MAY GOD OPEN OUR EYES
There is a world famous name in American History from the late 19th century. It is Geronimo, or Goyaale in the Mescalero-Athabask-Apache language, which may mean the man who yawns. He might've gotten his name, not as if he would have kept yawning through social events, but he used to yawn in battles among the drift of bullets, which flew around him as clouds of angry wasps, or facing the salvos of the enemy aiming at him, or riding against artillery bombardment.
He began his fight against the Mexican army after Mexican soldiers had raided his home camp set among the Chiracahua Apaches, and killed his wife, his children and his mother in 1851. It is recorded about him, that fighting many battles against the Mexican army, he often kept ignoring deadly hails of bullets, as he repeatedly attacked them with a single knife.
Among other great heroes, he was definitely one of the most successful guerrilla leaders of all time, when it comes to the armed Indigenous resistance against the military expansion of Mexico and of the United States.
In his first 30 years on the war path he became a legend for his daring exploits and numerous escapes from the frequent traps, which were set for him and his warriors by the Mexican and American Army. He was a war hero, then later a war prisoner, may his name be remembered till the Earth orbits the Sun.
The Bible itself is full with records of warfare, mostly focusing on Israel and Judah' s victories and defeats, though most of the time the given accounts come from a Heavenly prospective.
It happened approximately 800 years before Jesus was born that Syria declared war on Israel (again), and they wanted, to capture the king of Israel, who was visiting the ten Israeli tribes, traveling around with a small entourage, trying to gather support from the tribes to fight off the invading Syrians.
The Syrians set numerous traps, sending thousands of soldiers to capture the King of Israel, but for no avail, because the prophet Elisha, kept telling the King of Israel, that the Syrian are after you, they set a trap, do not go there.
The Syrian King accused his own officers that a traitor must be among them who gave the intel the Israelis. One of them said, that it was not so, but Elisha the prophet reports on us, who has the ability to see which is far in the distance or which is yet in the future.
Prophet Elisha was not hiding at all, but as it is written in the Second Book of the Kings: “The Syrian King said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” He was told, ‘Behold, he is in the city of Dothan.’ Therefore the Syrian King sent horses, chariots, and a great army there.
They came by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city.”
The servant started ululate: Master, Master, woe to us, we are lost, as good as dead. The enemy is here, they blocked all possible escape routes.
But Elisha told him: DO not be afraid, you of little faith, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
The prophet Elisha, who was the successor and disciple of Prophet Elijah, prayed for his faith-blind servant to gain the eyes of faith, saying,as it is written: “ ‘Oh LORD, please open his eyes, that he may see’. The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of fiery horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. ”
We may know that there is the visible world into which we had to be born, and there is the spiritual world, which is usually invisible to human eyes, the realm, where we came from, and where we will return after this recent life journey.
However, the spiritual realm is not somewhere else, especially it is not a far far away country, because it is also in us, it is closer to us than our skin, and it also surrounds us pervading the whole visible universe, just as Jesus told it to the disciples:
“God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”
One day we will join our ancestors who live in the spiritual realm. However, the spiritual realm is not over there, but right here. It surrounds us, it is in us, it is among us, it is within us.
We can pray to God, to open our eyes of faith to see this invisible reality, by which we are surrounded with our people who lived before us, who still care about us, but now gathered, as an innumerable community in the invisible kingdom of God.
It is not enough to have a dream about the future of the community, as we have to stand on the shoulders who came before us. Beside and beyond any commemorations we have to have a living relationship with the past, with the former generations, not only out of respect, but because spiritually they are right here with us, even in a biological sense, they are a part of us.
Maintaining the knowledge, the wisdom, the experience of our ancestors is pivotal to build the future. If the past is lost, then the future might be clueless and aimless as well. Chief Joseph Onasakenrat dreamed about the full Mohawk translation of the Bible, but he was not able to finish it, as he lost his young life early.
And now, when we are gathered in his church, around his memory, around the newly printed, full Mohawk Bible, translated mostly by his own great-grandson, professing Jesus as King and Lord by the Holy Spirit, what else can we do then sing with joy and gratitude, praising the LORD together with the angels and the tenants in Heaven:
May THANKS and ADORATION be given to the God Almighty, as we pray in the name of Jesus by the Holy Spirit,
AMEN
