Shana Tovah

Shana Tovah is Hebrew for "A good and sweet year" and is the usual greeting for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which is celebrated by Jews tonight and Tuesday morning this year.

As I (Orin) was headed to Temple Shaare Emeth in suburban St. Louis to play at their early service tonight, I passed the small gift shop there and saw the above in the window - a plush play set of bread, wine, and a candle.  Blessings over these items are customary at prayer and meal times in Jewish traditions - and likely where some of our earliest Christian traditions come from, of course.

It was nice to see we still share some things in common.

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The Jewish new year commemorates God's creating the heavens and the earth.  The Rabbi who delivered the sermon tonight told a version of this story as part of her reflections:

Once upon a time, as God created the world, He decided to make beings in His image. As he generated his own reflection in man and woman, the angels got word of the project, and were consumed with jealousy.

"How unfair!" they cried. "Those humans will have it all. They get to experience life on earth with all the perks: laughter, tears, ice cream, wasabi, softness, scratchiness. And as if that 'being alive' stuff weren't blessing enough, they get immortality as well!" (If God is eternal, so, too, would be anything made in God's image.)

The angels were furious; no being should merit both ice cream and infinity. If heavenly beings were denied earthly experiences, why allow humans celestial ones?

So, they plotted against the humans. They decided to hide God's image from them, and assembled to determine how it could be done. One angel suggested, "Let's hide it far up in the mountains; I hear humans don't like to shvitz much. They'll never climb that high."

Another disagreed: "That won't work. Those granola hippies God put on the West Coast will surely hike to the top of the mountains and discover it. Better we hide God's image far out in the sea. Most folks won't go farther than a cruise ship will take them."

Again, others dissented. They realized that any God-like being would eventually access the heights of heaven and the depths of the ocean.

Finally, a wise old angel made a brilliant suggestion: "Let us hide God's image between and within the humans. That will be the last place on earth they would think to look for it."

God let them.  And so it was.

Good Friday

"After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit."

-John 19:28-30

Turn Away From Sin...

...and be faithful to the Gospel.

Or, put another way, give up what separates you from God, and put your trust in your Christian community, Jesus' cross, and his new creation.

As we all hopefully are aware, the penitential season of Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, this year February 6, almost as early as it can be.

We've experienced some schizophrenic weather lately, one day winter, the next spring, the next we've returned to winter.  The season of Lent is closely connected with the transition from Winter to Spring, the name itself coming from an Anglo-Saxon word lecten meaning springtime. Lent is also a period of preparation for Baptism (and other initiation sacraments) in the Catholic Church, celebrated at the Easter Vigil liturgy. It has a length of 40 days, modeling Jesus' fast in the desert as well as other prominent old testament 40's (Moses, Elijah, and others).

We'd like to take a moment to offer a few suggestions on ways to celebrate (yes, celebrate, albeit in a somber way) Lent as a time of transition and preparation in our own lives.

Prayer, almsgiving, and fasting and abstinence from meat (on Fridays) have long been traditions in the Church. Self-denial promotes self-discipline in one's faith. It also allows one to give to the poor and hungry what one has denied to self. Perhaps take some time during Lent, especially on days of abstinence to make donations to food pantries or homeless shelters.

Many of us come from a tradition too of "giving up" something for lent, another form of self denial, be it chocolates, TV, soda, or the like. Perhaps consider giving up something a little less tangible, and something that doing away with will improve your life: give away your angers, your judgmental attitudes, or your fears and anxieties. Perhaps even give away some of your security, as any sort of growth is difficult in a place of comfort.

One last, important, suggestion: take some time to explore what your church or (secular) community has to offer over the next six weeks. Being a part of one's community, however it is defined, is vital to an understanding of faith and our place in God's creation.

Welcome Lent this year with an attitude of progress and change, and the season will become for you that very time of growth. Let this be our common prayer for one another this coming season.

In Christ,
Shannon and Orin


PS - some of the info in this post came from a book titled "Catholic
Customs and Traditions" by Greg Dues, published by Twenty-Third
Publications, (c) 1992

[originally posted here, March 1, 2006, and slightly adapted for 2007 & 2008]

One of These Things is Not Like the Other...

Some of you might have noticed that Orin has been writing a lot of the blog posts in recent weeks. I've been on the go quite a bit lately with family obligations, my work at St. Peters, my ministry with Oddwalk, and lots of other things I just can't bring myself to say no to. I sometimes justify the busyness by telling myself that these things are for Christ and His Church. I know better, though. What's more? It's Lent. Lent is supposed to (in part) be a time for us to slow down and focus on our relationship with God. I, however, seem to have quickened my pace and crammed more into my schedule than I normally do.

The picture above was taken in a back hallway at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City on Sunday. Normally it wouldn't have caught my eye, but it does such a great job encapsulating the way I feel about my own spirital life lately.

For those of us who work for the Church (volunteer or otherwise), much of our time is spent trying desperately to help other people build their relationship with God and the Church. Sometimes, in our dedication, it's easy to forget our own spiritual needs and the importance of setting our faith in God above everything else in our lives.

If this could be your story too, don't worry. Jesus actually talked about people like us in the Gospel of Luke. If you wish, take some time to read through this passage and meditate on who you are in this story and pray about where Christ is calling you to be:

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
-Luke 11:38-42

I know who I am
-Shannon