A friend sent me some interesting information about our early Easter in 2008. The date of this coming Easter is quite early this year, but I didn't recognize the details shown below.
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
Here's the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts:
1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Living by the Rule that is Golden
What rules should we live by? How do we live out this Christian life? Most people think of the 10 commandments – and that is a really good place to start – but if you check out Levitcus, you will find that in all, according to the Interpreter's Bible. Moses had given 613 commandments, David had reduced them to eleven (Psalm 15:2-5), Isaiah to six (Isaiah 33:15), Micah to three (Micah 6:8) Amos to two (Amos 5:4), and Habakkuk to one (Habakkuk 2:4).
I thought it would be an interesting train of thought to pursue, so I decided to turn to the texts. I'm willing to take the commentators' word for the total of 613 commandments given by Moses, so I went quickly on to Psalm 15
He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.
These are good suggestions for moral conduct. There were more, however, than I was able to remember easily, so I turned to Isaiah, only to discover that his six conditions were very similar to the Psalm, although more brief: "The man who lives an upright life and speaks the truth, who scorns to enrich himself by extortion, who refuses a bribe, who will not listen to talk about bloodshed, who closes his eyes to the sight of evil—that is the man who shall dwell on the heights." Admirable as that verse may be, it is a little bit long for easy memory.
When I arrived at Micah, I felt on more secure ground. The text has a familiar ring to it: "what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
This passage has the venerable distinction of being a summary of the messages of three prophets: Justice—that's from Amos; mercy—from Hosea; humility—the essential quality preached by Isaiah. Aldous Huxley called these words from Micah, "the profound definition of religion." But we are not finished. Our rabbi said that Amos had reduced the commandments to two. We had best look at that. Amos 5:15 is simple enough: "Hate evil and love good."
Last in our rabbi's list is the prophet Habakkuk, who reduced the demands of the Law to this: "The righteous will live by being faithful [to God]" (Habakkuk 2:4). Paul must have liked that because he quotes it in his letter to the Romans (1:17), and again in Galatians (3:11). "The righteous shall live by faith."
Jesus Himself answers the question, "What shall I do?"
So, with all this interest in a summary of the Law, it is no wonder that when we turn to the New Testament (Mark 12:28-34) we find a scribe greatly interested in what Jesus would say in answer to the question: "Which commandment is the first of all?" [That's just another way of saying, "What should I do?"]
Jesus answers with the familiar words from Deuteronomy 6:5 that began the Shema. This scripture was used as the call to worship in the Temple, was inscribed on small pieces of vellum carried in small boxes that the most orthodox Jews attached to their forehead and forearm when they prayed, and was rolled up inside the mezuzah affixed to every doorframe. The words are these: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." Jesus was on the firm ground of Jewish tradition when he said that these words were the first commandment. There was not one person in the audience who would have thought otherwise. Then Jesus added the words from Leviticus 19:18: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."The scribe responds with enthusiasm: "Well said, Teacher. You are right."
Jesus, in turn, appreciates the spirit shown in the scribe's response and closes the conversation with the remark: "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
Jesus' secret of the abundant life lies in a change of heart, an inward transformation that causes an outward reformation of behavior. He puts these thoughts into concrete actions with the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31; Matthew 7:12).
If we could only begin living by the Golden Rule the world would be a far better place. Why don't you try it in your own life and the place where you live?
I thought it would be an interesting train of thought to pursue, so I decided to turn to the texts. I'm willing to take the commentators' word for the total of 613 commandments given by Moses, so I went quickly on to Psalm 15
He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.
These are good suggestions for moral conduct. There were more, however, than I was able to remember easily, so I turned to Isaiah, only to discover that his six conditions were very similar to the Psalm, although more brief: "The man who lives an upright life and speaks the truth, who scorns to enrich himself by extortion, who refuses a bribe, who will not listen to talk about bloodshed, who closes his eyes to the sight of evil—that is the man who shall dwell on the heights." Admirable as that verse may be, it is a little bit long for easy memory.
When I arrived at Micah, I felt on more secure ground. The text has a familiar ring to it: "what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
This passage has the venerable distinction of being a summary of the messages of three prophets: Justice—that's from Amos; mercy—from Hosea; humility—the essential quality preached by Isaiah. Aldous Huxley called these words from Micah, "the profound definition of religion." But we are not finished. Our rabbi said that Amos had reduced the commandments to two. We had best look at that. Amos 5:15 is simple enough: "Hate evil and love good."
Last in our rabbi's list is the prophet Habakkuk, who reduced the demands of the Law to this: "The righteous will live by being faithful [to God]" (Habakkuk 2:4). Paul must have liked that because he quotes it in his letter to the Romans (1:17), and again in Galatians (3:11). "The righteous shall live by faith."
Jesus Himself answers the question, "What shall I do?"
So, with all this interest in a summary of the Law, it is no wonder that when we turn to the New Testament (Mark 12:28-34) we find a scribe greatly interested in what Jesus would say in answer to the question: "Which commandment is the first of all?" [That's just another way of saying, "What should I do?"]
