Time for Thanksgiving

    Rush, rush, rush ... that is all some people do! Life is lived by going from place to place, from one task to another, and always on the job ... or eating, or sleeping. These rushing people are the ones that make us curse on the road (because they cut us off), are impatient, and issue rude comments and complaints. (Ephesians 4:32)

   God's antedote to all this wild activity is "Thanksgiving." The giving of Thanks is encouraged throughout the Bible. Thanksgiving is an activitiy that requires us to sloooow doooownnn and to observe the world around us. 

Turkeys spotted on the side of the road in Sleepy Hollow, NY

   What can you give thanks for?  

   At this time of year, the color in the trees! And you can also give thanks for the variety of trees, and plants, and turf to walk on. Give thanks for Gardeners ... and if it is a natural area, to the God of Creation who placed each object in its place: which means giving thanks for the terrain, including the rocks and streams. And don't forget the animals.  ... take time to smell the roses!

Take time to smell the roses!

     And now that you have taken time to enjoy the things the eye beholds, take time to Thank God (Yes, we do this one often ... although sometimes not in the detail that we should) for the tastes provided in the foods we eat. And not just the obvious (What meats, vegetables and fruits did you eat today ... that includes pies, and the dairy product known as Ice Cream), but also the small. Have you ever noticed how a touch of this spice or that enhances the flavor. And, while you are at it, remember the cook, the server, the grocer, and the farmer.  And God who provides the rain.

A Jazz Musician playing his tune

   And we need to thank God for the things we hear, like music, other people (and that other people can hear us), the leaves rustling, animals and activities nearby, and even our own breating (life is a miracle), heart beat,and noises made when we move. Pray for people who are losing their hearing (and be patient with them ... because most people, including you, will have hearing loss in old age). 

Israel's largest waterfall at Banias, which flows into the Jordan

   And we should give thanks for the things we can feel, like the water trickling under our feet in a cool mountain streem, over our heads from a waterfall or the rain, or on our bodies like the waves of the ocean, water from our morning shower, or the stream from the faucet over our hands. we can give thanks for different textures and surfaces. And we can also give thanks for the love we recieve and can give. Let us always recognize the feelings that come not just from our surroundings and other people, but the feelings that come from reieving God's care.

   Make sure to give thanks every day this season.

Jesus and Chanukah

The conversation comes up way too often. Someone says, “Merry Christmas.”

I reply, “Happy Chanukah.”

They say, “I thought you were a Christian. Christians don’t celebrate Chanukah.”

I reply, “Jesus did. When I celebrate Chanukah I think of Jesus.”

They reply, “Jesus did not. It was not even around then.” [Although I think they would rather say, “Why would Jesus do that, He wasn’t even Jewish.” But most know better or have enough doubt that they don’t want my answer on that one.]

The fact is, Jesus did celebrate Chanukah. It is recorded in John 10:22: “Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter.”

The Festival of Dedication was a time Jewish people stopped to thank God for restoring the Temple from the desecration of Antiochus Epiphanes, which is recorded in the New Testament also. “When you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel (9:27; 12:11) —let the reader understand…’” (Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14) The Abomination took place on the 25th day of Kislev (Jewish month), and Judas Maccabeus restored worship on Kislev 25 three years later. (The story is in our book Advent Journeys)

The problem which allowed the desecration of the Temple was not a mighty army entering Israel, but rather a people who blended with society. At first the people sought to dress and decorate their homes like Greeks (vases and colonnades, then the little figurines or idols). Then they blended more, with music and cultural habits. This extended to the family of the High Priest. The High Priest’s brother took a Greek name and then he took his brother’s office by deceit and bribery. The cultural shift opened the door for a tyrant to enter and take over.

Matthias (father of the Maccabees) was sickened by the cultural shift. He saw the things happening in Jerusalem and moved from the city to the country. Then, when he and his village were forced to bow down to an idol, he took his stand and refused to submit himself to the humiliation, to the soldiers or to the culture. A battle erupted, which the Jews won. Then worship was restored and the Jews were able to dedicate the Temple.

To remember the dedication, the Jewish people light a candelabrum called a menorah each night for eight nights (beginning tonight … Christmas Eve coincides with the first day of Chanukah this year). Jesus would encourage us, “let your light shine!”

St. Patrick's Day

Who is St. Patrick?
A. A brawny man who can drink more than his share of green beer
B. The folk hero who chased the snakes out of Ireland
C. A Celtic Druid Priest who is the Patron Saint of Ireland
D. None of the above…

We live in a world where many people choose to believe folk tales or a lie.
As Christians, it is important we look up and share what is the truth, and in the case of St. Patrick, it is easy to find out the truth … He writes about his life in his "Confessions."

Patrick was born in England about AD 389. He was raised in a Christian home, but did not follow in the ways of his parents. At about 16 years old he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland, where he became a slave. He herded sheep for a number of years, and in the fields rediscovered God. The Lord helped him escape his captors. He was taken by ship to France, where he spent time in a monastery learning to share the Gospel. From there he returned to England.
In England he heard the call of God to take the Gospel to Ireland. He became “a fisher of men,” taking the Gospel where it had never been heard and reached many of the Irish including their chieftains. Patrick writes in his Confessions: “So, it is that in Ireland, where they never had any knowledge of God but, always, until now, cherished idols and unclean things, they are lately become a people of the Lord, and are called children of God”

So the truth is that Patrick was a Priest and a missionary for Jesus Christ who took the Gospel to a pagan nation, and on this day we celebrate the life of a man who accomplished great things for God.

In this world of lies, gossip and innuendos, it is always best to go to the source, go to the source or the person to get the truth. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." JN 8:32