Circular Calendar Monologue

Calendar Girl me is getting ready to speak at MOPS tomorrow. 'Tis a rich season we're approaching. But then I love the richness each season has to offer as we recycle rhythmically around the calendar.

"Around" the calendar wouldn't be a term you'd use, when our calendars are linear and we tend to live linearly as well. God established festivals to recycle each year for establishing traditions, retelling of stories, and re-remembering.

"Live linearly"? Hmmmm .... that's what I love about sitting down to write - to journal. When waking and desiring to post something, living linearly was not in my thoughts. As I write, it's like my fingers are their own being and take off with stuff on their own. And then the rest of me has to pause and reflect ... and I'm thinking, "How cool!" What am I thinking in connection to seeing live linearly on the page?

I'm actually visualizing a line of time. Like I have to speak tomorrow, and then there's a very busy art and tea day at church next weekend I'm involved in. So often when there's things demanding more of me, my default mode thinks "I can't wait for tomorrow to be done with" or "next saturday to be over". Like when Monte had us speaking all over the country, I always had those thoughts. Like I want to jump ahead on my calendar timeline. Hmmmm ... isn't there a movie like that, fast forwarding thru things of life?

When I saw that the main point of Jesus' time with Mary and Martha in the recorded scripture story was that they be present to him in the moment - whether able to sit at his feet, or working in the kitchen, I related that message to my times I'd like to fast-forward thru. No! Not if I'm living beyond just linear time ... Like I'm supposed to be living rhythmically ever present to Loving God and Loving My Neighbor in every moment, aware of his Larger Story he asks me to be a part of.

Sure I can live in my own small story and focused on the past or the future and not really present to the here and now of this moment ... missing God winks!

So what was I going to post today? ;^)
Oh yes, I'm readying to speak on the calendar season tomorrow. I reread my postings a year ago - by clicking on the sidebar months of November thru January, you'd see the calendar season posts I'm not wanting to take the time to link you to. We just passed Halloween, which the stories I connect to that time is Reformation and the following day of All Saints Day, which was a huge turning point in our Christian history. Before that in September thru October are the Jewish Fall Festivals. That's where the calendar book I'm writing begins: The Jewish New Year and God creating our world. The Jewish festival of Sukkot that God instituted to be celebrated every year became our Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving.

I'm taking tomorrow, a picture I drew of my circular calendar (which is posted in June of this year under John the Baptist Day, where I also talk about my living rhythmically). I'm also taking an old Thanksgiving Tree I kept one year. Because I reread last years post, I'm remembering a turning point in this established tradition, and I'm going to share that tomorrow.


Because each year, for years, I've drawn a bare tree on a large piece of paper and put it up before Thanksgiving, and cut out leaves from colored paper for people to write things they're thankful for, Thanksgiving day is rich with thoughts already in a full-of-thanks mode or posture. Last year the wall space was not there for the tree, since I'd put up more photos, so I didn't do the tree. I waited to see if it was missed. One guest did make a comment I loved! "Where's the tree? I've been thinking of things all week to write on leaves to glue on the tree!!" So I quickly drew a tree and the refrigerator was the decided place to put it and I brought down my can full of colored markers - a way more colorful creative tree of gratitude, from the tangible to intangible, took shape throughout the day!

I'm also taking a Christmas stocking full of things. I keep this stocking in the ready for times when I speak. It's filled with things related to the Saint Nicholas story. When protestantism threw out the church calendar, they threw out so much Christian history rich with Third Testament stories. People used to wake up remembering these stories - which help me remember that if God was there for them, he'll be here for me. People used to wake with lives aware and looking for miracles in their everyday living. Do we, in our linear days? Because we no longer remember St Nicholas and his story on December 6, he's gotten mixed up with Jesus and celebrated on Christmas! I now put up stockings on December 6 and we can tell people as we live the days of December that Santa Claus already came to our house - and then share the real story!

I'm bringing JRR Tolkiens Father Christmas book, as well as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever book (my favorite read-aloud every year! - such a healing story for me at one point of my life), and Madeline L'Engle's Dance in the Desert book. Dawson and friends dramatized that book one year using things from the "Dress Up Box" (Halloween is such a good time to find great things for a dress up box: wigs, funny glasses, long gloves, costumes of animals ... I've still got the stuff in a barrel, awaiting Grandkids!). In the days following Christmas (the 12 Days of Christmas) there's a day remembering all the children ordered murdered by Harod in Jesus' story, which too remembers an OT scripture mentioning the wailing Hebrew mothers for their slaughtered children. The Dance in the Desert book imagines the fleeing "Holy Family" (as depicted in so much art) crossing the desert to Egypt in a caravan, and one night all of creation comes to pay homage to the Christ child.

Since I'm posting on this season, I'll post a picture of the pumpkin Dawson carved this year. His friend Aaron helped him draw it out first. In case you can't tell, it's a Jesus face pumpkin. Since we were out of town last week, he did it at a friend's house and I've not seen the real thing. I wish I could see it, cuz it's unreal looking!

Where am I ending my seasonal talk tomorrow? My handout takes everyone thru the Advent season. The Christian Calendar begins with Advent, awaiting God Incarnate, enfleshed in the birth of a baby. Last year's December link defines this season for you with daily scripture readings, if you'd like. The 12 Days of Christmas culminate January 6 with Epiphany, remembering the adoration of the Magi. Then my handout has some Third Testament story days with St Nicholas and St Lucia, on the 13th (our Swedish roots, yet she's not Swedish!), and Hanukkah. Then there's Boxing Day, St Stephen's day, Peter Pan day (you've got to read my post on this!), Childermas, Circumsicion Day (yes, it's a part of the Jesus story and art depicts it!), ending with Ground Hog Day.

Why Ground Hog Day, and how does that connect with the Incarnation of God story? Originally, February 2 was, and is, Candlemas Day: the day Jesus, "a light to lighten the gentiles", was presented at the temple, and old Anna and Simeon were patiently awaiting him.
_________________
"One generation makes known your faithfulness to the next."
- Isaiah 38:19

"...for they shall hear from us about the wonders of the Lord, generations yet unknown will hear of the miracles he did for us."
- Psalms 22:30-31

"Enter God's gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation."
- Psalm 100

Happenings including Zucchini

Heather and Will are gone. Monte drove them home over the weekend. Now he's on to Houston for some meetings. I've got computer editing and art work to do, so missing them won't be so bad. I did hear a bit of music the other morning that reminded me of one of Will's toys and had to remind myself they're not here.

Dawson and friends started logging our woods this past weekend. There's lots of dead trees to cut down, especially the aspen, before they drop their leaves and then we don't know which are dead. I prefer burning aspen in the stove over pine, it burns hotter. We don't have hardwood in our woods. The aspen were just starting to show tinges of yellow for their Fall color. Don't know what this heavy snow will do - maybe break some branches and just turn the leaves brown.

I cleaned the front porch of summer wind debris and made room for the chopped wood, moving furniture around. Our front porch gets the brunt of the wind and on the north side of the house, so total shade. Monte had made me window boxes years ago, but I gave up on real plants. So Saturday I changed out the summer fake flowers to fall's (click here to see a picture). Dawson brought a load of wood into the house, which I'm burning today. "Why" you might ask? Because it's snowing! Arghhhhhh...!!!!!!

I have been afraid to look at the ten-day weather forecast knowing our first frost was coming any day now ... but several inches of heavy snow?! It was close to 80 degrees 24 hours before, so it's melting as fast as it's coming down, I'm sure. Since I've not had a Monet wildflower garden before I don't know how many of the flowers are tender and will die. I was SO enjoying them! Saturday I put the potted plants I wanted to save in the greenhouse where they'll stay now all winter. Sunday I picked all the squash and beans, should have pulled all the basil ... can I make pesto from frozen basil? (I have a friend I can get some basil from - mine were so small - cool summer - and still have pesto in freezer from last year.) I covered some of my tomato plants. We'll see.

AND we did have a bear again - got into the bird feeders twice last week. How, with the electric fence? At first we thought it walked over the long front porch to the back. But no, the second day, Monte noticed the back wires next to the house spread apart. We didn't finish the split-rail fence there cuz we're going to do a gate. And would a little prick of pain, maybe like a mosquito bite, hurt a thick-haired bear? Probably not. Monte put up more boards and wire and wrapped some wires with bacon. That ought to hurt - so, Yes to pain and no gain (I hope)!

I started a big batch of sourdough starter today for making zucchini bread tomorrow. The recipe from the book Nourishing Traditions calls for 2 cups buttermilk to 3 cups flour (I ground kamut) to sit for up to 24 hours before making the bread. It's a master recipe for banana, apricot almond, or ... Having made it once before, I'm going to add a bit more maple syrup since zucchini is not sweet like bananas.

I went to our local health food store on my way to pick up our weekly farm share this late afternoon (snowing cats and dogs - ugghh) to get more eggs and buttermilk and they had some unhomogenized milk, so I've got it warming by the stove to make my own cultured buttermilk. It's got to set out at room temp for about 18 hours. This is an experiment from the Milk book I wrote about not long ago - I've not done it before, tho I make yogurt all the time.

I've already froze a lot of Zucchini, Potato, Onion soup (click to see the recipe). We really do like it reheated over winter. I've grated zucchini and froze it before, but found I don't use it, so prefer the soup and bread. Monte likes to dry slices of the bread, I like slices heated with thin sliced cheese on it.

Supposed to be back close to 80 again by Friday. Should I report on what survived? Now it'll be Indian Summer and Heather and Will will return around Thanksgiving for the Holidays. Dawson's hating his homework this semester. It's the Jewish Rosh Hashanah's High Holy Days and our church is celebrating it this year - a first, and I'm loving, living it!

In Memoriam

I've mentioned every year about the Holocaust Remembrance Day (my post) and how commemorating still has no ritual. This morning in the news I looked at the slideshow of the Jewish Museum in Berlin. I'd like to walk through it and experience it. There are things the world should never forget. Scriptures so often tell us to remember, to retell the stories.


I grew up next door to a Jewish family. The parents had these 'tattoos' on their arms, a forever reminder of a time when persons were unnamed, and instead numbered. There are plenty of surviving pictures telling the story of this horrific time when one's identity as a Jew was attempted to be wiped out.

I used to have a timeline on a wall. As I learned events in history I'd add them to the timeline. Unfortunately these catastrophes, ethnic cleansings, the destruction of domination - one group over another ... crucifixions ... have gone on throughout time.

As my friend Ellen has said, "I believe it is an act of faith to remember and tell the stories and to recount how beauty and life have been called forth from chaos once again. And, to dare to reflect on the mystery that the gospel is far, far bigger and better than we can dare to dream."

Counting Omer

Last night we drove home from spending Easter in Ft Collins with Travis and Sarah. It had snowed in Evergreen - very typical for Easter! As Music Minister, we enjoyed the church service Travis had helped design, the theme being "Light", and carried out from the initial talk from pastor Rich, to skits and music. Travis introduced a "He is Risen" song him and friend Katrina wrote.

Like with Christmas, we did a non-traditional meal, an Italian meal we'd not made before. I brought up my pasta roller I'd not used yet, and told everyone this would be a meal needing everyone's participation. So Sarah had bruchetta ready for us to start eating as we all made home-made ravioli. I had made three fillings: one spinach, another shrimp, and then a beef one. Friends of Trav & Sar's, Janna and Paul, contributed too. Janna brought a salad and Paul jumped in rolling the best thin dough for the ravioli!

We stand on resurrection ground. We are in the Season of Easter between now and Pentecost. We need more prayer, more knocking on God's door to see what he wants us to be doing, and more celebration of God's new creation!

This morning's reading brought me to the two guys walking the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. This is another story in Scripture I love. I would so love to hear Jesus tell stories. They were trying to make sense of what just happened in Jerusalem. Jesus walked up asking, "What are you so intently discussing?" and walked and talked with them.

Everyone was so sad. All their hopes that Jesus was the one to redeem Israel were shattered. Jesus couldn't have been the one, because they killed him. The two on the road to Emmaus didn't recognize Jesus. While walking, he told them stories from Scripture. They invited him home with them to eat. The moment Jesus broke the bread, they recognized him, and then Jesus disappeared. He reappeared later to the gathered disciples and there again shared stories. Like the two said, I too would love to feel (and maybe I do), "Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked, opening up Scriptures to us on the road?"!

Jews had three harvest festivals that they went to Jerusalem for (found in Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16, and more). The first two are known as First Fruit Festivals. Barley is the first cereal grain to be harvested and brought to the temple for blessing. The Sunday following Passover begins this First Fruit Festival period of counting seven-sevens between the barley and then the wheat harvest festival. This period of 49 days is called 'Counting the Omer', an 'in-between-time'.

I took a picture of a past year's Counting Omer chart I made. Most every Spring this rectangle of rectangles sits on our kitchen counter. Since I strive for more meaning to my ordinary linear calendar days, I like visuals or anything that reminds my heart and brings anticipation of God's presence. Gluing pieces of grain, or marking off the days, helps bring meaning - a God-consciousness activity - to these days. I try and create space in my days for God to show up - anticipating surprises from God - God 'winks'.

The Jewish Festival of First Fruits became our Easter. Jesus rose from the dead on the Jewish festival day that many Jews had come to Jerusalem for, to celebrate Passover and then their first harvest fruit of barley. I Corinthians 15:20 says, "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who are asleep."

How exciting is that?! Do you think that was part of a plan? a cool detail in the large drama of life?! I started counting the 49 days today.

See the little red box in my picture? That's the 40th day in the counting - that's Ascension Day. You can talk about this event, but it's more fun to take a picnic lunch and blanket and eat somewhere outside and look up into the sky and talk about the story at the end of Luke and Acts 1 when Jesus left this earth. Imagine being a disciple - you've lived with Jesus for 3 years dreaming of setting up an earthly kingdom and then watch Jesus leave, "Hey, but wait a minute, where are you going? This is not what I had in mind!" The physical presence of Jesus left them. What now?

At the Ascension, Jesus told them to return to Jerusalem and wait the ten days until the next Jewish Harvest Festival. I'm sure the disciples were reliving all the memories and words of those three years with Jesus, wondering what the heck he really meant! while waiting for the next Shavuot Festival. Remembering and praying and waiting.

Every year at this time the Jews read the 10 Commandments, remembering Moses and the commandments inscribed by God on stone on Mt Sinai in the desert. But the Jews of Jesus' day missed the bigger picture, not recognizing Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, and what His Kingdom might look like. To Jeremiah (31:33) God said, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it" who's message carried further in II Corinthians 3:3 says, "You are a letter of Christ written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts."

Jesus died and then resurrected on Easter becoming the first fruit at the early first fruit festival. In our Christian year, 50 days later, Shavuot, the other first fruit festival, became Pentecost, and as Christians we have the Holy Spirit living within us - we are first fruits too. So from the letter of the law, to the Spirit; from stone to human hearts.

I hang seven descending doves over our kitchen table for Pentecost as another visual reminder for my heart. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Does your church celebrate Pentecost? I've never been in a church that celebrated it, till last year - and they asked me to help "preach" from my knowledge and passion. We remember God the Father and Son in the Incarnation and Death and Resurrection, but do we celebrate the Holy Spirit and what it all means to our Christianity? A remembrance of letters in stone to the Spirit in our hearts; remembering that the letter of the law brings death, but the Spirit brings life. Remembering the gifts and fruits of the Spirit.

It's now called "Eastertide", I see it as a Season of Redemption. On Passover, the Jews eat history, remembering freedom from slavery. But freedom for what? What is physical freedom without an identity of who you are? Mt Sinai with God and the 10 Commandments gave them a spiritual freedom, a knowing they were part of a larger story. But the 'story of redemption' is even larger for us who believe in the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Pentecost. There is a great drama that God asks us to be a part of.

God still takes on human flesh today, expanding the Incarnation to us followers of Jesus. The God above became the God alongside, and then the God within. Is this not Wild?!!!!!!!!!!!

Triumphal Entry?

I took this picture last year, and again this year, our kitchen table looks the same, just new palm fronds from church this weekend. I made a wool Jesus to ride the donkey from my Christmas creche along with the Passover sheep, entering Jerusalem that same day.

I found a Palm Sunday tradition that I often do - making a sweet bread in the shape of a chicken with baby chicks under the mother hen, click here for the recipe. It comes from Jesus overlooking Jerusalem and weeping. Jesus wished he could "gather them under my wings like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings".

I've been sitting with scripture this morning connected with Palm Sunday and a Zechariah passage one of our pastors read at church yesterday. When you read the Triumphal Entry story of Jesus entering Jerusalem in Matthew, a piece from Zechariah 9 is quoted. This entrance was prophesied, but the Jews were not remembering the whole prophecy.

Wouldn't Jesus, if he were going to usurp the existing rule, and reinstate Israel's Monarchy, ride in on a stallion or in a chariot? This is the way a real king would want to enter! Jews have always wanted their own king, and that's their vision for the Messiah.

History books tell of many war horses entering Jerusalem, but none mention a donkey. Jeru-salem, "city of peace", has seen much war.

Zechariah says, "Your king is coming! a good king who makes all things right, a humble king riding a donkey ... I've had it with war ... no more war horses in Jerusalem ... He will offer peace, a peaceful rule worldwide ... And you, because of my blood covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from their hopelessness."

When Jesus began his ministry he read from the scroll of Isaiah saying of Himself, "The Spirit of God is on me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of His grace ..." The Year of Jubilee was to be celebrated, a Leviticus law, every 50 years. Jesus' kingdom is this Jubilee. As Zechariah 9 goes on to say, "From now on people are My swords."

What is our vision of a returning Jesus?

Purim

Purim is a Jewish Festival and it began last night. Purim celebrates victory over enemies, like the redeemer in Esther. Mordecai self-sacrificed himself in raising and teaching Esther - passing on the Torah by educating the children. Purim's lesson is to not lose hope and continue to teach the generations.

In the story of Esther lots were cast ("pur" in Persian) and a day was chosen for the annihilation of the Jews. Persian law could not be changed, but the people were allowed to defend themselves - yet only because of Esther's intervention. She was called, and she obeyed, saying, "If I perish, I perish".

Purim is a carnival celebration full of hilarity. It's celebrated with costumes and the story of Esther is either read or dramatized. Every time the name 'Haman' is said, everyone noisily stomps their feet, hissing and booing. Lots of cheering with Mordecai's name.

It celebrates survival, asking the question, "How do we live with people who hate us?"

Some years I make Hamantaschen (Haman's pockets) cookies. Sweet dough is rolled and cut in circles. A filling is added in the center and the edges are folded over to make three corners. The filling is either a poppy seed filling or fruit (often prune, but any jam can be used).

Some years Purim and Good Friday fall together and my first thought is, "Oh great, such opposite emotions." But it's only seemingly opposite when Purim is a 'Hilarious' holi(y)day. But maybe Good Friday (it is called 'good') should be celebrated hilariously too. With hissing, booing, and stomping of feet (much as Jesus did to the snake in the Garden of Eden in the "Passion" movie) over Satan, and cheering for our Redeemer Jesus who sacrificed his life for us, that we might have life. God provided a redeemer in Esther.

Purim reminds me to ask myself, "Who am I for such a time as this?"

Naming and Circumcision

'Tis the eighth day of Jesus' life. Torah required boy babies to be circumcised eight days after their birth as a sign of the covenant between God and His people. So since our calendar has Jesus' birth on December 25, January 1 is the 8th day, the Octave Day of Christmas, and yes, the circumcision of Jesus is remembered today - obedience to the law for man.

I'm not wanting to discuss this, but only wanting to say that there's actually works of art depicting the possibilities of this scene! Posting a picture seems a little over the edge. I'll let you search and look, or just imagine.

It was at this time that Jesus was named. God changed Abram's name to Abraham, and then required a covenant in their flesh of circumcision. Sarai's name was changed to Sarah ... Stephen told the story of a people named Israel, starting with Abraham and this covenant of circumcision, and ending the story by calling the people ready to stone him, "resisters of the Holy Spirit with uncircumcised hearts and ears.

Oh God, that my heart be blessed with the true circumcision of Your Spirit, and that I faithfully bear your Name to worship and proclaim You through my life, loving You and my neighbor.

Live Nativity, Boxing and Feast of Stephen Day

Three things are on my iCal Calendar for today. No, 4. Today is the 6th candle of Chanukah. I posted on all of these last year. There's even a recipe for Latkes early in December 2007 (Chanukah/Hanukkah was early last year - that lunar calender). Hanukkah gives us eight days of fitting in a meal of Latkes (I like eating history) and remembering the story - basically remembering that a miracle happened. Miracles still happen. Do we live with hearts and eyes to see miracles in our everyday ordinaries?

Boxing Day? In Britain, boxes are out today - in work places, or people carrying them - for donations for needy. The first Live Nativity is attributed to Francis of Assisi on this day in 1223. There's a carol we don't sing as much, about Good King Wenceslaus and "... on the feast of Stephen", is a line of the song.

It's the church calendar day to remember the story of Stephen, the first martyr for Christ. He was given the church job of caring for the orphans and widows, which fits with the theme of Boxing Day.

Candy Cane Legend & Happenings

Monte just called me from Norway. He's been there for a full week now and will be flying home tomorrow. All week I've been imagining 8hours ahead ... he's in geology meetings ... he's sleeping ... he's out eating supper. He typically calls me just before going to supper.

I've been planning our Christmas foods. With Heather not here, the sentimental one for tradition ... Our typical meal is Scandinavian. Monte said he's had ENOUGH Scandinavian Christmas foods, including several meals with lutkefish! So after remembering that Travis and Dawson don't even love some of our meal's foods, we're going to do Mexican! After writing my Las Posadas post on Dec 16, I got hungry for tamales.

So I'm currently cooking up field corn kernels with lime and water - for fresh masa. If you've ever had fresh made corn tortillas from fresh masa ... :-P !!!! And in my post I had mentioned churros, so I found a recipe. I've eaten them before, but not made them. Rather than typical doughnut shape, it's strips of dough dropped into some hot oil from a star shaped piping tip, then sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.

Chanukah begins tomorrow and oil is an ingredient in their menu. Besides latkes, doughnuts are a more current food you can get in Israel today. So churros is good. We can remember the miracle of the oil as we make them and eat history!

Watch this for a well done presentation on the history of candy canes.

Gratitude Response

The American Thanksgiving story has always been told me throughout my growing up, since William Bradford, the first USA Governor, was my great, great ... grandfather. Now I see the Pilgrim's 1st Thanksgiving as being the Jewish Festival Succoth. The Pilgrims, reading the Bible, probably decided to celebrate this Harvest Festival, giving thanks to God for a good harvest year and prayer for the coming growing season.

Lots of Indians showed up that first Thanksgiving. They all shared their harvested food (the Indians brought food too) and partied for 3 days. My thoughts think, so much for the stored food for winter - quite the bourgeois thought! But how many people died that winter? None. It may have been hard, but God blessed their response of thanks to Him, their trust in Him, their resting in Him to meet their needs.

In my last post I mentioned not putting up my typical Thanksgiving Tree, and wondered if someone would notice, missing it. Someone did. Kristin Johnson mid afternoon asked, "Where's your Tree poster? I've been thinking about thankful things I wanted to write on it for several days!!!!" "Well ... I was waiting to see if someone would say something, but look, I've now got lots of photos up where I usually always put it". Looking around, Sarah pointed out the refrigerator, so I drew a bare tree with black marker on paper and taped it to the front of the fridge and brought down my many colored markers. There was no need for me to pre-cut leaves. People drew more variety and way more colors, as the day progressed.

We had a great day: lots of picture taking (flashes from many cameras!), games played, lots of conversations and laughter, good food. New memories. Dawson has posted pictures here. (That link is his new photosite and is harder/longer to scroll through the pics. So now I see he's keeping up with his older photosite and posted same pics there.)

I was reading Psalm 100:
Why laugh and sing myself into God's presence? Why give thanks, praise and worship? Because I know that God is GOD. God made me, I don't make God ... nor can I give myself a self. God has called me, and named me as one of His. I am making myself at home in Him. I thank Him, for He is all beautiful, generous in love, and faithful, with His truth enduring forever.