Jesus answers with the familiar words from Deuteronomy 6:5 that began the Shema. This scripture was used as the call to worship in the Temple, was inscribed on small pieces of vellum carried in small boxes that the most orthodox Jews attached to their forehead and forearm when they prayed, and was rolled up inside the mezuzah affixed to every doorframe. The words are these: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." Jesus was on the firm ground of Jewish tradition when he said that these words were the first commandment. There was not one person in the audience who would have thought otherwise. Then Jesus added the words from Leviticus 19:18: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."The scribe responds with enthusiasm: "Well said, Teacher. You are right."
Jesus, in turn, appreciates the spirit shown in the scribe's response and closes the conversation with the remark: "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
Jesus' secret of the abundant life lies in a change of heart, an inward transformation that causes an outward reformation of behavior. He puts these thoughts into concrete actions with the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31; Matthew 7:12).
If we could only begin living by the Golden Rule the world would be a far better place. Why don't you try it in your own life and the place where you live?
Monday, February 18, 2008
Jesus, Take the Wheel!
There is a Country song by the artist Carrie Underwood called, “Jesus, take the Wheel.” I love the message of this song.
Like many Country songs, it tells a story. It is about a young girl who is driving across the country to see her mother and father (her momma and daddy, if you are reading this from the South). Her little baby is buckled up in the back seat.
Suddenly, as she is driving far too quickly and is somewhat distracted, she hits a patch of black ice and the car begins to spin out of control. More out of fear and a gut reaction than anything else, she cries out, “Jesus, take the wheel.”
The car winds up safely on the side of the road and no one is hurt; yet, suddenly she begins to realize that her life is a lot like that car ride: it’s filled with distractions, and moving way too fast. She has made some big mistakes and she finds herself very much in need. So right there on the side of the road, she bows her head and devoutly prays the very words she had blurted out as a reaction only a few moments before:
Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can’t do this all my own
I’m letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on
Jesus take the wheel
That is one clear example of the way we are called to live as people of faith. Whenever our lives are moving way too fast, when our minds are filled with distractions and we have made big mistakes—or perhaps a lot of little ones—we should not hesitate to call upon the name of Jesus. There is tremendous power in that name, because it belongs to the Person who can truly transform our lives and set us on the right road once again.
Like many Country songs, it tells a story. It is about a young girl who is driving across the country to see her mother and father (her momma and daddy, if you are reading this from the South). Her little baby is buckled up in the back seat.
Suddenly, as she is driving far too quickly and is somewhat distracted, she hits a patch of black ice and the car begins to spin out of control. More out of fear and a gut reaction than anything else, she cries out, “Jesus, take the wheel.”
The car winds up safely on the side of the road and no one is hurt; yet, suddenly she begins to realize that her life is a lot like that car ride: it’s filled with distractions, and moving way too fast. She has made some big mistakes and she finds herself very much in need. So right there on the side of the road, she bows her head and devoutly prays the very words she had blurted out as a reaction only a few moments before:
Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can’t do this all my own
I’m letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on
Jesus take the wheel
That is one clear example of the way we are called to live as people of faith. Whenever our lives are moving way too fast, when our minds are filled with distractions and we have made big mistakes—or perhaps a lot of little ones—we should not hesitate to call upon the name of Jesus. There is tremendous power in that name, because it belongs to the Person who can truly transform our lives and set us on the right road once again.
Incense and What it Meant
I recently attended a service in another church where incense was used, and I found the symbolism to be a powerful thing to me.
During the “Old Testament” Scripture reading (Luke 1:8-10; Ps. 141:1-2), a young person walked in holding a burning incense candle and stood on stage at the front of the sanctuary. Then a second young person entered with a burning incense candle as another voice read the New Testament Scripture reading (Heb. 4:14-16; James 5:16b; John 14:6, 13; Matt. 18:20). As the third burning incense candle was brought forward, a voice read Revelation 8:2-5.
The candles were then placed on the “altar.”
At this point a pastor explained the symbolism of the altar and the incense. The smoke from the altar symbolizes the prayers of God’s people. The incense represents the purifying, mediating work and prayers of Jesus that make our prayers acceptable to God as a sweet-smelling savor. For our prayers to be heard and answered by God, they need to be offered in Jesus’ name.
The service was strongly based on the Scriptures and I was inspired by it. It showed me that even when people worship is some different manners than we may do, there is a richness in the Spirit that we all share. Praise the Lord!
During the “Old Testament” Scripture reading (Luke 1:8-10; Ps. 141:1-2), a young person walked in holding a burning incense candle and stood on stage at the front of the sanctuary. Then a second young person entered with a burning incense candle as another voice read the New Testament Scripture reading (Heb. 4:14-16; James 5:16b; John 14:6, 13; Matt. 18:20). As the third burning incense candle was brought forward, a voice read Revelation 8:2-5.
The candles were then placed on the “altar.”
At this point a pastor explained the symbolism of the altar and the incense. The smoke from the altar symbolizes the prayers of God’s people. The incense represents the purifying, mediating work and prayers of Jesus that make our prayers acceptable to God as a sweet-smelling savor. For our prayers to be heard and answered by God, they need to be offered in Jesus’ name.
The service was strongly based on the Scriptures and I was inspired by it. It showed me that even when people worship is some different manners than we may do, there is a richness in the Spirit that we all share. Praise the Lord!
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