Pesach

Last night we celebrated a Pesach (Passover) Seder Meal with new friends. This is our 3rd celebration and we hope to keep it an annual tradition wherever we are to enrich our experience of the Lenten season. If you're interested I've linked to some documents I wrote explaining it a little. I spent most of yesterday cooking and preparing food: hommus, baba ganoush, pita wedges, quinoa tabouli, beetroot salad, roast lamb and gravy, haloumi, matzah (unleavened bread) and baklava. I felt like it was a wonderful evening, I hope our guests did too. My darling husband was kind enough to spend most of this morning washing-up.

• Table of Symbols: explains the significance of actions and symbols used throughout
• Haggadah: this is the liturgy we follow. Versions of these have been passed down for hundreds of years. We adapted this one from a hard copy version my family used many years ago.
• Passover Explanation: this is a personal explanation about why we choose to celebrate this ancient festival and it's significance for us as Christians.

Here are some childrens drawings of the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples. I think leading this craft at Sunday School with the children a few years was actually what got me thinking in part about this beautiful, ancient, God-given celebration and it's significance for me and us today.

Purple for Lent

While we are experiencing new weather seasons here we are learning to be more aware of other seasons in our lives. I bought this Christian Seasons Calendar from the Regent bookstore when we arrived and added all the Jewish festivals to it as I couldn't find one that combined both. Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent, the 40 day count-down to Easter (and the Passover celebration). Josh and I are both hoping to give some things up. I'd also like to find some tangible actions to take,verse 6 below offers some ideas (commands even?) This 14 year old boy made a beautiful candle holder for lent countdown. I'm wondering if I can whip one up or buy one for next year? I've enjoyed establishing some new traditions with Josh in our two-person-strong family. I think these are the kinds of celebrations which children would really benefit from too. My little (but probably more responsible and mature and absolutely gorgeous) sister is expecting her first little one. First granchild on the Cain side!











I read this verse this morning as one of the readings for Ash Wednesday. I know it looks a little long but it is all so good (and hard) and so challenging. The emphasis is all mine. I can see why light and the idea of abstaining is significant for this season...

Isaiah 58

1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

My new favourite Carol

On Christmas Eve we went to the Varty's church and sungs some beautiful carols. After the service we drove up to Mt Seymour. As we drove higher and higher we started to see patches of snow on the side of the road. At the top we had a snow ball fight in the carpark in the dark and then home to warm up. We didn't have a white Christmas so this was a great way to get some white!

I think mum is the one who instilled in my sister Kirsty and I an appreciation for Carols. I especially think of her when singing Joy to the World. Here are some great carol inspired crafts Kirsty made this year and last (they're on her blog here and here.)





Some more on my new favourite carole: The words to O come, O come Emmanuel were originally written in latin in the 12th century (over 800 years ago - wowsers!). It was called Ve­ni, ve­ni Eman­u­el at the time. In 1851 it was trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John M. Neale.

The text was added to music: Veni Em­man­u­el, from a 15th Cen­tu­ry pro­cess­ion­al of French Fran­cis­can nuns (the set­ting for the fu­ner­al hymn Libera me); ar­ranged by Thom­as Hel­more (no wonder it sounds sad).

I love the bible and am particularly fascinated by finding truth and prophetic meaning in the Old Testament. The website listed below pointed out that the lyrics echo a num­ber of pro­phet­ic themes:

* The ti­tle comes from the well known Isai­ah 7:14: “Be­hold, a vir­gin shall con­ceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Im­man­u­el.” Im­man­u­el is He­brew for “God with us.”
* The “Rod of Jesse” refers to Isai­ah 11:1: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jes­se”; Jesse was the fa­ther of Da­vid, se­cond king of Is­ra­el.
* “Day-Spring” comes from Za­cha­ri­as, fa­ther of John the Bap­tist, in Luke 1:78: “The day­spring from on high has vis­it­ed us.”
* “Thou Key of Da­vid” is in Isai­ah 22:22: “The key of the house of Da­vid will I lay up­on his shoul­der,” which in turn re­fers to Isai­ah 9:6 “The gov­ern­ment shall be up­on His shoul­der.”

Information from here. You mightn't be as interested in this as me, but just incase, here is the full version with some extra verses I haven't heard before. Such amazing poetry.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

(PS I know the drawing doesn't come out super well but all of the bits in the picture are things I picked up on my walk home from the grocery shop on Christmas Eve.)

Emmanuel

The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.

John 1:14
The Message

Installation

Acts 2

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved."