A day of remembrance…

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Click here to view the readings for Maundy Thursday.

“This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.”

There are moments in each of our lives that define us.  It might be when you first met your husband or wife, or the first time someone placed a wiggly baby in your arms. Perhaps it was a tragedy, or a separation, maybe even a death of a beloved person in your life. Perhaps it was simply that moment when you knew for sure what you wanted to do with the rest of your life.

These moments shape us, who are, who we become, even how we see the world.  Sometimes these stories even shape our families for generations.  Being from the south, it seems that these stories stick around even longer than normal.   (My mother-in-law is STILL mad at General Sherman.) Communities work in much the same way.  They have stories that shape their identities too.  Our readings tonight, give us a glimpse into two such defining moments. 

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Tune me, O Lord

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Tune me, O Lord, into one harmony 
With Thee, one full responsive vibrant chord; 
Unto Thy praise all love and melody, 
Tune me, O Lord.  - Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)

Click here to see the readings for the 1st Week of Lent

In my house, there is a purple ukulele.  It is the prized possession of my 6 year old daughter.  We have other musical instruments in our house, but this is the only one that belongs just to her.  She has been learning to play it for a few months, and she has made a lot of progress.  She has learned to fret several chords, and we have worked on her timing.  She can strum on the beat, and switch between several different notes.  Sometimes, I play along with her and we will sing together – we have a mean cover of “row, row, row your boat”.  Nearly every day, somewhere in our house you can hear her playing her songs.

This all sounds great, and it is, but there is one problem.  You see this Purple ukulele is new, and so are the strings; they are still stretching to their eventual length, and that makes them go out of tune fairly frequently.  When the ukulele is in tune, She makes great music, but when those strings get off – it makes the dog run for cover.

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Well, that escalated quickly…

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Click here to see the readings for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany.

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus, just this past Friday was the feast day for the “Presentation of Jesus” in the temple. If we were going to give today’s portion of the story a title, it would be something like “The awkward homecoming of Jesus.” 

There was a large crowd in the synagogue that day, obviously lots of people wanted to catch a glimpse of the local boy, made good. Jesus had been causing quite a stir in the countryside as he traveled through Capernaum and Galilee.  There were stories being told about strong teaching and healings, there was even a rumor about water to wine – now this would be a popular spiritual gift even today.   

No wonder a crowd turned out.

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Strange lights and mad kings

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Click here to see the readings for Epiphany Sunday.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

I considered attaching this bible verse to a photo of an entergy truck rolling down Kavanaugh Rd. last week.  We have all been reminded recently of the importance of light (and the heat that comes with it.)  (News story about our recent “blizzard”.)

Arise, shine; for your light has come.  These are the words of the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel. He wanted to give them a glimpse of what it would mean when Israel was restored and the world was set right. But they are just as appropriate for us here today, as we ponder the odd behavior of wise men from the east, who brought strange gifts to the Christ child. 

The gospel accounts of the incarnation, of the coming of God to be human, are thick with symbolism and meaning.  The angels and the shepherds and the wise men, all have an important message to impart about what exactly God is doing in Jesus.

So who are these wise men?  Obviously they were people of means, travel was very expensive. They were also people of some power and importance – I suspect King Herod wouldn’t meet with just anybody. 

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