Simchat Torah - the end of Sukkot

So, for one week each year, Jews build and live, even if only eating suppers in it, a shaky temporary dwelling. They leave their solid homes, where warmth and comfort have been created, with spaces filled and decorated with nostalgic mementos, and reflections of our daily living. Our homes are our castle, where we can pull up the drawbridge at times of darkness, where we are in control, where we return each day to eat and sleep, to talk, to love, and to share.

The sukkah helps in realizing that there can be a kind of idolatry lurking within our homes. We would do well to have a yearly celebration as reminder to not rely solely on the works of our hands, nor trust in our home's size and strength or our possessions. And Sukkat follows Yom Kippur's once a year cleansing, a clean slate leading into a week of remembrance of God's providing in the desert and the good remembrance of God seeking us and desiring to know us. Sukkot is celebrated with lots of joy, and celebrates the end of the year with its final harvest and at the same time the beginning of a new year. The booths are decorated with harvest produce.

Sukkah is a reminder not to become entombed in our homes, a reminder of a different kind of shelter made of openness and faith - following God wherever led, even into the desert, and learning to trust. It evokes opposing sets of images: rootlessness and home, wandering and return, exposure and shelter. God's sukkah is open to all, a house of prayer for all nations, the promised land.

In temple time, there was a daily ritual: Simhat beit ha-sho'eivah - "the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing", a water libation. Water was poured symbolizing gratitude for rain and more for the year to come. Jesus risked his life as a 'wanted man' coming into Jerusalem for this festival in John 7. It is here that he said, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." The surrounding Jews were thinking water in relation to the festival. Jesus knew the drought of their hearts.

The last day, the eighth day, God asked that the people tarry for one more day in Jerusalem (this being the last of the three pilgrim trips to Jerusalem in the year). Simhat Torah is a day when the cycle of reading the Torah through in a year ends and begins anew. Singing and dancing, the people parade about the synagogue with the Torah scrolls. They end the year with reading Deuteronomy 33 and 34, where Moses blesses the people of Israel, reminding them who they are, before entering into the promised land. And God buries Moses, the prophet whom God knew face-to-face!

I so loved and craved that image of face-to-face with God when I fell in love with Him when I was 18. And so today, a favorite passage in scripture is II Corinthians 3:7-4:1, where I read of the living God getting rid of the veil, nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face!

So celebrate! Remember the stories of God-in-our-midst.

Calendar Stories

Round about today, but in 1555, two protestants, Ridley and Latimer, were burned at the stake in England, hoping to quash the protestant church that was trying to take hold. Bloody Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII, is called bloody for her intense persectutions of protestants. Men, women, and children, were put to death for their faith. She was determined to make a public spectacle of the two's executions, but the martyrdoms only intensified Protestant zeal, having the opposite effect.

Today is the 8th day, the last day, of the Feast of Tabernacles, Succot(h)/Sukkot, or Tabernacle of Booths. I'll say it again, I highly recommend you watch the movie "Ushpizin". The Galileo quote I just posted would be a hard one to 'practice' with the two rascals who show up expecting hospitality! I love seeing how Jerusalem streets get filled up with temporary 'forts'.

Forty years the Israelites wandered, living in tents, and God was faithful. Sukkot reminds us of the temporary nature of this life. The movie's themes are universal.

The end of Sukkot is called Simkhat Torah. I'll post about it tomorrow.

Tashlich- casting sins upon the water

I periodically look at childrens books and any related to the calendar days. We can learn so much from these stories (I love pastor Aram's children sermons at our church, for this same learning from 'becoming as a child'!). I've found stories for the Jewish celebrations that are very meaningful (and adding Christianity along with the Jewish festivals adds greater depth).

One story had a pretty cantankerous, nasty man, open a door all the time and sweep his dirt into the basement. And then once a year, he'd go down into the basement and bag up all the dirt, garbage and junk. He's shown carrying these bulky large bags out to the beach where he deposits everything into the sea.

There's a ritual the Jews have added beyond what's in Leviticus 23, doing sometime during the 10 High Holy Days. It's called Tashlich, which means "casting off", and it consists of a symbolic casting of one's sins into a river or body of water. It most likely comes from Micah 7:18-19--"where is the god who can compare with you - wiping the slate clean of guilt ... mercy is what you love most ... you'll cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Go for a walk with family and friends. Wear something with pockets and gather stones as you walk. You could even give the stones some specific names of things you'd like cleaned up in your life. Then turn the pockets inside-out, tossing the stones into the water.

I've always noticed rocks and have collected some since I was a kid. I can imagine finding a pretty one and not wanting to throw it away. Isn't that much like things in our life? "I don't want to give this up yet!" Once thrown into the water, we couldn't find that rock again. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us" says Psalms 103:12.

Have fun throwing stones into the water. Skip some stones across the water. Wanting to get rid of sins can be just as enjoyable.

Yom Kippur

Today all over the world Jews are fasting. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement--a once a year time for forgiveness of sins.

I don't know what's done today, but in scripture it's the once a year time of the high priest entering the Holy of Holies--like when Zacharias went in in Luke 1:8-23 and was told by an angel him and old barren Elizabeth will have a baby. I think they tie a rope around the priest's ankle so if he doesn't come out, the priest can be pulled out.

I posted earlier about Rosh Hashanah and the 10 High Holy Days leading to Yom Kippur. These days are not so much external 'celebrations' as internal reflection. The yearly awakening of the conscience for putting things in order in homes and relationships.

Atonement means at-one-ment with God. In scripture God told Jeremiah, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it...I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." Jesus became our high priest and through him we may walk into the Holy of Holies into the presence of God.

Remember at Jesus' crucifixion, the veil in the temple, the dividing wall into the Holy of Holies, was ripped in two from top to bottom?! We have this at-one-ment- with God, not just once a year, but at any time we desire. It's a great once-a-year time to remind ourselves of God's grace.

Rosh Hashanah

"In the beginning ..." I posted earlier today about when the Christian calendar begins. The Jewish Year begins sometime around September. In Leviticus 23 God says, "These are My appointed feasts which you are to celebrate ... On the first day of the seventh month - mark it with loud blasts on the ram's horn ..." This year, since the Jewish calendar is lunar based and it never falls on the same date every year, Rosh HaShanah begins this evening.

Rosh Hashanah, or Feast of the Trumpets, is the Jewish New Year (year 5769 this year). In the rhythm of my own life I look at this time of year as a new year for me too. School starts, and I get the house cleaned and back together after the busyness of summer. Our January New Year doesn't do anything for me.

Because it's the beginning of the ten High Holy Days, or Days of Awe, leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it's a time of remembrance, of reflection, and of restoration - especially of relationship with God and others. It's a time of putting our physical and spiritual house in order. The shofar (a ram's horn) is blown as a call to awaken the conscience to a time of introspection, contemplation, and prayer, praise and worship.

Jews remember the story of the binding and release of Isaac every year at this feast. They also celebrate the beginning or the Birthday of the World. This would be a good time to bake a birthday cake and read Genesis 1 for the story of Creation.

God asks us to remember and retell the stories. When I read II Chronicles 34 and Nehemiah 8 I was shocked to find hundreds of years of gaps, where many generations of peoples did not tell the stories, and God was forgotten. And along with that would come a lack of identity of not knowing who they were (same with us).

The Hebrew feasts always have special symbolic foods for meals. I love anything that will give me ideas for supper! Rosh HaShanah is a sweet meal because of the hopes for a sweet new year ahead - like apples dipped in honey. I make a sweet challah bread. And instead of the typical sabbath day braid, it's a round loaf - desiring a full round year.

A typical greeting is, "May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year." I've often thought of sending out the yearly family news letter at this time instead of Christmas, but haven't.

"Keep your soul diligently, never forgetting what you've seen God doing, lest they slip from your heart as long as you live." Deuteronomy 4:9

Who Am I?

I read two things this morning that got me thinking ...

A Nietzsche quote (he is so quotable, and tho he didn't understand what Jesus and his disciples was really about, he was so right-on in many of his comments on Christians and humanity) -

"We are unknown, we knowers, to ourselves ... Of necessity we remain strangers to ourselves, we understand ourselves not, in our selves we are bound to be mistaken for each of us holds good to all eternity the motto, 'Each is the farthest away from himself'--as far as ourselves are concerned we are not knowers."

