Excerpt from 1 Kings 21:20-29

"Also concerning Jezebel the Lord said, 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel….'  There was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel."

Reflection by Quinn G. Caldwell

Interfaith marriages are hard.  Take poor Jezebel.  A foreign princess, she was married off by her father to King Ahab of Israel.  Before it was all over, she was cursed by God, denounced by Elijah, and defenestrated (look it up).  So powerful is the negative mojo attached to the name that when my childhood neighbors (unaccountably) named their new kitten Jezebel, my leather-and-heavy-metal-T-shirt-wearing sister gasped aloud, pursed her lips, and told me I was too young to know what was so horrible about their choice.

Jezebel's big crime?  Wanting to worship the gods she'd been raised with.

Now, she was a queen, and these things tend to get blown out of proportion for royalty.  But people in interfaith marriages today will tell you that the stakes can sometimes feel just as high.  Ask anyone deciding between baptism, bris, or both for the kids—especially if there are clergy or devout grandparents in the picture "helping" with the decision.

So today, let's give it up for all the interfaith relationships out there: Christian-Jewish, atheist-believer, Christian-Muslim, Protestant-Catholic (which isn't exactly interfaith, but still), and who knows what-all.  Tell them you know it's not easy, and thank them for their faithfulness.  Pray that they will find a way to be true to their gods and to each other.

And for Jezebel's sake, promise not to chuck anybody out the window.

Prayer

God, I know that you and Jezebel have worked out your differences by now; please help the rest of us to do the same.  Amen.

Lent starts next week! There's still time to order your copy of The Jesus Diaries: Who Jesus is to Me.  Nine short conversational essays by writers of the Daily Devotionals.

About the Author Quinn G. Caldwell is Associate Minister of Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts.

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