THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Robert Soto

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Robert Soto

February 16, 2010

I Thessalonians 4:13 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."

From time to time I am called to perform ceremonies among our people besides the traditional Christian ceremonies like weddings and baptisms. Sometimes I am called to conduct naming ceremonies among our people. I treat it seriously and with great care before I choose a name. I have been asked to bless homes. So I gather my fan and my small pot with sage, and go from room to room and pray for each part of the house. I have been asked to bless animals and farms and once I was asked to bless a tepee. But there is one ceremony I have been asked to perform several times that I will never get used to, and that is the Mourning ceremony where the person wants their hair cut off because of tragedy and death in the family. As I prepare to cut the person's hair, I have a memorial song sung as I pray and cut. It takes a lot of emotion for me because normally I know the person who I am singing for and the person whose hair I am cutting. It is then that it strikes me and tears start to come.

There is nothing wrong with mourning a person. It is part of the natural order of life and the way God the Creator made us. It is normal to know that the person you are now honoring will never be seen again on this earth. Mourning is just a part of life. There is nothing wrong with mourning a loved one or a family member who has moved on to the other life. When it becomes wrong is when the mourning overtakes your life and you begin to walk like one who has no hope. Paul wrote, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." For our hope is not in the here and now, but in the afterlife that comes when we put our faith and trust in God the Creator's Son. When we believe, our hope is not in this life, but in the life that comes through our faith. I did a mourning ceremony today. I cried as I cut my daughter's hair. But my tears were not tears of hopelessness; they were accompanied by the faith that someday soon I will see my friend again.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church