This was in context with the subject of a book Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book - that we can learn more in ten minutes about the Crab Nebula in Taurus, which is 6,000 light-years away, than we presently know about ourself, even though we've been stuck with ourself all our life.

And I read James 1, and paraphrasing here, verses 22-24 -
"You listen, but you do not act upon what you read and hear ... Hearing and not doing is like looking at yourself in a mirror, and after walking away you immediately forget what kind of person you are ..."

I've lately been reading in both Numbers and Deuteronomy and see how ridiculous the Israelites were! So many times in frustration, God wanted to wipe them out! They 'saw' so much, and yet in the next instant would forget and grumble and live wrongly. If they, like children, had so much of God's personal attention and guidance, and saw so many miraculous things on a daily basis, can't 'grow up' into a mature faith - how can we?

They wandered the desert for 40 years, killing off a generation and growing up a new generation. Before they were to enter the new land, God did not want them to melt into the surrounding cultures. He wanted them to know who they were and not forget. How did he do that? He gave them rhythmical calendar celebrations and lots of visuals and imagery and ritual/tradition to instill into their lives so they would remember and not forget who they were/are in God.

We too can get so caught up in our current culture and learnings and not know who we are. How best to remember who we are? First: know and believe that God loves me first as I am, and that He desires a relationship with me. Then act on that!

The very nature of love means choice. Choice means I need to know something (or someone), so I can make good choices. But there's so much to know! I boil it all down to simply going about my days in love with God. The same tools God gave the Israelites, I have for my use too. I use the calendar days and all the connected stories of so many who have lived in love with God. If God was there for them in their midst, then He's going to be here for me today and tomorrow. I can know who I am, and live better ... live fully alive! live more whole.

Calendar Stuff

So, it's Friday the thirteenth today! I heard on the news about some people's phobias. Well, I think I was born on Friday the thirteenth, and have no problems with the line up of the calendar.

I've missed several calendar things I thought I'd just skip, but my continued thoughts and liking to write them down, won't let me leave them behind.

I need to go back and check my posting on the Old Testament counting 50 days, Omer, between the two first fruits festivals to see what details I gave. The link will be here if you want to read more. But on day 40 is Ascension Day. Because Western Christians were celebrating Pentecost Day on Mother's Day, they celebrated Ascension Day earlier then I did. I was 'remembering' it's story and meaning on May 29, along with Eastern Christians.

I like to imagine me as one of Jesus' original disciples, having lived with him for three years. I've probably dreamed of ousting the Roman rule and Jesus setting up a Jewish Kingdom, that I can help lead. BUT WAIT! Jesus is rising into the sky! He's leaving us! This isn't the way I imagined it! Now what do we do?! Before leaving, Jesus told them to go back to Jerusalem and wait till the next Jewish First Fruit Festival - Shavuot. I imagine them in that upper room for ten days reliving every moment with Jesus, everything he did and said, and asking, "Now, what the heck did he REALLY mean?"!

June 5 was saint Boniface day. That's the day he died, thus his birthday into heaven, but I remember his story more in relation to Christmas since some Advent traditions are a result of his doings. In the early 700's he was sent to work among the Norsemen and Teutonics. Boniface was constantly jeopardizing his own life for the sake of the young, the vulnerable, the weak, the sick, and the poor - often imposing his body between the victims and their oppressors.

The Norsemen had brutal pagan sacrificial practices. Boniface decided to strike at the root of their superstitions by cutting down the sacred Oak of Thor. Since no immediate judgement came against them, doubt about the power of their gods began.

A few evenings later, on the first Sunday in Advent, a young boy rushed into Boniface's camp breathlessly telling of a sacrifice soon to be done - his sister was to serve as the vestal virgin. They ran, arriving in the sacred grove just when the Druid priest raised his knife. Boniface ran, pushing his wooden cross forward. The knife blade pierced the cross, saving the girl's life. Boniface seized the stunned silent moment to proclaim the gospel's good news, saying that the ultimate sacrifice had already been made by Jesus on the cross - there was no need for other sacrifices!

Boniface hacked off lower branches from the sacred grove, handing them out, telling each family to take them home and adorn their hearths. These branches, like wreaths were reminders of the completeness of Jesus' work and tokens of his grace. Logs from the grove were burned in fireplaces, later called Yule logs.

On June 9, we passed Columba's day, Columba of Iona, who died in 597. Columba was a scribe and poet. I might have written this on St Patrick Day posting, but while most of Europe was being ravaged by barbarians, books were being restored, protected, and copied in Ireland. Columba established a monastery on the island of Iona. When the Roman church was becoming more ceremonial and priestly, the school at Iona emphasized the Bible as the sole rule of faith. For these Celtic Christians, Christ alone was the head of the church - they did not follow the hierarchical authority or the liturgical ceremonies of the Roman Church.

Many missionaries went out from Iona. The Celtic Christians evangelized all of Europe, bringing a breath of fresh air to the church. Pope Gregory tried to bring the movement under the authority of the Roman Church. For a century there was a struggle between the British Isle Church and the Roman Church for authority. Read the Celtic Way of Evangelism for a great read - How Christianity can reach the West ... again! Roman rule of course won, but revival came in the 16th century during the Scottish Reformation under John Knox and George Buchanan.

Then the last missed calendar date I was wanting to post was the 11th, the remembrance day of Barnabas on the church calendar. What do you remember of Barnabas and the beginnings of "Christ"ians? I remember him as being the one who introduced Saul, renamed Paul, to the disciples. Barnabas took Paul's side in his disagreements with Peter. Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel together for a period of time ... 

BUT, I also remember Paul and Barnabas having a split - going separate ways. Is this the first church split? We so agonize over church splits. We just went through one, it's been awful. I'm sure the spreading of the gospel and the starting of new churches could be done less painfully. I suppose it's a mixture of God's desiring relational growth for all, and human blunderings ... (Exclusion & Embrace!) ...

I took Monte to the airport yesterday morning. He's in Calgary Canada for a bit over a week - working with scientists in the part of the world where the oldest life exists for all to see. They want Monte and Stan to share their science with them, and they will probably be writing together papers (and books?) on their understanding of the origins of life. Monte sees the blueprint written in every cell's DNA, as do others. Scientists DO see a creator's hand, authorship, design ... Sermon's could be preached by scientists - Monte does. It's just that many scientists don't see God as someone desiring a personal relationship with us, but I'm betting that they do have this mystical thing going on within them. And I trust them to God. He'll lead them to know Him!

Preaching/Teaching

I helped preach this past weekend. We have three services, so I spoke once Saturday evening and two times yesterday morning. Our church celebrated Pentecost for the first time - celebrating the birthday of the Church.

I remember one of our pastors often ending prayers before he preached, "And God, help us to preach!" This may seem odd, but then that would be because our perspective of what goes on at church is odd. What we tend to think and do, is go and sit and sing and listen and hope to leave with, "that was good music and a good sermon". We tend to be an audience critiquing those in front 'on stage'.

I see God as the audience. Those in front are more like cue givers. I'm/we as congregation, parts of a whole body of Christ, are being critiqued in our worship by God. And does our worship and love of God overflow into our daily life? We preach with our daily living.

I grew up under theology that said 'women do not teach men', and especially in a church 'sanctuary' from the 'pulpit'. Let me share a couple personal experiences.

In our old church we were a part of a thriving Sunday school class. One of the class leaders/teachers knew of my 'knowledge' and giftings and asked me to co-teach a series. After he introduced the new series he had me do the introduction. I think it was at the end of that class that a guy stood and said he was offended to be taught by a woman and was going to leave the church, and they did. It was painful to lose his wife as a friend; we had just begun working together on a women's ministry team. Another male friend was terribly disappointed, as he loved what I had presented and was looking forward to more. Rather than making an issue of it I backed down from teaching.

Monte and me got accepted to participate in a national communication seminar. All the attendees were a mixture of pastors, youth leaders and other people who speak within whatever ministry they were involved with. We were assigned a group we'd be meeting with every evening for the week. Every morning was lots of teaching techniques and examples from many teachers, both men and women, pastors and speakers. Afternoons we met with our group's leader, mine was a mid-west pastor, and brainstormed through what my next 'speech' was going to be and then worked on it and presented it before my group. That was the hardest work (worse than school-I didn't work that hard!) I've ever done - a totally different 5 minute talk every night for a week! and then having the group critique you and the final night, video-taped. 

