Oh, the realities of blogging!

Just so you do not think I have given up, I want you to know that the realities of trying to get through this week have kept me from being faithful to my blogging on Leviticus and Numbers. Please do not give up on my!! I will, in this week blog some on both of these books and answer some of the questions that you have brought up in your comments.

Until then, I wish each of you a Christmas filled with joy! May laughter and love fill your hearts and your homes. May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding fill your souls.

Much love to each of you,

Suzy

Comments?

Just so you know, I miss your comments!!! Hoping someone would like to add their thoughts! (Hint, hint, hint)

Did I lose you in the details?

There is an old saying that goes, “the devil is in the details.” However, after a thorough reading of the last chapters of Exodus, I would submit to you that God is in the details!

Now granted, the reading of details is not the most gripping of narratives. And truthfully, those details make for tedious reading after the roller coaster ride of the first part of Exodus. Would you not agree that those opening chapters kept us glued to our seats? Were you not horrified by the plagues of locusts and frogs, amazed by the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, thrilled to discover the sweet water that flowed from rocks in the wilderness and the manna from heaven? Not to mention the thundering presence of God on the mountain top as Moses received the Ten Commandments.

But then, after an action packed beginning, we come to a screeching halt. Detail after detail confronts us. Law after law, not only for the community but for altars, slaves, and property just to name of few. And then you get the incredibly detailed descriptions of the tables, lampstands, even curtains for the tabernacle. OK, can you say boring?

But, the funny thing is, as I was reading those wearisome words about the number of cubits for the length of the altar and the colors of the yarn required for the ephod and the breastplate and the curtains for the tabernacle, I became fascinated with the intricate work that was being described. What would the ark have looked like? What about the garments of the priesthood? In case you too were intrigued, I googled the web in search of images and found some that I've posted, one is the priestly vestments the other is the ark of the covenant. Of course, everyone has an idea of what these might have looked like, but this is one artists concept of what is described in the Book of Exodus!

The other really fun thing that happened in the midst of the reading is that I discovered in Exodus 30 God gave Moses the formula for making the anointing oil for the ordination of priests: liquid myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic cane and cassia. “Sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer.” Just so you know, I was the perfumer in “Old Bethlehem” this weekend. And, as a result of my reading, I became quite the knowledgeable perfumer and spun a wonderful tale of how this formula had been passed down from generation to generation in my family. In case anyone asks you, it’s true…I have the finest anointing oil in all Judea! Be sure to stop by my shop next time you’re in “Old Bethlehem”!

Keep reading, you’ll never know what you might discover!

inJoy,
Suzy

Events that Define

The Exodus Event is one of the defining moments in the life of Israel. Through the exodus, the people become a nation and are brought together with the one God, YHWH. Before this time Israel was in all practicality an individual people, i.e. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the book of Exodus, we see these individual people come together as a nation, they have an identity. This is a nation that follows the one God and God is depicted in the midst of the people – a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God is powerful and God is protector. Note that as the people come to the sea of Reeds, God who was leading the people, moves behind the people and keeps the Egyptians away from the Israelites all night!

The Exodus is the way the Israelites come to understand who they are and who God is. The exodus is a divine act of new creation and is remembered by marking the beginning of the year which becomes the beginning of Israel’s new life. The story is remembered and retold through the festival of Passover. This symbolic feast remembers God’s saving action and creates hope and expectation of the ongoing reality of God’s salvation.

Were you surprised, as you read, the number of times that the Passover instructions are recited? Did you also notice the reiteration of these words, “When your children ask you…” Tradition. As the story is passed down to the next generation, the story becomes the story of those who listen and those who ask.

As we enter the season of Advent and wait with hopeful anticipation of the coming of the Christ child, we too remember. We share our story, the story of light and life coming into the world. Today, I shared this story with the children of our preschool. They gather for chapel on Monday mornings and learn about Jesus and God’s love for them. Today they heard the story of the birth of Jesus as told by Angels and shepherds.

Yes, it’s true, I got to be the angel, and it’s a part I look forward to all year. Dressed in white with wings that could use some tender loving care, I tell the children the story that begins this way, “One day, God’s angel came to Mary’s house. The angel said, ‘I have good news for you, God’s son is coming to earth.”

Indeed, it is good news. God comes to earth and brings salvation, peace, hope, redemption, love… Just as in the Exodus story, we hear of God’s liberating salvation from those acts that oppress, just as the story is told to each generation, we continue to tell the story of salvation history from the crossing of the Red Sea to the birth of Christ. We are called to be witnesses to the entire world of God’s act of salvation by telling the stories of our ancestors and the stories of God’s grace in our own lives.

What story will you tell?

inJoy,
Suzy