LORD in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which is to write His law and place it on their doorposts and gates. The Jews believe the written Word will ward off evil, and perhaps it is also symbolic of the practice of the ancients putting up the blood of an unblemished lamb on their doorposts during their time in Egypt when the angel of death passed over their homes and instead took the lives of all first born of the Egyptian households including that of their animals. That, of course, led to the feast of the Passover which Jesus Himself had as His last meal before His crucifixion on the cross and which in turn formed the basis for our Christian tradition in having the Holy Communion or the Eucharist as it is known in the Catholic Church.

We do not have the equivalent of the mezuzah in Christian homes, but I think it is good to have paintings or ornaments with Scripture written on them to remind us of God’s Word and also to ward off evil forces. Using symbols like ornaments, we want to proclaim to the world at large as well as to the hidden spiritual world that Christ is the head of our home, that He is our Lord and Saviour. We want to tell everyone that we are in the faith, and as we proudly proclaim His name, we want our lives to also reflect His laws and His glory. With symbolism, we will also be compelled to live out our lives accordingly. We want to be proud to be Christians and to carry the name of Jesus as reflected in how we treat others, with love, compassion, and grace like our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message this morning is to identify ourselves as Christians so that others know we are for Christ. We should not be hidden or secret Christians unless our unique situation requires us to be so. We should be proud of our faith and always be ready to share the Gospel and our testimony of how God has touched our lives. Practically, when we publicly identify as followers of Christ, we are also more careful when we speak or act lest we put the name of Christ to shame. We can use ornaments, or we can carry a bible with us, or we can have the Word written in our hearts, but let the world know that we are for Christ, that we are of the Jesus crowd! Amen