There were five guys and another gal in my group. She occasionally preaches at a church in Seattle WA. There were a couple senior pastors, a youth worker, and leader of a huge singles ministry, and then a guy from Gainsville GA, that I think worked for Larry Burkett's organization. The pastors sometimes did speeches totally out of their spiritual mode. Like a fun one on 'how to grill the perfect steak'.

At the end of the week the Georgia man had a confession to make. He said he was horrified in the beginning that he'd have to sit and listen to women. But after the week he was going home and discussing, with his wife, their theology. He said he had been totally blessed by our speeches; he learned to appreciate the feminine perspective, and really learned things from us.

As a part of one body, if one has a gifting that all can be helped by, men and women, and not just children (which is where we women are told we CAN teach), shouldn't we desire to grow together? in whatever way we can? And aren't we all created, male and female, in God's image? The feminine is a part of God! It takes both males and females together to give a 'wholeness' of what God's image looks like, to the world.

In the visual image the Bible gives us of 'the body of Christ', there are many parts and many giftings. Every part is valuable for the body's functioning. And we need to be utilizing everyone's giftings - which would begin with learning each other's giftings.

So I talked this weekend about a piece of my story that led to my understanding the background of Pentecost - living in the sandals of the disciples, in their Jewish culture of First Fruits Harvest Festivals. God chose these festivals for Resurrection Day and then the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into human hearts, Pentecost Day - so we can carry on as walking Jesus's in the here and now. 

And too, I shared my relational growth with God thru a differing approach to 'Bible Study', which is a read, think, pray and live, approach, called lectio divina by some. Not a dissecting of scripture, but entering into the wholeness of it as a story, into the context, and letting it speak to me, touching where I'm at today, and live it into my life. 

My friend Ellen, one of the pastor's wives, preached with me. For years she's studied ecclesiology - what is 'church'? what does it, can it, look like? Is what 'church' has become right? is it what God would like his body to look like? the representation of Him to look like? If we're indwelt by God, do we listen and follow His promptings? Do we even recognize and know our Shepherd's voice?

Lots of children had drawn pictures for Pentecost - asked, "what does God mean to you?" A fellow artist and me hung them across the front of the church last Wednesday from a red cord with clothespins. Other art was contributed and a gal wrote a song that she sung with a friend this weekend. Ellen had brought her dancing Trinity candleholder (like mine - I posted a picture of it long ago) to adorn a table in front of where we spoke, along with one of my felted pictures on an easel, I call "Transformation". (I may have posted it before but I'll put it below.)

Lots of tables were set up for eating and fellowship decorated with red cloth and lots of red balloons. And Gretchen even made what we called Red Velvet Cake for desert, after barbeque brats and burgers. The whole body really got into celebrating what the Trinity means to us and the birth of the Church. 

This is just the beginning of a new beginning for our church. We've come through a tough time and the body is healing by paying attention to all of it's parts and acknowledging each part and letting them 'do' their part!

Jewish Children's Story

Since today is officially Passover I didn't share this story before Easter. I did share it with the MOPS gals to whom I'm a Mentor Mom. I periodically check out children's stories even though I no longer have little kids. I've often seen how much we can learn from children and children's stories.

Too many children's stories are written with agendas, so are sermonettes and 'twaddle'. In collecting old books, we have some that are Children's Sermons. Some people might like them, but I hate them. Most talk AT and DOWN TO kids and don't really engage them and invite them in. Most REAL stories carry truth whether the author strove for that or not. They are actually better when the author just lets the story create itself (as an artist I understand this).

I often tell the story I found of Leah and Harry. They lived in an apartment building and were lucky to have their own bathroom and a bathtub. Most people had to share the bathroom down the hall.

Their mama was known to be a great cook. Twice a year she made gefilte fish - in the fall for Rosh Hoshana, the Jewish New Year, and in the Spring for Passover. Right before the Festival, carp fish were hard to find in the stores. So mama liked to buy her carp almost a week before Passover to make sure she got the nicest, fattest, shiniest one. Mama bought her fish live and carried it home in a pail of water.

At home Leah ran the water in the bathtub and Mama would dump the carp into the tub. Leah and Harry had fun going to the bathroom because they'd bring pieces of bread or rusty lettuce for the fish to eat.

One year, the carp seemed much livelier and friendlier with brighter eyes. They even gave this one a name. This was not just any old carp, they just had to save "Joe".

"Mrs Ginzburg has a bathtub," Leah said.

So in a bucket between the two of them, Leah and Harry carried Joe downstairs. Mrs Ginzburg said she couldn't keep the fish from her friend, their mother, but that he better go in the tub, for now, because he didn't look too good, "And you better go tell your Papa."

Papa, coming home from work, was glad to see them, but not glad to hear about the fish. "But we love him and want to keep him for a pet!" Papa took the fish from Mrs Ginzburg's tub and returned it to their tub and they never told Mama. And the kids never again could eat gefilte fish.

A few days later, Papa came home with a beautiful tri-colored cat. They named it Joe.

"Then the Lord said to Moses 'On the 10th day of this month each man is to get a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house ... And you shall keep it until the evening of the 14th day of this month and then slaughter it, and their blood shall be smeared on the two doorposts of every home..."

After living in the kids' shoes (maybe bear feet or sandals) and feeling their emotions the reality of Exodus 12 really hits me. Could the kids in the Hebrew families have become attached to, even giving it a name, the lamb to be killed? And then I think of the Lamb of God - the disciples having lived with Jesus for three years before he was killed.

Passover and Omer

This evening is the beginning of Passover. Because Passover fell on the Sabbath this year, Jews had to make their Sedar meal preparations yesterday since no work is done on the Sabbath.

I've already posted about this year being the calendar catch-up year for the Jewish lunar based calendar. Every nineteen years they add an extra Adar month. Eastern Orthodox churches follow the lunar base for festivals so will be celebrating Easter, Pesach, tomorrow - so two Easters! And like I said before too, Jews celebrated Purim two times this year. The real Purim ended up on our Good Friday.

A friend sent out an email about celebrating Ascension Day on May first and I emailed her what I'm going to write here. But after my long history/theology soliloquy, I ended with telling her if she wants to celebrate Ascension Day twice, she can. And because of what's being written and talked about in Christian circles about Pentecost, I guess I'm kinda celebrating it twice this year too, or stretching Omer longer.

Why do I make a big deal out of this? I like the larger story, the bigger picture that brings more depth to our Christian celebrations and traditions.

Jews had three harvest festivals that they went to Jerusalem for (found in Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16, and more). The first two are known as First Fruit Festivals. Barley is the first cereal grain to be harvested and brought to the temple for blessing.

The Sunday following Passover, begins this First Fruit Festival period of counting seven-sevens between the barley and then the wheat harvest festival, called Shavuot. This period of 49 days is called 'Counting the Omer', an 'in-between-time'.

I took a picture of a past year's Counting Omer chart I made. Every Spring this rectangle of rectangles sits on a kitchen counter. Since I strive for more meaning to my ordinary linear calendar days, I like visuals or anything that reminds my heart and brings anticipation of God's presence. Glueing pieces of grain, or marking off the days, helps bring meaning - a God-consciousness activity - to these days. I try and create space in my days for God to show up - anticipating surprises from God - God 'winks'.

The Jewish Festival of First Fruits became our Easter. Jesus rose from the dead on the Jewish festival day that many Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and then their first harvest fruit of barley. I Corinthians 15:20 says, "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who are asleep." How exciting is that?! Do you think that was part of a plan? a cool detail in the large drama of life?!

I will start counting the 49 days tomorrow. If you started with the Easter day we celebrated this year, you'll end up with the 50th day being Mother's Day. To me that's all wrong! The 49-50th day really falls on June 8-9 this year.

See the little red box in my picture? That's the 40th day in the counting - that's Ascension Day. You can talk about this event, but it's more fun to take a picnic lunch and blanket and eat somewhere outside and look up into the sky and talk about the story at the end of Luke and Acts 1 when Jesus left this earth. Imagine being a disciple - you've lived with Jesus for 3 years dreaming of setting up an earthly kingdom and then watch Jesus leave, "Hey, but wait a minute, where are you going? This is not what I had in mind!" The physical presence of Jesus left them. What now?

At this time Jesus told them to return to Jerusalem and wait the ten days until the next Jewish Harvest Festival. I'm sure the disciples were reliving all the memories and words of those three years with Jesus, wondering what the heck he really meant! while waiting for the Shavuot Festival. Remembering and praying and waiting.

Every year at this time the Jews read the 10 Commandments, remembering Moses and the commandments inscribed by God on stone on Mt Sinai in the desert. But the Jews are missing the bigger picture. To Jeremiah (31:33) God said, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it" who's message carried further in II Corinthians 3:3 says, "You are a letter of Christ written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts."

Jesus died and then resurrected on Easter becoming the first fruit at the early first fruit festival. In our Christian year, 50 days later, Shavuot became Pentecost, and as Christians we have the Holy Spirit living within us, and are first fruits too. So from the letter of the law, to the Spirit; from stone to human hearts.

I hang seven descending doves over our kitchen table for Pentecost as another visual reminder for my heart. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Does your church celebrate Pentecost? I've never been in a church that celebrated it. We remember God the Father and Son in the Incarnation and Death and Resurrection, but do we celebrate the Holy Spirit and what it all means to our Christianity? A remembrance of letters in stone to the Spirit in our hearts; remembering that the letter of the law brings death, but the Spirit brings life. Remembering the gifts and fruits of the Spirit.

This year our church is finally going to celebrate Pentecost Day. I've been asked to help 'preach' that weekend. I guess my years of talking about the Calendar depth, including Pentecost, is bearing fruit. We're going to tell everyone to come wearing red. We're going to have balloons and birthday cake.

Instead of calling this season Eastertide, I see it as a Season of Redemption. On Passover, the Jews eat history, remembering freedom from slavery. But freedom for what? What is physical freedom without an identity of who you are? Mt Sinai with God and the 10 Commandments gave them a spiritual freedom, a knowing they were part of a larger story. But the 'story of redemption' is even larger for us who believe in the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Pentecost.

There is a great drama that God asks us to be a part of. God still takes on human flesh today, expanding the Incarnation to us followers of Jesus. The God above became the God alongside, and then the God within. Is this not Wild?!!!!!!!!!!!

Maundy Thursday (Passover) - Seder

Some churches have Maundy Thursday services tonight. "Maundy" is Latin for "mandatum" or "commandment" because at the Last Supper Jesus said, "A new commandment I give you: Love one another ..." Because Jesus washed the disciples feet that night, some churches wash feet.

At this meal, the disciples were expecting it to be a traditional Passover ritual they grew up with. On Passover Jews eat history, remembering the Exodus story with a Seder ("ordered") meal. This Holy day was to awaken Israel's past into her present. Passover spoke powerfully of God rescuing His people.



The disciples had no clue Jesus was going to die. Jesus shared the meal with them, with special twists that would tell his story more powerfully than any other way. Jesus must have played the role of the father in the typical seder, but as he did with everything, he made the Passover become personal. Jesus' new Passover speaks even more powerfully of God rescuing His people in a new and complete way.

Many years I've done a seder meal at home. I have a Haggadah I can copy that is a script for the ordered meal. Sometimes our kids have had friends over, and they take advantage of the idea of reclining at the table, which we've heard the Jews typically did - with low tables. It truly is eating history.

Now that one of our pastor's is Jewish, this will be the second year in a row we'll have a seder meal at our church tonight. As Christians, there's so much more depth to the ritual. "...Every time you eat this bread and drink the cup..." we are actually announcing to the world around, to the principalities and powers that keep people enslaved and fearful and angry or not living to their full selves, that Jesus is Lord, and that his death has broken the power of sin and fear and sorrow and shame. This meal propels us out into the community in the confidence that God is at work.

The Passover meal became the Lord's Supper. The Passover Lamb becomes the Lamb of God. Instead of just remembering the slaughtered firstborn of Egypt - we remember that Abba Father slayed His firstborn. Instead of smeared blood protecting the firstborn - Abba protects those who drink from His firstborn's cup.

Jesus made himself the center of the Passover re-enactment. Jesus established the physical bread and wine so we will never forget his gracious act of love for us. It's a meal that speaks more volumes than any theory. We participate in his life (and death) for us. We physically remember. Jesus asks us to "taste, see, and know My presence".

Purim Katan

Purim actually falls on Good Friday this year because of the 19-year cycle of the Jewish Leap Year. So in leap years they actually celebrate Purim twice. Today is the early Purim - Purim Katan.

Purim celebrates victory over enemies, like the redeemer in Esther. Mordecai self-sacrificed himself in raising and teaching Esther - passing on the Torah by educating the children. The lesson of Purim is to not lose hope and continue to teach the generations.

In the story of Esther lots were cast ("pur" in Persian) and a day was chosen for the annihilation of the Jews. Persian law could not be changed, but the people were allowed to defend themselves - but only because of Esther's intervention. She was called, and she obeyed, saying, "If I perish, I perish".

Purim is a carnival celebration full of hilarity. It's celebrated with costumes and the story of Esther is either read or dramatized. Every time the name 'Haman' is said, everyone noisily stomps their feet, hisses and boos. Lots of cheering with Mordecai's name.

It celebrates survival, and the question is asked, "How do we live with people who hate us?"

Some years I make Hamantaschen (Haman's pockets) cookies. Sweet dough is rolled and cut in circles. A filling is added in the center and the edges are folded over to make three corners. The filling is either a poppy seed filling or fruit (often prune, but any jam can be used).

My first thought when I saw Purim and Good Friday fell together was, "Oh great, such opposite emotions." But it's only seemingly opposite when Purim is a 'Hilarious' holi(y)day. But maybe Good Friday (it is called 'good') should be celebrated hilariously too. With hissing, booing, and stomping of feet (much as Jesus did to the snake in the Garden of Eden in the "Passion" movie) over Satan, and cheering for our Redeemer Jesus who sacrificed his life for us, that we might have life.

And ask myself, "Who am I for such a time as this?"

Mantra - Shema

I have a new mantra I'm saying daily.

I like sitting and imagining, often putting myself in other's shoes. Well in Jesus' sandals I've already posted during Advent about Jesus growing up knowing his genealogy. Jesus heard, probably asking Mary to tell him the stories over and over, of Tamrah or Rahab or Ruth or Bathsheba ... And women weren't usually listed in genealogies, but throughout the Gospels you see Jesus living out the results of those stories.

And I visualize Jesus growing up watching his mother every Friday evening lighting the Sabbath candles just before sundown, saying a blessing, as did every woman of every Jewish household every Friday evening. And too, like every other good Jew, Jesus said the Shema two times a day.

When asked by an expert in the law the most important commandment Jesus shaped his own version of the Shema. Typically Jews quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-9 two times a day. Jesus summarized it and added a verse from Leviticus 19:18. So instead of a Love-God Shema, Jesus made it a Love-God-and-Others Shema. Making loving others a part of his own version of the Jewish creed shows that he sees loving others as central to our spiritual formation.

So my new daily mantra or Shema is the Jesus Creed:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.

So as I sit, walk by the way, lie down, and especially when I rise, I will say to myself Jesus' Shema. As Jesus said, "There is no commandment greater than this".

Calendar

I just got my calendars set up last week for this year. Rather late for me since I usually do it the week between Christmas and New Year, and I'm known as The Calendar Girl. First, buying a certain calendar is an event, since we're all going to be seeing it over the year in a prominent spot. And then setting up the calendar is a very special yearly ritual.

In fact I suggest everyone has one main calendar that everything gets written onto, especially if there's several people in the household. But organizations and churches need one main calendar too, so everyone's not only aware of facility uses, but just knowing what others are doing! (I say this because we used to schedule a yearly event at a local college campus and found facility conflicts on the day of our event.)(But too, aren't community, the body, and family members important - knowing what's going on in other's lives?!)

