L’Chaim - To Life!
Every culture around the world has a catchphrase to share while raising a glass in celebration. In the English-speaking world, we typically go with “Cheers.” More common in Europe is some version of “to your health.” "Salud" in Spanish or "Sláinte" in Gaelic mean exactly that. But the best toast of all is the ancient Hebrew one, L’Chaim or “To Life!” If you’ve never witnessed a Jewish round of toasts, I highly recommend the engagement party scene from Fiddler on the Roof in which L’Chaim is musically bandied about for nearly five minutes.
Most Sunday mornings, I try to lean into hearing the Holy Spirit who is always whispering L’Chaim over the church. But, when times are tough, or when your mood is dark, L’Chaim can feel forced or even inappropriate to me.
I’ve been to several funerals in the last week. Being around the valley-of-the-shadow-of-death, even when lives are beautifully well-lived, tends to darken my little heart and spirit. And then I went to a Bible Study that was diving deep into Ecclesiastes 3, the chapter where the question is asked, “Are humans any different than the animals? Don’t they all simply return to dust?” Then I came across a nest of baby rabbits that had been attacked. Then a number of baby ducks that had been flattened by a car unawares. Where’s the L’Chaim in all that?!
And yet, I’m stuck with the thought that the reason I experience sadness around death is because I have a God-given sense of how precious life really is. The cause of my soul’s darkness in the shadow of human, creaturely mortality is that I have an even deeper conviction that we were made for life, destined for life. Perhaps this is what the writer of Ecclesiastes was getting at when he wrote that “God has set eternity in our hearts.” We were made for life, so even in the face of death, or perhaps especially in the face of death, it is still right to croak out, L’Chaim with as much verve as one can muster.
If you’re in a vulnerable place at the moment, if you’re caring for someone whose health is fragile, if you’re about to see the end of something that has been good: L’Chaim.
And if you’re about to start something new, or witness the birth of a baby, or a new marriage, or travel to a wondrous place you’ve never seen before: L’Chaim.
And if you know that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that he lives and reigns for you: the strongest possible L’Chaim.
And even at our little church, the causes for celebration amidst life’s indignities keep coming and coming:
For the Professions of Faith and two baptisms last Sunday: L’Chaim
For the 25 or so new members joining our congregation this Sunday: L’Chaim
For the infant baptisms that we’ll witness the following Sunday: L’Chaim
For the opportunity to participate in 5th Sunday serve at the end of June: L’Chaim
And for the invitation to gather around Jesus’ table again for Communion, to eat the bread and raise the cup: the strongest possible L’Chaim.
L’Chaim – To Life!
- Pastor Gregg