My ritual starts with a nice atmosphere and beverage. Since I work from last year's calendar, I remember happenings, and reminisce. I write people's birthdays, anniversaries, and spiritual birthdays I want to remember. I often at the time will wonder what's going on in their lives and ask God to hug them or give them a wink. Some dates are in parenthesis because they're divorced or dead or just a memory I still want to remember something in connection with it/them. I write saint and holiday notes not already on the calendar.

This year is a bit weird. It's our leap year, but that's no big deal since it's just one day addition and we've no birthdays on that day. It's also the Jewish leap year, which happens every 19th year. Maybe I already said this earlier but, because they add in an extra whole month, Passover happens 27 days after our Easter. I hate when that happens, because I have to figure out when Pentecost Day is (though now you can just google and find it easy, but I used to do the counting thing).

Why is this so important to me?! Most churches may not celebrate Pentecost, but I want to. We celebrate Christmas and Easter - why not Pentecost? Are we afraid of the Holy Spirit? What would Christianity be without Pentecost? Why don't we yearly make a big deal of remembering what the Holy Spirit means to us?! Well ... if we count 50 days after our Easter, Pentecost ends up on Mother's Day. Pentecost, for its deeper significances has to end up on the Jewish Shavuot Festival. So 50 days, seven sevens, has to count from the Sunday following Passover - Pentecost is June 7-8.

If you really want to think about this ... 2008 has us crucifying Jesus after he's Resurrected!

Trees

Looking again at the news, I see that one thing being done in the UK for the week of activities in remembering the Holocaust, is planting trees. That reminded me of something ... I looked and found that this years Jewish Tu B'Shvat was January 22.

Tu B'Shvat is the New Year of the trees. It's not a Biblical Festival but connected with the beginning of taxes on produce for first fruits. This reminded me of a site I told the MOPS gals about last year. If you have kids and are interested in stories and activities, including coloring pages, about the Jewish Celebrations, this site is for you.

One way people celebrate the birthdays of trees is to plant trees. People collect money for planting trees in Israel. In America we have Earth Day, April 22, which is a much better time of the year for planting a tree where I live!

Jews are without the Jerusalem Temple and not much of an agrarian society anymore ... So many traditions involved the temple and sacrifices. Does their calendar of traditions help in remembering their identity? Even us, who are not Jewish and in America, what helps us remember our identity? I like little remembrances like this to help me stop a moment and remember that all I have is a gift, not just 10% tithe or whatever figure. And also to remember that I'm a steward of the earth.

Holocaust Memorial Day

I could post a lot on this. I've been reading the news ...

I've gotta go to our small group get together, but just wanted to say I'm remembering the Holocaust. It's a memorial that's a hard one - how to commemorate?

Today in the news - Kenya's looking like Rwanda, then there's Gaza, Nigeria, the Congo ...

In looking closer, now that I have the time, I was questioning this date, thinking this memorial is actually in the Spring, and it is. For some reason the UK has chosen January 27th as the revolving date and they use the week in schools and whatever to educate and remember - like with a play on the story of Anne Frank ...

The actual Jewish commemoration, Yom HaShoah, is on Nissan 27. Since it falls on a Friday this year, the actual Holocaust remembrance day will be May 1. The remembrance question? Sometimes it seems that evil triumphs, and why does God sometimes seem silent and absent? Has God forgotten us? Do the nations ask, "Where is their God?" Is there a God? We must never forget who we are and that we are in Gods hands.

Normally the Jewish Festival of Purim is soon on the calendar, but this year is the Jewish leap year too. They add an extra month, Adar I, every nineteen years. So Purim will be on March 21. The first Purim was to be a Jewish Holocaust, but there was a Redeemer in Esther.

Genealogy

So many Jewish genealogies begin with Abraham. Abraham is the father of many nations, not just Isaac and Israel. He was before the law. I like that he was justified by simply believing in God.

When I sit with the Matthew 1 scripture, I see that four women are listed in Jesus' genealogy. Historic Israel is very patriarchal, male-oriented. Genealogies never list women. And if you were a woman, your security was in bearing children and your continuity was in a son.

By God's wanting women in the list is a wake-up call to pay attention, because these are human points of God's intervention. Israel practiced exclusion of peoples whereas here God shows His initiative of inclusion. As I read between the lines and try walking in their shoes I fall in love with God more.

Tamar was a Canaanite. Hebrew law said that if your husband died without an heir you were to be given to the brother, so a seed/heir of the tribe/family could carry on. Since her father-in-law refused to follow through, she took things into her own hands, producing twins from the father-in-law. Read the story. For the first time in both the Joseph and Tamar stories Judah acknowledged his wrong. He claimed the twin sons as legally his. It's as if Tamar with the son Perez (which means "a break in the wall") created the transition for Judah to become the patriarch the Lord called him to be.

Rahab was an alien prostitute who displayed faith in God from hearing the stories that preceded the Israelites' coming. Her desire was beyond her, but to preservation for her family. She married Salmon and had Boaz. I'm imagining: being brought up by a foreigner who has to learn the faith from scratch and maybe interjecting a bit of her own pagan background into the stories. It all seems a bit scandalous, yet God blessed their unions with sons. God's grace is for all.

Ruth has more 'story' in the Bible to actually read. She was a Moabite, who were hated by the Jews. Her ancestry goes back to Lot and the incestial union with his daughter. Yet God blessed that with a son. (Conception & birth was all a mystery totally attributed to God.) God's hospitality is not decided by blood, birth, race or nationality. Ruth and Boaz seem to have healed the family tree that pre-dates the law.

Then there's Bathsheba. Adultery. I've come to maybe even call it rape. I remember a story Philip Yancey told about a King that loved a maiden. He didn't want to force his desire of marriage because he'd always wonder if she really loved him. So he cast aside his king stuff and became a pauper so he could woo her love. That's the Jesus story. David's story is so opposite. How could she say no to the king!

These stories Jesus heard over and over again as a boy growing up. All these women made themselves available to God just as they were - they were real. We do not have to leave behind who we are in order to receive God's acceptance. God desires all of who we are - not perfection. Our redemption and transformation depends more on our response to God's love and desire for us.

You can see these women's stories in all the people Jesus reached out to. We still have Tamars, Rahabs, Ruths, and Bathshebas today. God still loves them and desires to redeem their stories and embrace them.

Latkes

No one knows how latkes became a tradition, but they are fried in oil, which perhaps symbolizes the miracle of the oil. In Israel doughnuts fried in oil are a popular treat during Hanukkah too. (We've made homemade doughnuts and they're good.)

Thinking of cooking in oil, I might add fondue to our Hanukkah celebrating every year. I've been wanting to do both the oil (or broth) and the cheese fondue pots. I love so many celebration traditions when they give me ideas of what to cook for supper!

Latke Recipe -
Grate
2 lbs russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
one recipe grates them skin and all, another peels them
1 onion
The recipe I like the best leaves half the potatoes in a food processor and adds the onion until all the pieces are roughly 1/8".
Mix the onion and potato together (the onion helps prevent the potato from discoloring) and put in a colander over a bowl to drain the liquid. (Sometimes I skip the colander stage and just pour off the liquid from the mixture just before cooking.)

Mix together
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt (- minced scallions, and parsley and pepper could be added)
(1/4 tsp baking powder)
Add the onion and potatoes mixing well. (pour off the liquid from the drained potatoes and add the 'starch' left at the bottom of the bowl to the mixture)

Over med-high, heat oil that coats the bottom of a skillet (with my Calphalon griddle, I hardly use any oil and they brown nicely). Either use a 1/4 cup or spoon to create the latke pancakes and fry on both sides till golden brown. Can keep warm in a 300 degree oven with paper towel layers.

Applesauce and sour cream are traditional accompaniments. I've seen some latkes made with half sweet potatoes too (we've added zucchini that's been salted and liquid pressed out, too, but not for Hanukkah). The meal often has dairy foods.

Tradition -
Jews say blessings for everything, like, "You abound in blessings, source of light, our God, ruler of all worlds; who has made us holy with Your commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the light ..." or "Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who did wondrous things for our ancestors long ago at this time of year."

They play a game spinning a dreidel top. "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham," each word adorning one of the four sides, reminding them of "A great miracle happened (t)here". They sing a song called "Ma'oz Tzur" which would be similar to our "Rock of Ages." The kids often play act the story.

So enjoy eating tradition.